Est Read Time: 5.5 Minutes
Have you ever followed a business page and all they did was sell to you?
Okay, but have you also ever followed a business that posted content that was completely irrelevant –like all the time?
What happened when you realized the page was creating only selling or only irrelevant content? You probably unfollowed them shortly after, if you even followed them…
That’s why it’s so important that when you’re creating content you are following the 80/20 Content Rule. The 80/20 Content Rule means that 80% of the content you create is valuable to your audience, while only 20% of your content is selling.
With that being said though, 100% of your content is made for your audience.
You don’t have to follow the 80/20 Content Rule exactly, but you definitely want to ensure that the posts you’re creating are providing more value than they are trying to get someone to buy your product or service. It’s not a steadfast rule, but it is a great guideline!
We all want to make money, well, more like we kind of need to nowadays. That’s why I’m encouraging you to create content for the sole purpose of serving your audience and working hard to solve their problems. If you are creating content to serve your audience, the money will just come rather than if you were just trying to push sales just to make money.
Your audience needs to come first.
[Plus, I don’t know about you, but I feel much better about getting a new client because I wasn’t using greasy sales tactics to land them.]
Selling
When it comes to creating content for selling, you want to make sure it doesn’t sound like a sales pitch either!
You want to identify your ideal clients by talking about their struggles. Once you have caught their attention by speaking directly to them about issues they’re having, you’d want to talk about how they will benefit from whatever you’re trying to sell.
Trust me, it goes better when you approach it like, “I see your struggle and I know this is how you want to feel, I can help you reach that!” Rather than “This thing does this and that, so be sure to buy it!”
A great tip: you want your selling posts or ads to look just like regular content. If you can master that, you’ll see a lot more converting ads and posts than if you set them up as sales pitches!
Value
Okay, so let’s talk about the value you are going to be giving to your audience.
What does giving value even mean?
Giving value mean that you either inform, educate, or entertain your audience. (Tailored exactly to your audience, remember!)
[I actually wrote a blog post about your audience, What is an ICA? CLICK HERE TO READ MORE]
When you know who you serve, you become clear on how you’ll serve them. And knowing all of that is what will help you create valuable content that exactly helps to build and foster your community with the people you are looking to attract and serve.
So let’s look at the types of valuable content a bit further…
Educate: When you’re trying to establish yourself as an expert and growing your ‘know’, ‘like’, and ‘trust’ factors, educating your audience is powerful.
[I LOVE educating my audience –I’ve been sure to spend more and more time creating content that’s going to help you!]
You can educate them on how to solve a problem, answer frequently asked questions, myth bust, give them a tip or two, or share a fun fact!
Inform: When you need to share new information or older information, you are ‘Informing’ your audience. Informational posts can have a ‘shelf life’ depending on what you’re informing your audience of.
It could look like informing them about a change of your services, an update about your business, industry changes, sharing statistics, or how to use your product or service/how they will benefit.
Entertain: Who doesn’t like entertaining posts? Posts that make you laugh. Posts that make you stop and think. Posts that just bring a little bit of light with no other purpose than to make your day better.
Think of it like this, Buffer.com says, “Content that entertains is often funny, frequently highly sharable, and often is able to quickly transform a company into a group of people just like me.”
When it comes to your content in general, you want to make it relatable and sharable.
Which you do that effectively when you know who your audience is.
Conclusion
Okay, so the 80/20 Content Rule is not a concrete rule, however, it does make an excellent guideline so you’re not overselling to your audience.
When you’re focusing on providing value to your audience, you’re usually delivering content that either informs, educates, or entertains. All of which are great to use to help grow and nurture your community.
It also helps build your ‘know’, ‘like’, and ‘trust’ factors. All of which is super important when you’re trying to grow your community and business.
Remember most importantly, your audience comes first, not profits.
When you focus on who you’re serving wholeheartedly, the money will come.
Until next week, I wish that you find success, prosperity, and happiness!
-Jordan
Need some help with your content? I’d love to chat about how I can help you! Send me an email and tell me about what you’re looking for and we’ll go from there. EMAIL ME NOW
