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Organic Social is the Most Underrated Retention Play—Here’s the Math to Prove It

Author: John Timmerman

CEO @ Good Monster

Conversion & retention problem-solvers.

How a Small Brand Outplayed a $100M Giant


A few years ago, I consulted for a brand spending $1.5M a month on paid ads.

Their CFO was thrilled with the revenue numbers.
Their marketing team was stressed about rising CAC.
Their retention rate? Embarrassingly low.

Meanwhile, a tiny competitor—operating on a shoestring budget—was winning.

They weren’t running massive retargeting campaigns.
They weren’t burning through email lists with constant discount blasts.

Instead, they were obsessed with organic social.

They built a community.
They showed up every day.
They made people feel like they were part of something bigger than a transaction.


Fast forward a year:

  • The big brand kept bleeding money to maintain sales.
  • The small brand built a retention machine that outperformed paid media.

💡 The takeaway? Retention isn’t about how much you spend. It’s about how much people care.

And organic social builds trust better than email ever could.

Let’s break it down. 👇


Email vs. Organic Social: The Math of Retention

Everyone says: "Email is king for retention. You OWN your audience."

I disagree.


Email is one-time communication. Organic social is daily relationship-building.

Here’s how the numbers stack up.


Scenario: A brand with 100,000 past customers & subscribers

🚀 Email & SMS Approach:

  • 30% open rate = 30,000 people see it
  • 2% click rate = 600 people click
  • 5% conversion = 30 orders per email

Even if you send 8 emails per month, that’s 240 total orders.


🔥 Organic Social Approach:

  • 50K+ reach per post (past, current & future customers)
  • 2% engagement = 1,000 interactions
  • 5% conversion = 50 orders per post

Posting 5x per week? 1,000 orders per month.
That’s 4X what email does.

The best part? Your content is ALSO engaging future customers—not just past ones.


3 Brands Winning with Organic Social Retention

Instead of just blasting emails, these brands turned organic into their biggest growth lever.


1️⃣ Mid-Day Squares – The $10M Chocolate Empire 🍫

They don’t just sell protein bars. They built a reality show.

  • Started with zero ad spend—just raw, unfiltered behind-the-scenes content.
  • Shared co-founder fights, supply chain disasters, big wins—like a reality show for their brand.
  • Went viral when a cease & desist letter from Hershey’s turned into their most viewed post ever.


Now? $10M+ in annual revenue, 80% retention rate.
And their TikTok is basically a community of superfans.


2️⃣ DEUX – The Cookie Dough Brand That Prints Money on Instagram 🍪

Instead of blasting discounts via email, DEUX turned Instagram into a 24/7 loyalty machine.

  • They crowdsource new flavors directly from their followers.
  • They treat every post like a conversation, not a sales pitch—making fans feel involved.
  • They’ve mastered drops & scarcity marketing, turning each launch into a viral moment.


Their reward?


A superfan community that buys instantly when a new flavor drops. No need for an expensive email strategy—they just drop a post, and it sells out.


3️⃣ Chamberlain Coffee – The $20M Creator-Led Brand ☕

Emma Chamberlain could’ve just dropped a basic coffee brand.
Instead, she turned content into commerce.

  • No paid ads. Just Emma’s YouTube, TikTok & IG pushing organic engagement.
  • Every coffee drop is a “cultural moment”—with UGC + viral social challenges.
  • Built a loyalty loop: Limited edition flavors, influencer collabs, exclusive merch drops.

Now? $20M+ in annual revenue—and customers who feel like they’re part of the brand.


The Real Advantage: Trust & Visibility

Here’s what organic social does that email never can:

✅ It builds trust. Customers see your brand daily, not just when you email them.

✅ It engages cold, warm, and hot audiences. Email is only past customers—social lets you engage everyone.

✅ It scales without ad spend. The more valuable your content, the more free reach you get.


The Playbook: How to Turn Social Into a Retention Machine

1️⃣ Show Up Daily – If you’re not posting, you’re forgettable.
2️⃣ Create More Than You Sell – 80% of content should entertain, inspire, or educate.
3️⃣ Build Community – Make your audience feel involved, not just targeted.
4️⃣ Make It a Habit – The best brands make customers feel like they’re missing out if they’re not engaged.


Final Thought: It’s Not Email vs. Social—It’s Both

Email isn’t dead. But if you’re only relying on it for retention, you’re playing the game on easy mode.

The brands that win in 2025?


They’ll be obsessed with organic.

What’s your best retention strategy? Drop it below. 👇


author

About the author:

John Timmerman

CEO at Good Monster

With over 12 years of experience in marketing strategy, leadership, brand building, digital marketing, and performance marketing, I have the skills and knowledge to create and execute effective campaigns that drive traffic, conversions, and revenue.
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