The 30-30-30 Rule: A Balanced Approach to Social Media for Startups

[Trevor]

Welcome to our digital world! As businesses and customers spend more time online, it's crucial to engage with your community on the web. For your business to thrive, a social media presence is essential. Content remains king, but finding the right mix of content to grow your brand is key.

Gone are the days when newspaper ads or flyers were the primary marketing tools. While these traditional methods may still work for some industries, most businesses in the 21st century rely on digital strategies.

Navigating what to post, when, and why can be tricky. Here, we'll discuss the 30-30-30 content creation method, which involves:

• 30% of your content about your brand
• 30% featuring others
• 30% posting fun & engaging content
• The remaining 10% is spontaneous responses and real-time messaging

Let's delve into the benefits of a robust social media focus for your business!

Why Use Social Media

Whether you're on Facebook, Pinterest, TikTok, or other platforms, maintaining a presence is crucial. Customers often check social media for content from businesses they're interested in. They want to see how you engage with other customers and perceive your brand.

Leveraging social media as a key part of yourmarketing strategy在你的最佳利益。它是免费发布content, and you can build a loyal customer base. Here are some benefits:

• Lower marketing/conversion costs
• Feedback for product improvements
• Building a brand community
• Creating a sense of belonging for your audience
• Higher spending from loyal customers
• Educating customers on product use
• Reducing support strain on your business
• Understanding your audience’s demographics
• Building social proof through user-generated content (UGC)

Your conversion rates will be higher when you nurture your audience, saving you money in the long run. More savings means you can invest in scaling your business, developing new products, or expanding sales channels.

Choosing Your Platforms

As a new business, start with 1 to 2 social media platforms. Managing these consistently is vital, so begin small and add more platforms as needed. Trying to be on every platform can lead to low-quality content and missed opportunities with potential customers.

To decide which platforms to start with, find where your target customer demographic spends their time. SproutSocial offers anannual breakdown of social media demographicsthat's worth checking out! Here's a breakdown of some popular platforms and their recent stats:

Facebook

• 2.8 billion monthly active users
• Popular with older age groups such as Gen X & Boomers
• A business page & business manager account is needed for paid ads
• Allows businesses to gain insights on their audience
• Track page views, post reach, and new page likes
• Great SEO, your business page is likely to rank well on Google before your website
• Check in on your competitorsand see what’s working for them
• Sell directly on your Facebook page with theShopify Facebook Channel

Instagram

• 1 billion monthly active users
• Popular with Gen Z & Millennials
• Owned by Facebook & ad tools are combined with them
• Very visual platform
• Allows you to put a face to your brand
• A visual feed can reflect your brand's uniqueness and personality
• Partner with Influencers
• Sell your products directly on your posts using theFacebook Sales Channel

X (Formerly Twitter)

• 330 million monthly active users
• Popular with a largely male demographic and age groups of Gen X and older Gen Y
• Community building platform
• Share updates, industry news, and engage rapidly with followers
• Usetrending hashtags为你的品牌获得更多的可见性
• Requires a higher daily frequency of posting as tweets will quickly pass through feeds

Pinterest

• 459 million monthly active users
• Popular among a female demographic and Millennial age groups
• Vision and ideas board platform
• Pinterest is a major website traffic builder
• User engagement is high via pins and re-pins
• Discover what your audience loves by viewing what they’re pinning

TikTok

• 689 million monthly active users
• Popular with the Gen Z age group (16 -30 years old)¹
• Easily showcase products or services in a video
• Great for light-hearted, entertaining brand content
• Businesses who do best on TikTok are fun, engaging, and follow popular trends

Reddit

• 430 million monthly active users
• Popular with male demographic within the millennial age groups
• Speak to your target audience directly and gain valuable feedback withReddit
• 了解你的听众正在寻找
• Reddit is under-utilized as a platform but it’s the 7th most visited website in the US

YouTube

• 2 billion logged-in monthly active users
• The second largest search engine in the world
• Owned by Google (the largest search engine worldwide
• Popular with all age groups
• Can be time-consuming to edit videos for YouTube, but worth it when growing a business
• Create how-to videos, teach your audience how to use your products or services
• Excellent platform for influencers you’re working with to do unboxing videos & showcase your products

After deciding which platforms to focus on, based on your target customer and business needs, it's time to decide what to post. There are different techniques used to help with content creation, but for the purpose of this guide, we’re going to explain the 30/30/30 Rule.

The 30-30-30 Rule for Content Creation

One common pitfall for new businesses on social media is overwhelming their audience with constant product images and sales promotions. This approach can quickly turn off your audience before they've had a chance to discover the greatness of your business. The key here is to remember that your goal is not just to sell, but to grow your following and engage with them.

Social media is a space for entertainment, learning, and escape from daily stresses. It's a platform for audiences to unleash their creativity and connect with people and brands they admire. As such, they don't want to see brands incessantly pushing products and sales.

For this reason, it's important to diversify your content. Keep your audience engaged by sharing more than just your products. Tell your brand's story, share your company values, highlight customer testimonials, or give a behind-the-scenes look at your operations.

By providing a variety of content, you'll not only keep your audience engaged but also nurture potential customers and give them reasons to follow you beyond just your products. This approach will make your brand more relatable and will foster a deeper connection with your audience.

The 30-30-30 rule is an easy way to brainstorm your content marketing on social media. It's a beginner-friendly method that saves you time in coming up with post ideas. Here's what the 30-30-30 stands for:

• • 30% of your content about your brand: This is your chance to shine a light on what makes your brand unique. Be creative and diverse in your approach. Share sneak peeks of upcoming products or initiatives, giving your audience a sense of anticipation. Showcase behind-the-scenes content, like your team at work or the process of creating your products. This gives your audience a personal connection to your brand and helps them understand the effort and passion that goes into what you do. And most importantly, consistently narrate your brand story. This could be about your brand's journey, the values it stands for, or the impact it aims to create.

  • 30% featuring others: Collaboration is key in the social media world. Seek out brands, influencers, or community figures that align with your brand's values and share their content or create collaborative content. This not only diversifies your content but also helps you reach a wider audience. Consider featuring user-generated content as well. This could be customers using your products, sharing reviews, or even creating their own content related to your brand. This not only creates a sense of community but also provides social proof that can influence potential customers.

  • 30% posting fun and engaging content: Social media is often used as a break from the routine, so keep your content light and entertaining. Ask engaging questions to stimulate conversation and learn more about your audience. Post entertaining videos that align with your brand's personality. This could be anything from funny clips, inspirational messages, or interesting facts. The aim is to create content that your audience will enjoy and want to share with others.

  • The remaining 10% should be spontaneous, unplanned posts: Social media is all about being in the moment. So, make sure to include spontaneous posts that respond to timely events, trending topics, or just something interesting that happened in your day. Also, ensure to interact with your audience by responding to comments, messages, or mentions. This not only makes your brand more relatable but also helps build a strong community around your brand.

Remember, customers appreciate authenticity and connection. They respond well to posts that let them discover who you are, what your business stands for, and how they can be a part of your brand's journey. So, ensure your social media strategy reflects this.

Other Methods to Consider

The 30-30-30 method isn't the only strategy out there. Others include the 80-20 rule, where 80% of content is educational or fun and 20% is promotional, and the 60-30-10 method, with 60% brand story posts, 30% product-related, and 10% UGC.

无论你选择的方法,把你的所有it. High engagement on social media increases your reach to new audiences and future customers. Here are a few extra tips:

• Schedule your posts using a tool likeHootsuiteorLater
• Stay on top of trends and current events
• Engage daily with your audience and potential followers
• Research what engages your target audience the most
• Never buy followers; bots won't buy from you

Try the 30-30-30 method for at least 30 days before changing your strategy. Social media evolves quickly, and adaptability is key to long-term business success.

Good luck & happy selling!