The 80/20 Rule in Marketing and How to Use It

If you’re like most business owners, you want to see a healthy return on investment (ROI) from your marketing efforts. That’s why it’s important to be strategic about the content you create and share with your audience. One way to be more strategic is to use the 80/20 rule. 

Essentially, the 80/20 rule in marketing says that 80% of your posts should be useful, entertaining, or educational. In other words, they should be anything that’s not overtly promotional. Then, 20% of your posts can be about your products or services. 

When used correctly, the 80/20 rule can help you strike the perfect balance between providing value and promoting your business. Why is this important? Well, if every single one of your posts is a sales pitch, people are going to get tired of hearing from you pretty quickly. However, if you provide valuable content most of the time and only occasionally promote your product or service, people will be more likely to listen to what you have to say because they know that you’re not just trying to sell them something. So how can you put the 80/20 rule into practice?

Why Is the 80/20 Rule Good for Marketing?

There are a few reasons why the 80/20 rule exists, and following it can be helpful for small businesses and entrepreneurs. First and foremost, customers are bombarded with advertising everywhere they turn — on TV, driving down the highway, getting gas, browsing the internet. They see so many ads that most of them tune them out completely. So if every post on your social media is a sales pitch, chances are good that people will start ignoring you. 

But if you focus on providing value first, you can build trust with potential customers and make them more likely to do business with you when they’re ready. But by providing useful information or telling entertaining stories, you can show potential customers that you’re an expert in your field who cares about them and their needs. 

How to Use the 80/20 Rule in Marketing

There’s no right or wrong way to use the 80/20 rule—it really just depends on what makes sense for your business and your audience. However, here are a few tips to help you get started:

Plan Ahead

Decide which topics you want to write about in advance and make sure they align with your goals. This will help you stay on track and avoid getting caught up in creating promotional content that doesn’t actually benefit your business. One way you can start planning ahead is by creating a content calendar. You can use a tool like Google Calendar, a spreadsheet, or Trello to create your calendar. Then, simply add in the topics for each piece of content ahead of time, so you can stay on topic.

Think Quality Over Quantity

It’s better to publish one high-quality piece of content than multiple pieces of mediocre content. Your audience will appreciate the fact that you aren’t posting things just for the sake of posting. Instead, you’re actually thinking intentionally about what they want to hear and what could be useful to them.

Get Creative With Your Content

There are endless possibilities when it comes to types of content you can create. Think outside the box and get creative with infographics, videos, podcasts, etc. And don’t worry if some of your ideas don’t go over as well as you hoped. The more you try, the better chance you have of creating something that your audience really likes.

Test and Measure

This goes along with what we mentioned above. As with anything in business, it’s important to test different approaches and see what works best for you. Try out different combinations of promotional and non-promotional content and see how your audience responds. Make note of topics or formats that they engage with the most, so you can use this information in your future posts.

Examples of Non-Promotional Content to Use

Now you might be asking yourself: what can I post about if I’m not talking about my products or services? These are just a few ideas that you can use at any time to supplement your promotional content.

Industry News

This is a great way to show that you’re knowledgeable about your field and that you’re keeping up with current trends. Just make sure to put your own spin on things so that your post doesn’t come across as a regurgitation of someone else’s work! In addition, make it clear why your audience should care about this news. How does this industry update or change affect them?

Tips and Advice

If you’re an expert in your field, share some of your knowledge with your audience! People love tips and tricks because they make their lives easier, so give them what they want. Just be careful not to give away too much—you don’t want people to start thinking they don’t need your product or service if they can just do it themselves! 

Tell a Story

We all love a good story, so why not use them as a way to connect with your audience? Stories humanize brands and make them relatable, which is something that people are looking for nowadays. Plus, stories are just plain enjoyable to read! Tell a story about how your business got started or how you’ve helped previous customers with your products or services. 

Start Using the 80/20 Rule

If you’re in a content rut, or just haven’t been seeing the results you want from your posts, it’s probably time to try something new. The 80/20 rule is a tried-and-true approach to help you ensure that you’re providing value to your audience while still promoting your business. By getting creative with your content and staying focused on quality, you can use the 80/20 rule to drive results without annoying your audience. We encourage you to start using this approach and see how it changes your social media results.

If all of this sounds overwhelming to you, the expert team at 98 Buck Social can do it for you! Our content curators can create custom posts just for your business – so you don’t have to worry about it anymore!