Social Media 80/20 rule
One of the most important things you want to do when marketing your brand and products is to engage with your audience. Social media is among the many channels you can use to ensure effective customer engagement. According to Statista, social network penetration is continuously growing and as of Jan 2020, social media usage stood at 49% worldwide. Businesses of all types need to take advantage of these evolving scenarios in consumer behavior.
The social media 80/20 rule is among the widely applied marketing approach by businesses and marketers alike. The use of the 80/20 rule may be changing as consumer behavior changes.
The Ex-Golden Rule
The social media 80/20 rule known as the golden rule. The rule states that 80% of your social media content should be educational, informative, and only 20% should implement to promote your business or brand. As we know, with time all things change! So did this rule.
The new Social Media 80/20 Rule is 20/80!
Social media is ever-evolving, new trends, user behavior, and ever-changing algorithms. So, now what’s the new Social Media marketing rule. Well, there isn’t one!
The way consumers and users consume information are very different now, then it was a few years ago. Now, consumers want to see more self-promoted material and less about industry news. The percentage will differ from industry to industry but overall the new social media rule is 80% self-promotion and 20% industry-related content.
There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to applying the 80/20 rule in social media marketing. You just have to see what works for you and what doesn’t. It is recommended that you view your old post and analyze the highly engaged post and compare the post verse low engagement posts.
Apply 80/20 in content creation
Does it really matter what a business-post on their social media feeds? Absolutely, the post should be relevant and thoughtful no matter what the post is about. Social media 80/20 rule can be applied to content as well. Spend 80% of the time creating the content, which includes might include research, content creation, and creatives, and spend 20% of the time promoting the content. A well thoughtful content is always appreciated by the consumers.
Social media isn’t created to basically promote your brand and product, it’s also a platform that helps you add value to your brand. Social networks come in handy when you want to add value to your brand. You don’t do hard-selling here, you show them how to utilize your product or services. How your business different from the competitors.
Marketing experts always refine their materials based on consumer behavior and align their content with user behavior trends to maximize engagement.
Wrap-Up!
The rules of Social Media Marketing are based on consumer behavior and current trends. The Social Media 80/20 rule is merely a guide and might not fit your marketing strategy. What’s working today, might not work tomorrow. So it’s important to understand social media is a long term marketing strategy, as a business owner you should also do take time to create content, do A/B testing, and stay consistent with posting on social media platforms.