The social media 80/20 rule has shown that the rate at which the audience engages with your content can be made better by using adding some dynamism in your social media content which will also increase the social media following for your business.
In keeping with this line of thought what precisely is this 80/20 rule, and in what manner can you implement it into your social media strategy?
Let's look at how your social media marketing strategy can be improved on with this rule
What is the deal with the social media marketing 80/20 rule?
The social media 80/20 rule indicates that 80% of social media posts ought to be helpful to your audience — meaning, it educates, entertains, or offers answers to their challenges — and primarily 20% should expressly promote your business.
Why is it profitable to follow the social media 80/20 rule?
We all know that people go to social media in search of value in the form of entertainment, connection, self-improvement data. The fact of the matter is, finding “funny and entertaining” content has and will continue to be the preferred reason for going to social media, followed by the need “to while away spare time,” in line with a report by world net Index.
Providing valuable content that resonates with your social media audience converts and keeps them as followers of your business. In addition, by providing useful content to your audience, you’re in a position to provide them value instead of simply coercing them to shop for things.
This enables you to keep loyal followers and build a solid relationship so they’ll still be loyal to your brand as their shopper desires evolve.
Of course, providing content that adds desired value to the lives of your audience is important. However, the main objective of any business is making profits. The use of the 80/20 rule makes this easier as well. The audience will be more likely to act on your call to action if just 20% of your posted content is promoting your business.
If you consistently post only promotional content, the audience will switch off and possibly stop following.
Valuable social media posts should be 80% of the total content on your business's social media pages. These posts are often a mixture of original and curated content. The objective is to create original content or post curated content of third-party businesses that are relevant to your industry, locality, and audience’s interests while refraining from only promoting your brand.
Of course, you'll still maintain focus on your product/service media or links, however, you should also post content that worthwhile to the life and time of the audience via education, entertainment, and valuable information, placing your brand in the background of your content plan.
Examples of helpful social media posts include:
How-to blog posts/articles/media
DIY projects, food recipes
Life hacks and tips
Advice or insights from business-skilled individual
Aspirational photos
Desirable lifestyles
Before and after transformations
Pictures that Inspire
Recent articles, relevant Industry news, and Hyperlocal news
Inspirational stories with a message of positivity
Promotional posts have a call-to-action embedded in them such as "learn more" or "buy now" should be just 20% of the total content on your business page.
Examples of promotional social media posts include:
Discounts
Coupon Sales
Early bird offers
Product/Service Highlights
Sample offers
Competitor comparisons
Third-party mentions
Positive media coverage
Positive client reviews or testimonials
How to organize social media content in line with the 80/20 rule
Using a social media planning tool or through-channel promoting automation platform can assist you to arrange content in line with the 80/20 rule. All you have to do is simply scrutinize the calendar to examine what quantity of your regular content is double-geared to be helpful to your audience and what amount much is promotional or designate certain days of the week for various styles of content.
For example, if you post thirty times per month, twenty-four posts should be on useful content and six posts can be about promoting your business. To ease the search for useful and relevant content to your audience, you should connect such RSS feeds to your social media planning tool. You can curate content on products or services that are relevant to those of your business.
A New Approach To The Social Media 80/20 Rule?
Social media is constantly changing, which means that with new information, changes in algorithms, and changes in engagement, the strategy for publishing it will also change. A few years ago, the gold standard was that marketers should include 80% of useful content in their posts.
There are only about 20% of self-promotional materials in the industry, but that period of time has passed. The 80/20 social media rule is an outdated method and is no longer the best choice for everyone.
In the past, most people wanted to learn about industry-related content advertised through a brand's profile, but in most cases, the exposure of these posts was less than before. This is self-promotional material. People interested in your brand want to know more about you. After all, this is why they follow you.
This change is gradual, but it is undeniable. A simple analysis can give you an idea of how much social media feeds have changed in the past few years. Every industry is unique. In the hotel industry, we found that most hotels use 80% of their social media feeds for self-promotion, while only using 20% for other industry-specific topics.
A large number of accounts also show good results when using the 50/50 style, but when using the old 80/20 style, a smaller percentage is better. Every industry has a trend. You should determine the best option for you based on your specific account activity.
Listen to your audience and give them their favorite things to make their participation meaningful. As you walk, you can actually communicate with your audience by providing them with the content they want.
Most marketers agree that all regular content can be classified as promotional material. A brand or anything directly related to your brand is a direct promotion.
Brand promotion is an important part of social media and other areas. All content posted on your channel will mention your brand and enhance your value, support and status. This means that all content on your platform will be treated as an advertisement, even if it is not.
Directly promote your brand or the brand you work for. When you are trying to figure out the strategies that apply to your account, keep this useful information in your back pocket. This is because whatever you choose will become part of your brand.
Therefore, the choice must be made strategically. Please note that one of the best ways to improve a channel to match the most effective content is to test, adjust and analyze the results.
Everything is fine. Rather, they are guidelines for making the most of every message. Before publishing, you don’t know which posts are the most effective, but you can make educated guesses about their effectiveness based on previous trends. As with viral material, you may be surprised that some random content proves to be the most effective.
If you encounter one, even if it is inconsistent with the previous trend, promote it.
Summary
The social media 80/20 rule is effective in helping you succeed in the social media marketing of your business. Knowing what social media marketing entails, the social media 80/20 rule is a welcome plan for any business.
Although there are those who believe that there is no perfect ratio for a social media plan but instead use the best fit for your business considering that social media is constantly changing.
Either way, you will just have to give it a try to see which approach is best for your business.
That's all folks.
Don't forget to like, comment, and share this post.
Subscribe to our newsletter by filling the form at the bottom of this page.
