One Thing You Should Never Do on Social Media

Today, businesses have a wealth of information available to help them create successful social media brand pages that drive engagement, traffic, and leads. Numerous articles and guides offer valuable insights in this area.

However, one critical mistake many businesses make on social media can undermine their efforts. It's important to avoid the "me, me, me" approach and instead focus on providing value to your audience.

The Key to Social Media Engagement and Results is Content Curation

Consider two types of social media presences often seen in the business world:

• The "All About Us" Approach: This brand constantly shares content that is solely focused on itself—endless product updates, company news, self-promotional material, etc. The feed reads like a never-ending sales pitch.

• The Value-Driven Approach: This brand curates and shares a mix of its own content alongside relevant industry news, thought leadership pieces, tips, and resources that are genuinely useful to its audience. The feed is a balance of self-promotion and value-add.

The key to effective social media marketing lies in content curation. Content curation is the art of finding, selecting, and sharing the most relevant, valuable content related to your industry and audience. This could include retweeting an insightful article, sharing a thought-provoking LinkedIn post from an industry influencer, or posting a link to a helpful blog post.

Content curation is crucial because no brand should produce 100% of its own content. Social media is meant to be a conversation, not a one-way broadcast. Businesses that constantly talk about themselves come across as obnoxious and self-centered.

True thought leadership isn't just about creating your own unique content but also about regularly consuming and learning from others in order to provide your audience with the most relevant and valuable information.

When planning your social media content, be sure to include a healthy mix of 25-50% curated posts from external sources. Use an RSS reader to compile a collection of interesting articles and posts to choose from when it's time to schedule content. This will keep you up-to-date on industry trends and may even inspire your own original content creation.

Remember, social media marketing aims to engage your audience, not just promote your business. Focus on providing value, not just tooting your own horn, and you'll see far more effective results.

*Editor's Note: This blog has been updated since its original post date.