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

In order to drive engagement on social media, it’s important to fully understand your target audience. Many organizations are aware of who their buyers are but have they taken the time to create buyer personas and content that aligns with the needs of those prospects? Get a leg up on your marketing journey by defining and aligning with your target market before you begin any marketing initiatives.

2. Align Content with Interests:

You’ve probably seen social media accounts that churn out post after post, but never seem to offer a link you actually 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 customers’ sensitive 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:

But wait, it’s great to socialize other site’s content but shouldn’t you broadcast your brand messaging and try to drive traffic back your website? The answer is yes, but with an important caveat; don’t 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 builds a good foundation for rapidly course correcting the content mix and ensuring you’re not focused too much on self-promotion.

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. Our findings reveal that posts containing command verbs and the words “you” and “your” perform better. Give it a try!

Examples:

 To thrive in the #channel, understand the #tech that drives it. 6 emerging trends from @TheVarGuy: http://buff.ly/2uGhzvL

#CloudSecurity is a top concern for #IT enterprises. Build a practical foundation w/ @ReadITQuik http://buff.ly/2tEaFYT

Easily navigate #DigitalTransformation by turning vision into action. Tips from @TechTarget: http://buff.ly/2unVUsa

5. Twitter vs. LinkedIn Content

We’ve also found that the best performing content on Twitter typically doesn’t do as well on LinkedIn, and vice versa. For example, audiences have a higher tolerance for self-promotional content on Twitter than they do on LinkedIn where the audience responds best to posts offering professional and/or industry-specific advice.

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