There always seems to be two types of social media clients: clients that want every post to push for a sale and clients that fear coming off even the slightest bit sales-y.

When creating content for social media, it’s important to take a holistic approach. I mean, really, who wants to follow an account that only ever asks you to buy something from them?! That being said, business owners still gotta get that coin.

So what’s the happy medium here? Before you make the ask, you have to provide value. Content with value is shareable (hellooo, discoverability!), engaging (hellooo, algorithm benefit!), and entices users to come back for more.

Plus, for good measure, let’s circle back to the Know, Like, Trust Factor and the importance of fostering a relationship. When you provide value, users will share about you, resulting in more users coming to know you. Once they know you, they will start to like you. Once they start to like you, they will start to trust you. And where there is trust, there is a sale on the horizon.

So how should brands go about providing value, while simultaneously referring back to the brand? By aiming for each post to be at least one of the following:

Educational
Timely
Relatable
Salesy

Read on to learn a bit more about what each of these mean!

EDUCATIONAL

Educational content is your opportunity to showcase your expertise and provide free tangible tips and resources for your audience’s benefit. These don’t have to be extensive! Simple and to-the-point tips are all you need to start building your credibility in the minds of consumers.

Wondering what tips to share? Here are a few questions to ask yourself:

What is a pain point of my target audience and what expertise can I share to alleviate this?
What is something new that I have learned recently?
What tricks of my trade could my audience benefit from?
What statistic stood out to me recently and what insight or advice do I have to add to it?
What systems, processes, practices, or tools do I love that my audience could benefit from too?

Pro Tip: When users spend an extended amount of time viewing a post, this signals to Instagram’s algorithm that the content is valuable, which results in Instagram “pushing” the post to more users to view and enjoy as well. Consider compiling your tips into a carousel that users have to swipe through to discover each tip. This results in more time spent consuming your post!

TIMELY

Next, aim to share content that is newsworthy or timely. Is there a meme or trend going viral right now that is relevant to your brand? Is there a holiday coming up that points back to your mission, product, or service? Have there been any recent updates in your industry that you can capitalize or comment on? Staying up-to-date on all things relevant in your industry is essential to not only providing value to your audience but also positioning yourself as a thought leader. Here are some examples of timely posts that we’ve created on our Instagram:

ENTERTAINING/RELATABLE

THIS is where the real magic happens. 👏 Entertaining and relatable content is often the most shareable. Why? It meets your audience where they’re at, making them feel seen and heard.

Here are a few entertaining post ideas:

Design a graphic featuring a relatable tweet
Make your own meme out of a trending GIF or still image
Re-post inspirational or relatable quotes - don’t forget to credit the creator!
Hop on the Instagram Reels bandwagon!

SALESY

Contrary to popular belief, IT’S OKAY TO BE SALESY ON SOCIAL MEDIA! Once you’ve provided the value, don’t be afraid to make the ask. As a general rule of thumb, stick to the 80/20 Rule.

The 80/20 rule in social media is:

80% of your content should be useful and provide value to your audience
20% of your content should promote your product or service.

Overall, social media isn’t just about generating sales. It’s about fostering a genuine community and trusting relationship with your audience. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: social media is like the digital handshake inviting users to your website. Let’s make it count.

We hope you found this blog post helpful! For more tips on how to create a strong social media strategy, check out our Own Your Instagram Course or book a one-on-one social media consultation with us! We can’t wait to hear from ya, homie. 😎

xx- The Homies