The social media 80/20 rule is one of the most important things you must know to be successful.
Not only will it help you build a strong brand and attract followers, but it will also be easier to sell.
But what is the social media 80/20 rule?
Well, it isn’t Pareto’s principle (even though, if you’re going to apply this one as well, you’ll likely get great results) but it’s absolutely incredible as well.
So, are you ready to see how it looks like? If so, let’s dive in…
Social Media 80/20 Rule
This is actually a content rule that is going to skyrocket the sales that you make as well as the follower growth.
And what’s best, it is going to help you prevent losing followers as a result of the conventional social media marketing wisdom which is to SELL, SELL, and SELL every day.
Here’s what the social media 80/20 rule is about:
“Only 20% of your content shall promote. At least 80% of your content shall be valuable.”
Simple, right? But before you leave and say, ok, this is all I wanted to know about the 80/20 social media rule…
Let me break things down into more detail as this actually conflicts with itself at its absolute core.
You see, the goal you have when you get on social media is really simple…and that is to SELL. But the goal of the social media platform is different.
The platform wants you to only sell using ads. Otherwise, they want you to share valuable content so that the people on the platform stay there longer and they can show more ads to them.
If you will, it is going to favor you, along with the people who follow you, with more exposure.
But it’s not just about sharing promotional stuff and valuable stuff. It is about creating the promo and valuable content in a way that is actually going to work.
Currently, video is the content format that is absolutely moving with social media, however, based on the platform, there are many more content formats you can use.
But the core is always the same.
So, first, let’s look at how to create valuable social media content in the social media 80/20 rule.
How To Create Valuable Content That Performs
EVERY post regardless of its type has to do 3 things to REALLY be valuable…
And that is to include a value point, have an awesome presentation, and be relevant.
You commonly hear that there are 3 main value pillars on social media:
- Education
- Inspiration
- Entertainment
There are actually more of them, but there are the 3 main ones.
This is the value point of your post and what 80% of the content in the social media 80/20 rule is going to be based on.
For example, if you are a lawyer, you should educate your audience about some changes, how to handle some situations, and more.
If you are a copywriter, you should give your audience some awesome copywriting tips.
And no, it won’t cause people not to buy because you’ll “give all of your secrets away”. Quite opposite as it will cause them to buy MORE because you are going to build an incredible authority.
When you educate, they will feel like “This guy knows what he is talking about.” (or gal of course), and you’ll be a thousand times more credible plus you’re going to get a thousand times more attention than you would if you’d just share things like “BUY MY STUFF PLEASE!!!”
That hardly sells anything.
Then there is an inspiration.
These are usually some form of quotes or motivational videos. The simplest way to prove to you it works is by going to any social media platform you want and typing into the search “motivation”.
I bet you will find at least one motivation-based page with a HUGE following posting nothing but posts based on this form of value.
And last of course, there is entertainment. All the memes, jokes, and other things belong here. If you ever watched a movie in your life, you know that every human being finds entertainment valuable.
There’s a reason why kings had jesters to entertain them in the middle ages. Or there is a reason why people listen to operas or go to theaters…
…or why kids play video games.
Even though video games don’t make them grow better, they somehow find them valuable because it entertains them.
And in the end, the ‘value’ shared on social media is nothing but the perception of the person who receives the message. Period.
The “value posts” that you share always have to contain at least one of these things for it to actually be valuable.
But value is not anything if people don’t receive it. And that is why it has to be presented in a great way.
Depending on the social media platform that you are on, that means design, video, environment, structure of the text, etc.
Your goal is to:
- Make the message easy to consume
- Make the message understandable
- Make the message DESIRABLE to consume (you must grab their attention)
This will require some copywriting techniques as well as other skills. But presenting the value the right way is necessary. Posts that are wall of text, and posts that are easy to understand always perform differently.
And the last thing you need to make the post actually valuable to your audience is relevancy. If you aren’t relevant you aren’t valuable and your content will fail.
You can’t sell a steak to a vegan (unless the vegan wants to slap you in the face with it.)
When your content is going to do all of these things, the 80% of the content in the social media 80/20 rule is going to flood you with new followers and build you a strong brand online.
It’s unbelievable how well it works. But remember that you have to stay consistent.
But there is also the other 20% of the content in the social media 80/20 rule which you have to share as well.
How To Create Promotional Content That Sells
Now, this is another part of the social media 80/20 content rule and it is absolutely necessary for your business, as well, because the main reason why you started doing social media marketing in the first place, is getting new customers.
And to do that you consistently need to present your followers with your offer in a way that is going to make them take action.
Remember that the rule to social media money looks like this:
Goodwill (valuable content) + Offer (Promotional Posts) x Frequency = Money
So, how are you going to create promotional content that actually sells your stuff? There are many copywriting and marketing formulas developed over the decades for you to use and they all work well.
The most famous one is AIDA. It basically means Attention, Interest, Desire, Action.
Whenever you are going to create a promotional post, you first need to hook your dream customers in. This is usually done through the first 3 seconds of the video, the first sentence of the caption/tweet, or the image that is shown.
Make sure you arouse their curiosity and actually make them go through the promotional post.
Then you want to create interest. This is done by appealing to their desires or diving into their pains. You want to dive into emotions.
Next, there is the desire part. Here you are going to present an irresistible offer and make them want it more than the air they breathe.
And last you are going to ask for action. This can be done by using a simple call to action like “Click the link in my bio to_______”.
Of course, the message needs to be simple, easy to understand, and edited as well as possible. Don’t just go with the first draft of the promotional post you create. EDIT.
And that is basically how the social media 80/20 rule works! And if you want to take your social media marketing game to the next level…
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Filip Konecny 