7 Ways to Leverage the 80/20 Rule in Your Content Strategy for Max ROI
It’s been said so many times that you’re probably sick of it, but the truth is, the pandemic turned the world of marketing onto its head. It has forced marketers to rethink how they approach their strategies and interact with brands and their customers.
One of the biggest adjustments that marketers have had to made is their approach to their content strategy. This is due to the sudden influx of social media users that have shifted the focus from more traditional marketing forms to a more scattered, digital approach. To help out this into perspective, in 2020 when the world was up in arms with the worst of the pandemic, 43% of the global population found themselves spending more time on social media than ever before.
The unfortunate reality of this is that many brands choose to believe that by simply having a presence on all of the available platforms that they will be able to reach a wider audience. While this is technically true, you need to build a reputable presence through the use of relevant and engaging content.
In addition to this, you need to remain mindful of the algorithms each platform uses to appeal to the correct and most relevant audience on the platform.
Content strategy in a post-pandemic world
As already mentioned – and I promise this will be the last time I say this – everything changed during COVID-19. The world went digital, forcing businesses to relook the way in which they promote, share and sell their products and services with the world. Suddenly, online shopping, while already a growing market, became the go-to.
As a result, marketers and businesses needed to accommodate the new digital age, featuring tech-savvy consumers that expect a lot more from brands when it comes to customer service.
With most of this interaction taking place over social media, it became more important than ever for brands to find ways of standing out from the crowd and making those online conversions. And this, folks, is where the 80/20 rule comes into play. For the more seasoned marketers out there, you already know this rule and it should come as no surprise. However, the ability to properly implement it is a completely different story.
What is the 80/20 Content Rule?
Finally, we arrive at the 80/20 strategy. The reason we are all here today, right? This rule, also referred to as pareto principle in content marketing, states that 80% of the content produced should be educational and informative while the remaining 20% is promotional.
Now, when you consider the fact that most people turn to social media for entertainment purposes as well as brand research, this principle makes sense. People don’t want to be spammed with tons of ads and promotional content, they want to know why you matter and why they should be investing in you.
Why the 80/20 rule is essential for content strategy
When you’re developing your content strategy, what is the aim of it all. Surely, it is to reach a wider audience to make those sales and grow the business in question.
By utilizing the 80/20 strategy, you can craft your content in a way that your audience and demographic will respond to without being scrolled passed and viewed as spam. This builds trust and helps your audience better understand your brand to make an informed purchase decision. You’ll soon find yourself with a solid, ever-expanding customer base that is loyal to your brand.
And if you need more of a reason to implement your strategy, perhaps the fact that 45% of a brand’s online followers click the unfollow button when the feed becomes to promotional.
Applying the 80/20 rule to content marketing
The 80/20 rule is not rocket science and can easily be implemented into your social media content strategy. It’s all about producing organic, engaging and relevant content. To help you get started, here are 7 ways you can incorporate the 80/20 strategy.
- Newsjacking: As the name implies, this is all about identifying news events and turning the trending topic into viral content that links the story in question with the brands values. For this, you may want to set alerts for your favorite news site to ensure that you’re able to create a viral sensation before anyone else.
- Sustainability: The world is more concerned about following an eco-conscious way of life to make an impactful change in society. By aligning your brand with causes that your audience cares about, you can increase engagement and grow your following. This is also a great area to bring in your staff, the people behind the scenes, and share where they stand on the matter and why.
- Research your demographic: The key to creating relevant content is knowing who you are creating the content for. Otherwise, your efforts will be wasted. It’s like feeding your cat a salad and wondering why they’re on a starvation diet. It just doesn’t make sense. So, take the time to do your research, understand your audience, and reap the results.
- Use your time wisely: Use the analytics tools available to see who is responding to your efforts and who isn’t. This will help you see who you should be focusing your efforts on, as well as identifying what they are responding to in order to drive further engagement.
- New product development: By interacting with your audience regularly, you can determine what items may be lacking within your business and look into ways of rectifying this. It is worth noting that this is something that will take time to do and will not happen overnight.
- Encourage online advocates: Instead of promoting your content like there’s no tomorrow, rather let your followers do this. Let them share their experiences firsthand, people respond to this a lot better than when the brand shares stories. After all, a brand will only say good things about themselves, but customers will speak the truth. We recommend using video content to do so.
- Develop your niche: When you’re in the online space, trying to spread yourself thin across several platforms may not work as well as you think. So, rather identify a platform or two on which your brand is excelling and build on the success thereof.
It’s all about sticking to the basics
Content has always been the king and making it more effective will be the best decision for a brand. By using the 80/20 content strategy, you can take your brand to new heights in record time.
Ghia Marnewick is a creative content writer for Aumcore, a digital marketing agency New York that specializes in SEO and social media marketing services. She is passionate about finding new ways of sharing information with the world.
