Social media strategy is complicated. You have to find the right combination of posting, consistency and engagement. Whether you have 10 minutes or 10 hours a day, these tips will help make the best use of your time:

1. Know the Audience

To drive engagement on social media, you really need to understand your target audience. Many organizations are aware of who their buyers are, but have you taken the time to create buyer personas and content that aligns with the needs of your prospects? Get an instant leg up on your competition by aligning and connecting with your targets on social, before you initiate any other marketing campaigns. Let them get to know you a bit through social to warm them up versus sending cold emails that they will most certainly delete.   

2. Align Content with Interests

You have probably seen social media accounts that churn out post after post but never offer a link you want to click. Those are the ones adding noise not value. Once you’ve personified your buyer, the next critical step is to socialize content that adds value to that audience. 

For example, if buyers are in the healthcare sector, post the latest news around HIIPA regulations. If they’re digital-first retailers, post articles about protecting sensitive customer data. The goal is to show prospects that your organization is a relevant, authoritative resource for their specific tech concerns. A fun little hint, tell people what they might be doing wrong…you’ll get a ton of clicks! 

3. Choosing the Right Content Mix

If you really want to come across as a trusted thought leader, you need to mix up your content. Sharing content from other sites or people is a great way to showcase that you want to help your audience and provide value. Of course you need to promote your brand as well in order to drive traffic back to your pages. Just remember not to be overly self-promotional. We find the optimal ratio of thought leadership to self-linking content is about 70/30. That said, every scenario is unique so experiment with tweaking the ratio to find the optimal balance for your business. Starting with a 70/30 split will help you build a good foundation to course-correct your content mix and ensure your content answers the question “What’s in it for my audience?” versus posts that are all about you and your company.   

4. Engage the Audience

People respond better when addressed more directly. Declarative statements, on the other hand, are easier to brush off. We track and analyze social post metrics across our technology clients and our findings reveal that posts containing command verbs and the words “you” and “your” perform better. Give it a try! 

Examples:

Larry Walsh: If you want to get more out of your partners, you have to apply the right incentives. Just ask Heather Margolis of 360insights.  

Claudio Ayub: While ecosystems are transforming the way businesses operate, it’s important to understand how they differ from traditional markets, and how you should respond. #ecosystemmanagement 

5. X (Formerly Twitter) vs. LinkedIn Content 

We’ve also found that the best-performing content on X (formerly Twitter) typically doesn’t do as well on LinkedIn, and vice versa. For example, audiences on LinkedIn best respond to personal yet professional content whereas X audiences best respond to news and industry-specific advice. 

Looking for more social media amplification advice? Visit our blog, or reach out, we love to chat about social media!