Social Media is a shifting landscape. One way we try and guide people through it is by providing statistics and information about what performs best on social media. However, sometimes, those rules of thumb can become outdated or be a bit misleading. Here are a few myths we encourage you to think a bit differently about when planning your social media strategies.

Short Facebook Posts Perform Better

Statistically, people have been told for years that a few short sentences is the best way to make Facebook posts, especially for Businesses. Now, there is a kernel of truth to this. If you have an event or an important bit of information to get across, keep it short. People aren’t going to read a huge block of text and retain deadlines or specific actions they need to take. However, most business posts don’t have such a specific agenda.

We find, over and over again, that people want to read. They want to learn more about your business, your community, the experience you offer, or some fun facts about your partners. The easy rule is this: For information, keep it short. For experience, go ahead and pour your heart out. You have to ask yourself what people are getting out of following your Facebook page. More often than not, they are seeking a connection to your and your business. Let them in, have a conversation, and write more than two sentences.

Video Posts Get More Engagement

This is, factually, true.  However, it can be very misleading. For news organizations or informational posts trying to give you updates on things happening around the world, people are certainly more likely to watch a 20 second video than click to read a full news article. However, for many businesses, photos actually convey the experience better than videos. Don’t feel like you need to push yourself into creating videos if you simply aren’t seeing the return.

Each business is a bit different, so post a few photos, a few videos, a few links, and really pay attention to what is working best for you and your audience. At the end of the day, it’s helpful to look at what performs well statistically, but what performs well for you is always more important.

The 80/20 Rule

The 80/20 rule has been a longstanding idea that 80% of what you post should be interesting content and only 20% should be direct sales. While again, this may be true, it’s also very misleading. Rather than 80/20, I think it should be 100/100. What do I mean by that?

100% of your social media posts should be engaging content and 100% of your posts should also directly link to your business. It’s easy for people to think that 80% should be family photos, what’s happening around the office, and other posts that avoid “selling” your business. I’d encourage you to think about every single post you make as content that you know is connected to your business, but the reader doesn’t feel that way. Avoid typical sales language and swap it out for sharing business reviews, stories from guests, why you love what you do, or interesting things happening around town.

Social Media Needs to Be Current

Business owners can often fall into the trap that their social media needs to be a live look into what’s happening right now. That can cause you to scramble to post pictures of the office, the weather out the window, or a moose that crossed through town. I recommend that you reconsider that need to post the “day to day” look and shift your focus.

Your social media content should be relevant to what you are currently selling, what season it is, and what’s happening, but the photos and stories don’t need to be live. Prioritize great photos over the most recent photos. Instead of posting the setup of an event the day of, post photos from last year’s event and get people excited to see it full of life again. Put your best foot forward, not the most current one.

A Million More Myths

There are a million myths you can fall into like trying to get the most engagement possible with baby photos or dog photos, only boosting posts on Facebook, or just thinking maybe you don’t even need social media. All I encourage you to do is think about the experience you want customers to have with your business and find a way to reflect that with the content you post online. The digital world is always shifting, and our strategies are too. If you ever feel overwhelmed, feel free to reach out! We love working with small businesses.