Why the 80/20 rule matters

Why the 80/20 rule matters

Why the 80/20 rule matters

You may have heard the concept of the 80/20 rule or the Pareto principle. It states that for many events, 80% of the effects come from the 20% of causes. But what is 80/20 rule when it comes to social media and why is it important?

In social media, the 80/20 rule states that 80% leads are generated by 20% marketing effort. This rule is applicable generally in marketing. Engaging your audience on social media is a very tough job; there is no definite formula on this. The basic concept of the 80/20 rule is that; 80% you should post valuable, entertaining content while the other 20% is to promoting your products or services through posts with a strong call to action.

80% – Interact. Inspire. Educate. Entertain. Connect.

This should be on the 80% of your time. Make all your posts about your audience and building that relationship. People rely on social media primarily to be entertained, if you’re not doing that then you’re not having a conversation with your target audience. Audiences always like interesting and educative content, they react to these type of posts and also have time to share this with their followers. So 80% of your social posts should be appealing and interesting, funny and informative.

Your posts should be of course shareable and have quality content. These posts can include articles, videos, photos, questions, interesting facts, news and many more.. This content should provoke your audience interest and engagement and your audience should feel the connection to your brand.

And remember – you don’t have to create all of this content yourself, you can curate it by sourcing content from others and sharing it with your social media community.

But we know that engaging your audience is also a difficult task so let me give you tips on how you can get the 80% educational content.

  • check what kind of posts people are reacting to
  • check what your competitors are sharing on their social media accounts
  • highlight those which is “must read” and don’t just simply share content
  • prioritise visual content, like images and especially video

Just remember that 80% of your posts should be in engaging your audience and not merely talking about your business.

20% – Promote

In the remaining 20%, the content should be about your brand or business. Every bit of information regarding your products, services, offers and all other information should be listed. When you promote your products or services, just make sure that your audience can benefit also from it. You can do this by promoting discount or special offers and you can also remind them about what an excellent experience they have by purchasing from you.

Tips to creating promotional content (20%)

  • develop a persuasive call to action
  • link back to your website
  • include information that benefits your customers: special offers discounts, promos, etc

Having a persuasive call to action is very important because this leads to the growth of your target audience, and is more likely to generate traffic to your website. This is because it will inspire your audience to know more about your product or brand and they will tend to dig deeper.

There is really no universal formula to successfully building a social media presence for your brand and keeping your audience engaged to it. However, in most instances, it is ok to use the 80/20 rule as a guide to ensure that your followers would be interested and will keep coming back for more.

 

If you want help getting more out of your social media marketing, please download our free step by step guide today!

 

How social media can help your business

How social media can help your business

How social media can help your business

As it can be one of the most cost-effective ways to make your business and brand known, it is not surprising that SMEs in Australia are leveraging social media channels to build their businesses. 

Everyday, the number of Australians using Facebook, Youtube, WordPress and Instagram increases significantly, creating more and more opportunities for SMEs to use the social media landscape to get in front of potential customers. Here are five advantages that social media, if done well, can offer you and your business:

Increase your business brand recognition

Where else could you open up your business to millions of people online? By creating social media profiles for your brand, you are opening up your doors for people to interact with your business through your content. With each post, you can slowly build your business’ reputation and invite a network of individuals and potential customers. Tested and proven–the more people who know about your brand, the better. And the more they get to know you, the more they will trust you and eventually buy from you.

Invite more inbound traffic

Just because you build a website, or even blog from time to time, doesn’t mean you’ll automatically generate traffic. And this is where social media can help.

Each time you create and post a blog on your website, you need to think of ways to promote your new content. By taking the link and posting it across your social media channels, you will increase the visibility of your content. Even better, if you put a small paid spend behind it (like using a boost on Facebook, or sponsored content on LinkedIn), you can attract a new audience to your content, and ultimately your business.

Be in front of your customers more often

More and more customers are taking to social media before ringing you. Being on top of your social media can help turn a complaint into a happy customer!

You can also use social media to get real time market intel. If you are making a decision on a new colour for an existing product, why not ask your community?

Add value to your customers long after the purchase

Once a customer has made a purchase, consider how you can keep them loyal through nurturing a relationship with the through social media. What content can you create that helps keep you front of mind in between purchases for your existing customers.

Make sure you also ask your customers for a review, so you can leverage their social media networks and extend your organic reach. We also know that while you can say how good you are, it is more meaningful coming from you happy customers.

Cost-Effective

Using social media platforms can reduce your overall marketing costs. Think about how much it costs to build a new website, or even spend money on an expensive email marketing platform. Setting up social media channels for your business is free.

But keep in mind, while use of social media platforms are generally free, there are still costs, like your own time, that need to be factored into your budget.

What value has social media marketing added to your business?

If you want help getting more out of your social media marketing, please download our free step by step guide today!
Branding consistency for social media

Branding consistency for social media

Branding consistency for social media

Consumers always purchase products from the brand that they know and trust. This means that as a business owner, you need to interact well with your customers and by doing this; your customers will identify you, primarily through consistent branding. When consumers know the identity of your brand, then they will build a relationship with you, they will trust you and then purchase from you. It’s what we know as the ‘know, like and trust’ factor.

Whether you’re a retail store, cafe, online shop, boutique or even non profit organisation, your brand needs to gain proper exposure and social media can help you in reaching your target market by spreading the message to your target audience.

Social media is a cost effective way of advertising a company’s products or services but you should consider the importance of consistency in branding. You don’t want your customers to be confused that’s why it is important to have consistency.

But why is consistent branding important?

  1. Brand consistency takes your product to the next level of marketing by bringing a level of professionalism to your business. Look at a name and slogan for your business so that your customers can easily identify you. When your customers see your logo, it should evoke emotion, and create the urge to purchase from you without even asking for them to do so. You should have a consistent display name on all your social media accounts, like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. This is important because having different brand names will have the notion of confusion to your customers and this can result to your customers questioning your brand’s official name.
  2. Brand consistency is about building trust. A customer buys and trusts the brand that they know and recognise. When consumers are trying to find a certain product, it is not just about the name but there is also an emotional decision that takes part so as business owners, you should engage your consumers on a personal level. With consistency in branding, it will engage to your customer’s emotions and through this, your brand will be trusted.
  3. When you have consistency in your brand it will not create any confusion to your fans. One of the reasons why you have a fan page is to promote your business and what you offer. The goal of social media is to reach your audience and other potential consumers so if you will be inconsistent then, this will lead to your customers to not follow you because they might find it confusing.  

Developing a consistent brand may be challenging but once you know the importance in your business then you won’t find it hard and you will see that your efforts will have a positive outcome in your business.

 

If you want help getting more out of your social media marketing, please download our free step by step guide today!