Information in this blog post was obtained from Hootsuite, HubSpot, Sabrina Pack, and Neil Wilkins.
While the debate surrounding the importance of social media marketing might be over, or at the very least approaching its death knell – debate surrounding its proper implementation continues to rage on.
As a social media marketer, you need to consider:
The target audience – for whom should I create posts?
The goals – why am I creating a post?
The location (platforms) – where should I post?
The frequency – how often should I post?
The timing – when exactly should I post?
The content – what should I post?
While there are many aspects surrounding “the content” to consider (voice, tone, length, media type, etc.) we are going to delve into the depths of the types of content – a.k.a. the content mix.
Content Balance
Content mix is the combination of different types of content that you share on social media, which hopefully strikes the right balance for your target audience – thus, the proper “content balance.” You’ll want to include multiple content types to reach your customers and keep them engaged. If content is king, consider content mix to be the entire royal family – they all have a role to play.
While that might seem reasonable enough, you might be wondering how exactly to determine the right mix of content for your brand. Unfortunately, that answer is one of the most endlessly frustrating: it depends!
The Rules for Content Mix
Indeed, the exact mix of content will greatly depend on your specific social media marketing goals, but there are several rules of thumb to help you get started.
80-20 Rule
According to Hootsuite, “80% of your posts should inform, educate, or entertain” with value-driven content, while only 20% of content should directly promote your brand via promotional content.
In simple math terms, if you’re posting 10 times in a week, only two posts should be directly marketing your brand; the other eight posts should be related, but not direct. Engage your audience with relevant content, don’t saturate their feeds with blatant advertisements.
Another popular content mix strategy is the rule of thirds.
Rule of Thirds
According to HubSpot, the rule of thirds suggests that one third of your content should be promotional, one third should be value-added content, and the final third of your posts should be personal or interaction-driven.
Neil Wilkins breaks down the rule of thirds into three P’s:
Point: “Signposting [guiding] to interesting third-party blogs, articles, videos and content that the target audience will find engaging or useful.”
Promote: Directly promoting your products or services.
Personal: “Getting to know the business, person or band.”
As mentioned, the exact mix of content is hotly debated and you might see other “rules” or guidelines such as 4-1-1, which states for every six posts, four should be value-added, one should be a “soft promotion” or “soft sell,” and one can be a “hard promotion” or “hard sell.”
Even the 80-20 rule isn’t safe, with some suggesting a 70-20-10 rule instead: where 70% of the content should be value-added, 20% should be related or curated content, and only 10% should be promotional.
So, what is the right mix for you or your brand? Remember, it depends! You should use these rules to help guide your strategy, but the exact mix will depend on your goals, your audience, and ultimately what they continue to engage with.
Types of Content
Although we’ve discussed the content balance, we’ve neglected to discuss the types of content that create that mix. We’ve briefly touched on a few already – value-added, personal, and promotional. These types of content are often referred to as content pillars.
Hootsuite recommends four pillars: educate, entertain, inspire, and promote.
Education – “Educational content should spark curiosity and help readers gain knowledge. Examples of this format include tips, FAQs, Top 10 lists, and ‘Did you know?’ questions. This content can be about your brand or just relevant to your brand and your audience.”
Entertain – “Entertaining content should be intriguing to your audience, as well as quick and punchy. Examples of entertaining content include unusual stories, behind-the-scenes perspectives, and before-and-after posts.”
Inspire – “Inspiring content should be especially positive or memorable. It should have an emotional impact and drive a user’s desire to take action or alter their perspective. Examples include people-focused stories, and stories about social responsibility or community involvement.”
Promote – “Promotional content is about encouraging your audience to take the next step. Be sure to tell people what you want them to do with a call to action. Examples include shop now, enter our contest, see the link in our bio, and leave a comment.”
While specific content pillars can certainly vary, they are the topical themes that help guide your content strategy and make up your content mix.
Finding the right balance of content is one of the fundamental strategies of your social media marketing plan. Create content pillars that make sense for your brand and create a mix of related content to keep your users engaged.
Resources
Hootsuite. (2023). Create engaging and effective social media content. Hootsuite Help Center. Retrieved September 18, 2023, from https://help.hootsuite.com/hc/en-us/articles/4403597090459-Create-engaging-and-effective-social-media-content
Newberry, Christina; Wood, Amanda. (2022, October 18). How to Create a Social Media Marketing Plan. Hootsuite Blog. Retrieved September 18, 2023, from https://blog.hootsuite.com/how-to-create-a-social-media-marketing-plan/
Pack, Sabrina. (2017, June 9). Social Media Strategies: What the 4-1-1 Rule and 70-20-10 Look Like. LinkedIn. Retrieved September 18, 2023, from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/social-media-strategies-what-4-1-1-rule-70-20-10-look-pack-pcm/
Shattuck, Steven. (2014, January 23). Nonprofit Marketing: The Three A's of Social Media. HubSpot Blog. Retrieved September 18, 2023, from https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/nonprofit-three-as-social-media-ht
Wilkins, Neil. (2015, April 5). Rule of Thirds Content Strategy. LinkedIn. Retrieved September 18, 2023, from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/rule-thirds-content-strategy-neil-wilkins/
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