The 80/20 Rule Of Social Media Marketing

If you aren't familiar with the 80/20 rule in the business world, it basically means that 80% of your revenue comes from 20% of your clients. Therefore you should focus your efforts on gaining more clients like your top 20%.

In short, spend more time on the things that matter, and less time on the things that don't. It's a rule that you can apply to your career, relationships, diet, and even social media.

The 80%

80% of your social media posts should contain non-self promoted, entertainment value content. People don't use social media to be sold to. They use it to "socialize". Pretend you're enjoying happy hour with some friends after work. Do you think they want to hear you babble on about how great you are at your job? Of course not!

They instead want to hear about things they can relate to. Stories about your personal life. Ways your experience might help them in their lives. Things that make them laugh. Things that make them cry. They want to know you on a personal level. That's what we do when we "socialize".

There's only one rule you should follow in regards to posting entertaining / non-self promoted content: It should be industry related. Here's some ideas:

Entertaining Content
People love to be entertained. Let's say you are a dentist. You might post photos of funny animals smiling, or the worlds largest tooth!

Emotional Content
Everyone is drawn to things that tug on their heart strings. If you are a restaurant, you might support a cause and post content about world hunger or famine.

Expert Tips & Advice
Show how you can help people in their every day lives. If you are an auto-body shop you could post ways to save on gas, seasonal car maintenance tips, or do-it-yourself auto repairs.

Product Reviews
Be the go-to person in your industry on related products or services. If you are a landscaper, you can review fertilizers or insecticides.

Personal Content
Keep it personal, yet professional. For example you might post some photos from a company party, or somebody's dog they brought to the office.

The 20%

The remaining 20% of your social media posts can be self-promoted. Your chance to tout your products or services, and how great you are at them. Even though 1 out of 5 posts can be brand specific, that doesn't mean that you should turn into a car dealer (no offense car dealers).

Be sure to offer incentives for your followers to convert. You might give away something once a week by having a contest, or offer a coupon if they provide you with their email address.


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Chander Joshi

Vice President at studentnest.com

9y

Excellent article. Very informative. Thank you.

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Chris McCrone ☆

Co-Founder at Dealer 101 & Internet Marketing Co.

9y

Well written, thank you!

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Prashant Kumar

Customer Insights @ Vistara | MBA, Data Analytics, Growth

9y

Very well laid out article. Simple and effective.

Christyn Buchholz, PMP

Marketing Project Manager at Cirrus Aircraft

9y

Thanks for these thoughts! I find myself wanting to make it 80% promotion and 20% non-promotion. Honestly, that way is easier but not necessarily better.

Amanda Kruthaupt

Senior Accountant at RBSK Partners PC

9y

Great article!

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