Do you obsess over what to post on social media? Or how often you should post, or at what time? Or if you should post natively or use a tool like Buffer, Sprout or Hootsuite? Or how to construct the best post? Stop, just stop! You are wasting your time. There are no studies that have conclusively proven that there is a set formula for the act of posting to your social networks. In fact, some of the most successful brands don’t even post every day, but when they do, they make an impact. How?

Let’s look at this report from Buffer on their change in Facebook posting strategy.

“We cut our posting frequency by more than 50% on Facebook and began to truly focus on quality over quantity. What happened next, even the most optimistic social media manager couldn’t have expected: Our Facebook reach and engagement began to increase even though we were posting less!”

So let’s look at three strategies to improve your social media results

1. What is your story?

What do you stand for? What’s your vision, your mission? What are your passions? Tell that story.

Start with your website. If you don’t have a page on your website that tells your story you need to start that now.  

A company that recently stood out to me as telling their story well is NOBULL. Yes, NO-BULL, as a no-bullshit. It’s a sports apparel company that’s fairly popular in the CrossFit community. They do a great job at tapping into influencer networks. But most importantly they do an A+ job at telling their story.

What I love about their story page is that they stick true to their name. There’s no bull but they also focus on their audiences. They use the pronoun “you” a lot. They talk directly to their people and their role in their customer’s lives.

“NOBULL is a footwear, apparel and accessory brand for people who train hard and don’t believe in excuses. If you think gimmicks in your shoes make you a better athlete, NOBULL is not for you. NOBULL products perform with you when and where you need them. That’s it. Our gear won’t make you fitter. The only thing that will make you fitter is you. Working hard. Day after day.”

That’s the difference between a brand that just says, hey I have a great shoe buy it because it’s great, (which honestly we hear too often) and the brand that says we’re dedicated to making a great shoe.  No bullshit. We’re making this shoe so you can win, putting in your hard work and effort. We appreciate that. We recognize that. it’s not gonna be the shoe that’s gonna do it for you but we have the confidence that you will get there.

2. You need to listen. Really listen.

What are the moods online? What are the trends? What are your audiences into? Who do they follow? What hashtags do they follow? Those are all gonna give you clues for what to write for what content to create that’s going to catch them that’s gonna bring them to you.

An interesting thing I’ve noticed in the 8+ years that Lightspan’s been around is that there’s a lot of talk of “monitoring” and very little actual listening. No tool is going to be a replacement for a human thinking through what the trends actually mean.

Please please please use your heads. Apply some empathy. And invite participation. If you don’t want to publicly ask them on social media, ask them in private. But you have to truly listen and take what you hear to heart.

3. Now that you’ve listened, give them what they want.

It’s not about you or your product. One of the biggest mistakes I see brands making is arrogance. It’s the idea that just because they think they have a great idea, product or service, everyone should rush to buy what they’re selling. 

Every single person faced with a decision as to whether or not to look at your post and buy your product will subconsciously think, “what’s in it for me?” And that decision gets made very very very fast. 

Social media audiences are selfish. We’re there to fulfill some fairly personal needs. I want to be entertained. I want to laugh I want those likes on my picture so I feel better about myself.  

What’s in it for me?

Listening should have given you some clues for what buttons to push to get them to act on your behalf. To actually listen to your story. To believe your content. To want to buy from you.

So, in conclusion, 3 fairly straightforward strategies:

1. Stop obsessing about posting, and tell your story instead
2. Listen to your audiences and
3. Give them what they want.