What to Post on Social Media

The 80/20 rule suggests that 80% of your social content should educate, entertain, or add value to your audience, while only 20% should be directly promotional. This balance builds the goodwill and trust that makes your promotional posts far more effective when they do appear.

Educational posts teach your audience something useful related to your industry — tips, how-to guides, common mistakes to avoid, industry data, and explainers. This type of content positions your brand as a trusted expert and is highly shareable because it delivers genuine value.

Content that makes people laugh or smile earns higher engagement than almost any other type. Brands that successfully incorporate appropriate humor — memes, witty observations, playful takes on industry trends — become more memorable and likeable, driving stronger long-term loyalty.

Behind-the-scenes content humanizes your brand by showing the people, processes, and culture that customers never see. These posts build authenticity and connection — audiences who feel they know a brand on a personal level are more likely to choose it over an anonymous competitor.

User-generated content (UGC) — photos, reviews, and posts created by your customers about your product — is among the most credible marketing available. Resharing UGC not only saves content creation time but signals social proof to prospective customers considering a purchase.

Sharing customer testimonials, five-star reviews, and case study snippets on social media addresses the doubts of potential buyers at the consideration stage. People trust the experiences of other customers far more than they trust brand claims.

The 20% of promotional content you post should still lead with the customer benefit rather than the product feature. "Save three hours a week on reporting" resonates more than "Our software has automated reporting." Even promotions should answer the question: "What is in it for me?"

Polls, question boxes, quizzes, and "this or that" posts invite your audience to participate rather than passively consume. Interactive content dramatically increases engagement rates and provides valuable insight into your audience's preferences and opinions.

Newsjacking is the practice of connecting your brand to trending topics or news events to gain visibility. When done relevantly and quickly, it can generate significant organic reach. When done poorly or insensitively, it can damage your brand — always ask if the connection is genuine before posting.

Shareable content tends to trigger strong emotions (joy, surprise, awe, inspiration), reinforce the identity of the sharer, or be so practically useful that people want to save it for later. Before publishing, ask: "Would my audience be proud or excited to share this with their followers?"

Apply the 80/20 content rule to this scenario.

A strong social media content strategy balances educational, entertaining, behind-the-scenes, social proof, and promotional posts following the 80/20 rule. The best content for any platform either delivers genuine value to the audience or creates an emotional connection strong enough that they want to share it with others.