The One Third Social Media Rule

Hollie Geitner, vice president of client services at WordWrite Communications Inc. in Pittsburgh, has shared with us a tip for social media. Hollie's topic is on the balance between social media content and what you should be considering:

At WordWrite Communications, we follow the 1/3 rule of producing content and engaging with fans/followers on social media—for both our clients and for our own social media channels. Many companies get it wrong…and you can see it with some well-known businesses in Pittsburgh, unfortunately. They start a Facebook page and Twitter account but don't follow back or "like" other pages.

Their method is to put out content and not look back. This can very quickly alienate people—the very people you want to think highly of your company/business. The 1/3 rule goes like this:

• 1/3 of your content should be about your business;
• 1/3 should be about your industry
• 1/3 should be dedicated to engaging with those who follow and like you.

Having this balance of self-promoting content, industry content and engagement shows you care about your clients/customers, that you are in this for the long-haul—not just to say you use social media and that you are up-to-speed on what's happening in your industry. Social media is all about engagement and if your main goal is to simply have more followers/fans that your competitors, you are doing it wrong. It is far better to have high-quality, meaningful relationships with your customers and potential customers than to boast you have the most

Do you have a tip or essay about how social media impacts your business? We'd like to know -- and publish it on the Social Madness blog. Email web producer Paul J. Gough at pgough@bizjournals.com.

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