It’s not a new term, but one which some people may have missed – the Rule of Thirds. What this refers to is dividing your social media content into thirds and using it in different ways, to increase and maintain an engaged audience. These are:
- 1/3 of your social content promotes your business, converts readers and generates profit.
- 1/3 of your social content should surface and share ideas and stories from industry thought leaders or like-minded businesses.
- 1/3 of your social content should build your personal brand and be based on your personal interactions.
While sharing your own branded content to promote your business is easy enough, the other two thirds may be a bit harder. Sharing another business’ content is equally important to your own, showing your audience you’re aware of the competition, you know your industry inside out and you’re willing to collaborate. Sharing another business’ content also shows that you are confident in your own brand and it helps to broaden your exposure to the online community.
To find shareable content from other businesses, you need to identify industry influencers and your competition. You can follow industry hashtags and keywords, which has the added bonus of giving your more material for your own content. Set up streams for easy listening and retweet relevant material to make your Twitter feed look more dynamic. Without this important element of sharing in your social media, your business will look like the person who only wants to speak about himself.
Building your personal brand can be done in two ways – you can use your own channels, like Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram, to share engaging content; and your business’ social media channels to show a more personable side of the business – you could share customer’s stories, like their comments and share a bit about your team in a social setting. You should empower and encourage your team to contribute to blogs, comment on customer feedback. If you receive a particularly good piece of feedback from a customer or supplier, invite them to guest blog.
Finding the right balance can be hard, but it’s worth it. If you’d like assistance in achieving the Rule of Thirds in your social media strategy, contact us. Our social media marketers know all the secrets and can help you build and maintain an online community.