What is Organic Reach, and How Can You Improve Yours?

If you're building a premium brand, cultivating strong organic visibility can deepen brand credibility, build trust, and support long-term growth, without constantly relying on your ad budget to stay relevant.

What is Organic Reach on Social Media?

Organic reach is the number of people who see your content without paid promotion. It’s what happens when someone stumbles across your post in their feed, engages with it, or shares it simply because it resonated with them.

In the early days of social, this was straightforward: if someone followed your brand, they saw your content. But today, content is filtered through platform algorithms designed to prioritise relevance, not just recency. That means even your most loyal followers won’t see everything you post, unless the algorithm deems it valuable enough.

Organic Reach vs. Paid Reach

It’s important to understand the distinction between organic and paid reach:

Organic reach = Unpaid views from people who come across your content naturally.

Paid reach = Views generated from sponsored content, boosted posts, or ads.

A single user can count towards both. But building a brand with staying power - especially in the premium or luxury space - requires a strong organic foundation. You don’t want people to only discover your content when you’re paying for it.

Is Organic Reach Declining?

There have been consistent reports of organic reach declining across platforms, especially for brands. Meta’s ongoing shift toward prioritising personal connections has hit Pages hard. Similarly, updates on Instagram and LinkedIn have changed how (and to whom) content is surfaced.

But the decline isn’t uniform. Brands that adapt by focusing on value, engagement, and platform-native behaviour, are still seeing impressive results.

Take Glossier, for example. Even with reduced visibility in-feed, they maintain high organic engagement by turning customer feedback and UGC into community-driven storytelling across their channels.

How Can You Track Organic Reach?

Every major platform offers native insights; Meta Business Suite, Instagram Insights, LinkedIn Analytics, TikTok. But navigating across them can be time-consuming. Premium brands often opt for social media analytics tools to centralise analytics, track organic reach trends over time, and understand which types of content are truly landing.

Key organic reach metrics to monitor:

• Impressions and reach (per post)
• Engagement rate (especially comments and shares)
• Profile and website visits following a post

Ways to Improve Your Organic Reach in 2025

With algorithms constantly evolving, there’s no cheat code. But there are proven tactics that high-performing brands are leaning into this year to improve their organic reach:

1. Post At The Right Time

Timing matters - especially for organic visibility. Early engagement signals to the algorithm that your post is worth showing to more people.

For instance, Aesop often posts on Instagram during evening hours in their local market, capitalising on quiet scroll time when their audience is most reflective and receptive. Knowing your audience's habits is key; use native insights or scheduling tools with intelligent time suggestions.

2. Post at the Right Frequency

Consistency > volume. You don’t need to post daily, but a steady cadence helps you stay present in your followers' minds and feeds.

Luxury fashion brand The Row rarely posts more than a few times per week on Instagram, yet each post is carefully considered and visually consistent with their minimalist aesthetic. This deliberate pacing adds to the brand’s exclusivity and ensures that every piece of content feels purposeful - and performative.

3. Customise Content for Each Platform

Copy and pasting content across platforms is one of the quickest ways to lose traction.

Chanel treats each platform differently; Instagram is used for immersive campaign imagery and behind-the-scenes fashion moments, while LinkedIn focuses mostly on craftsmanship and innovation in their fragrance, jewellery and watch divisions.

The format, tone, and intention should shift and align with each platform.

4. Provide Real and Original Value

When posting, ask yourself ‘what is someone getting from this post?’

Premium brands should be experts, educators, or entertainers - not just promoters. Le Labo does this perfectly, using social content to share scent stories, ingredient sourcing insights, and the cultural inspirations behind their fragrances.

Offering authentic, original value helps you stand out in a saturated feed.

5. Find the Right Formats for Your Audience

Video remains powerful, but don’t overlook static content. On Instagram, Carousels and Stories continue to drive meaningful engagement, especially for premium products where storytelling and detail matter.

‍Net-A-Porter frequently uses Instagram Carousels to break down seasonal edits and highlight emerging designers, driving saves and shares among fashion-forward users.

Try mixing:

• Reels → for reach
• Carousels → for education
• Stories with polls → for interaction

6. Encourage Meaningful Engagement

Prompting empty likes won’t cut it. Algorithms now reward genuine interaction.

Instead of “double tap if you agree,” aim for deeper responses. For example, La Mer might invite followers to share the rituals that make them feel most restored, or how their skin needs change with the seasons, sparking thoughtful, personal comments that go beyond surface-level interaction.

And don’t just wait for comments - reply to them. Real engagement is a two-way street.

7. Collaborate with Other Creators or Brands

Brand collaborations and creator partnerships are smart shortcuts to organic reach.

‍Soho House frequently works with chefs, artists, and members across the globe to co-create content that feels authentic, not transactional. These partnerships expand their audience while reinforcing brand values.

Look for:

• UGC (user-generated content)
• Thought leader collaborations
• Creator takeovers
• Cross-posting with aligned brands

8. Jump on Micro-Trends (Carefully)

Not every trend suits a premium brand, but the right one, used at the right moment, can amplify reach fast.

‍Rimowa once capitalised on a “what’s in my bag” trend with a campaign featuring curated case contents from tastemakers and stylists. The concept was simple but gave the brand relevance within a trending format, without compromising luxury aesthetics.

Social listening tools can help you spot these micro-moments before they peak.

9. Optimise for Social SEO

Social search is rising, especially amongst Gen Z. Treat your captions like micro-blogs and include relevant keywords in your posts and alt text.

Architectural Digest consistently uses descriptive, editorial-style captions on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. Whether it’s a celebrity home tour or a design spotlight, their posts are rich in searchable terms that match what their design-savvy audience is actively looking for.

Don’t cram in keywords unnaturally, but do be intentional about what your audience is searching for.

Conclusion

Organic reach is no longer about showing up - it's about showing up well. Premium brands can't afford to rely solely on paid media, and high-quality organic content is still one of the most powerful tools in your marketing mix.

Treat every post as an opportunity to build brand equity, not just engagement. When you create content worth seeing, the algorithm, and your audience, will take notice.

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