Knowing what content to post on your business’ social media accounts can be difficult and, depending on the industry and audience you are trying to reach out to, there is not a strict one-size-fits-all strategy. In saying that, you can adopt guidelines that you can change and tweak to suit the brand’s voice and, most importantly, your audience.
Don’t Be Overly Promotional
If there is one fatal error that thousands of businesses make on social media, it is almost exclusively posting promotional content. This includes content concerning new products and/or services, a sale or news about the company.
The harsh reality is that the majority of people on social media simply do not care about what your company is doing. Think of it this way, if you were to meet someone on the bus and the only thing they wanted to talk about was themselves, are you more likely to; A) listen to every word they have to say or B) get off at the next stop just to get away from them? Chances are, you would choose option B.
The same principle applies to social media. People do not want their social feeds taken up by businesses purely looking to sell. They want to follow accounts that they can connect with, that discuss issues that are important to them and not the other way around. Remember, the average size of a smartphone screen is 5.6 inches and your goal is to convince your audience why you deserve a place in their busy timeline.
The ‘Perfect’ Ratio of Content
As we highlighted at the beginning, there is no one-size-fits-all strategy that suits everyone, but there are guidelines that you can use. One of these is what is known as the 4-1-1 rule which, to the untrained eye, might appear to be a pretty rubbish football formation.
The 4-1-1 rule can be broken down as such:
- Four parts relevant content designed to entertain and/or inform your follower base, which should be regarded as potential customers, and does not exist to directly promote your business
- One part re-shared content that you did not create – this could be an article from another account or a post from a satisfied customer
- One part promotional to advertise your business, such as an introduction to a new product and/or service, news of a sale or anything else that will point potential customers to your business offering
There is nothing to say that you must stick rigidly to this rule, but it serves as a good starting block. Less than 20% of your social posts should exist for the sole purpose of advertising your business because if your followers only wanted to know about the products and/or services you offer, they would have already found your website.
Engage Your Followers
Social media is all about engagement and failing to do so completely misses the point of this valuable digital channel and risks you losing potential customers. This is why the largest brands in the world employ teams of social media assistants to oversee their accounts and the messages they receive, offering immediate customer service on the digital platform.
Even if you receive a response to a post that is not directly about your business or your products and/or services, being seen to respond and engage with your audience is still positive. This will encourage those followers to engage more with your business and, when the time comes that they require a solution you offer, your brand will be right at the forefront of their mind.
