In the ever-evolving world of digital marketing, standing out as an indie brand is more challenging than ever. With social media algorithms constantly shifting and paid ads becoming more expensive, how can indie brands grow authentically without relying solely on ads?
Today, we’re excited to spotlight Graciela Fuentes, an expert in organic and data-driven social media marketing who has helped brands craft compelling narratives, build strong online communities, and drive exponential growth.
With years of experience in organic marketing, social media strategy, and brand storytelling, Graciela Fuentes knows what works, and what doesn’t, when it comes to growing a brand authentically. In this exclusive interview, she shares her best insights, strategies, and expert advice for indie entrepreneurs looking to increase visibility, build credibility, and drive real engagement in 2025 and beyond.
If you’ve ever wondered how to grow without a big ad budget, this interview is for you.
Let’s dive in!
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS:
Building a Strong Brand on Social Media
- What are the biggest challenges indie brands face when trying to grow organically on social media?
One of the biggest challenges I see with indie brands (especially the startups) is getting noticed with less to zero budget. Social media is crowded, and many indie brand owners feel like they’re posting into the void. Another challenge that I see is staying consistent. Let’s be real, running a business is already a full-time job.
Most indie brand owners wear most hats, they do the production, they do the marketing, finance, inventory, you name it! Also, a lot of indie brands don’t have a clear brand voice or message. Some even don’t have a good branding, so their content feels all over the place instead of building a strong identity.
- How can small or indie brands compete with larger companies that have bigger budgets for ads?
The good news? People connect with people, not corporations. Indie brands can win by leaning into authenticity, storytelling, and community engagement.
I’ve seen brands take off just by showing up as themselves, sharing behind-the-scenes content, founder stories and struggles, sharing customer stories, and just being real on and off cam.
Nowadays, with the previous brands that I have worked with, I can really say that leveraging influencer marketing is a game-changer for indie brands. You can work with nano influencers for x-deal collaborations where you send them free products in exchange for posting.
If they require payment, you can definitely negotiate with them for a price that is a win-win for the both of you. Big brands throw money at ads, but small brands can create genuine relationships that lead to long-term loyalty.
- What are the top three must-haves for a successful organic social media strategy?
Clarity - Before you share content for your brand, make sure that your brand voice, values and inside is crystal clear to you. Confusion kills growth.
Consistency - You don’t need to post every day, but you do need to show up regularly and engage intentionally.
Customer-first approach - Instead of just posting promotional content for your products, do create conversations, educate your audience, ask questions, and make your audience feel part of the brand. People love being included and heard.
Content That Converts
- What types of content perform best for indie brands looking to increase engagement and sales?
I see that Founder stories is one of the top content performers for indie brands. People love to support real people. Show your journey, share why and how you started, and what’s behind your brand. People want to learn from people. People want to be part of a journey. And you as a founder, share that with them.
Another one is real life product demos - No polished ads—show how your product actually fits into everyday life. People crave authenticity, so unpolished content sparks more traction than polished ones.
And lastly, customer reactions & UGC. People want to see new fresh content and your audience trusts other customers more than they trust you. So be sure to share real reviews, testimonials, and videos.
- How can brands create compelling social media content that not only looks beautiful but also drives action?
The first 3 seconds of your content will make or break its performance. Use strong hooks, and related storytelling. Make it so relatable to the point that they can see themselves in the video. Also, every post should have one clear goal—whether it’s getting comments, or shares, or sales. One thing I tell my clients and my team: The content we create doesn’t need to be perfect, it just needs to be relatable and real.
- Can you share a success story where organic content significantly boosted a brand’s visibility or revenue?
Absolutely! And I can definitely share my own brand, Get Waxed Waxing Salon. So we just recently launched our business last December 2024. Back then, we were struggling on how we can get traction or compete in the digital space.
What we did was, we finalized our brand voice in a way that we can directly speak in the language of our audience, and we consistently put out content. We also connected and engaged with our target audience. We partnered with local creators in exchange for free service. We participated in pageants and supported the candidates by offering them a complimentary service.
We also did inbound and outbound engagement tactics to support the overall social media strategy. We also did SMS marketing to keep the relationship with our past clients and for client retention too. And lastly, we’ve also polished our influencer marketing campaign and started reaching out to creators for partnership.
Now, from 0 followers on FB, we are near to a thousand audience. And based on real data, we have reached over 170K people in a month, we got over a thousand website traffic in less than 20 days, most days we are booked out, and our engagements are really doing great.
Mistakes & Myths in Organic Marketing
- What are some of the biggest mistakes indie brands make when trying to grow their audience?
Not being consistent with the brand visuals, voice, personality, and target audience. Again, confusion kills growth. If we can’t be crystal clear about our own brand, how can our potential customers know and remember us?
Posting for the sake of posting. If you speak to everyone, you speak to no one and that is real. Random posts bear random results.
Ignoring engagement. Social media is NOT a one-way street. If you’re not replying, commenting, following through, and starting conversations, then you’re missing out.
- Are there any common myths about social media marketing that you’d like to debunk?
“More followers = more sales” they say. This is definitely not true. As someone who’s been checking accounts and brands every single day, I’ve seen brands with 5K loyal followers make more money than accounts with a million ghost followers.
“You have to go viral to succeed”. Nah. Going viral is nice, but it’s definitely not a strategy. Sustainable growth comes from building a loyal audience, not just chasing views.
“Organic reach is dead” Definitely not. It’s slower and harder compared to running ads, but brands that focus on engagement, storytelling, and building genuine relationships are still thriving without ads. Organic marketing is just part of the umbrella.
It shouldn't be organic marketing VS paid ads, it should be organic marketing AND paid ads. They work hand in hand. They perform almost alike, but their objectives don’t.
Organic is more focused on building relationships with cold audiences and turning them into warm audiences, while paid ads’ role is to convert the warm and hot audiences into buyers.
- How can brands measure success beyond just likes and followers?
Look at saves, shares, website traffic/external link taps, and DMs, those are the real indicators of interest. Also, track what content usually leads to conversions even if it’s not the most “liked” post.
Trends & Future of Organic Marketing
- How do you see organic social media marketing evolving for indie brands over the next few years?
I believe that raw, unfiltered content is still winning over the next few years. People are over with the “perfect” aesthetic. Realness wins.
Also, building exclusive communities. Brands that focus on knit, engaged audiences will thrive. And of course, with the immersion of AI, we must utilize its power and incorporate a human connection. AI tools will help with content creation but the brands that stand out will be the ones that keep it human.
- What new trends or platforms should indie entrepreneurs be paying attention to?
I would really say that short-form videos are really the king of all social media content. It’s not optional anymore. Video IS THE format. Again, create private or exclusive communities. This way you can engage and connect deeply with your audience.
Social media’s SEO is also sparkling. Hashtags aren’t enough anymore so be sure to optimize your captions and profiles with keywords that your audience or people actually search for.
- How important is influencer marketing in today’s organic strategy, and how should brands approach it?
It’s still huge—but the game has changed. Instead of chasing with big influencers, indie brands should focus on nano or micro influencers who have highh engagement and loyal audience. Choose long-term partnerships over one-time paid posts.
Final Advice for Startups & Indie Entrepreneurs
- If an indie brand could only focus on one organic marketing strategy to start with, what would you recommend?
I would say focus on building a strong community. Reply to comments, engage in conversations, feature customers, create customer-centric campaigns, and make people feel like they are part of something bigger. They love that.
- What’s your #1 piece of advice for indie founders who feel overwhelmed by social media?
Start small and be consistent. You don’t need to do it all all at once. Pick one or two platforms first, focus on quality over quantity, and connect and engage intentionally. And it’s okay to make mistakes as they are part of the process of making you the best version of yourself as an entrepreneur. Enjoy the process, enjoy the daily grind. Fall in love with your brand and with what you do.
- Where can our audience connect with you and learn more about your work?
You can connect with me on Instagram, that’s @hellograciela, where I share organic marketing strategies and community-building tips for indie brands. I’m still doing a refresh on my website but I will definitely share it on my social media profiles once it’s done ;)
Organic marketing is an essential tool for indie brands looking to scale without relying on big ad budgets. The insights Graciela shared today can help you build an engaged audience, drive meaningful growth, and create a brand that stands out in a crowded market.
Which of these strategies do you find most useful? Drop a comment below and let’s discuss!
Want to learn more? Check out my other article where I share How Small Beauty Brands Can Compete with Big Names on Social Media here.
The founder of HelloGraciela Digital Studio, specializing in social media and influencer marketing for indie brands, and Co-Founder of Get Waxed Waxing Salon in the Philippines.
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