Social media marketing can be highly effective in attracting audiences to your brand. However, to build and retain a loyal following, your social media strategy must feature the right content mix.
People are drawn to brands that add value to their lives through a mix of content that entertains, informs and engages. While your business ultimately wants to sell products or services, you risk losing followers if you promote your company relentlessly. To engage followers and strengthen your brand, consider using the 5:3:2 rule in your social media content strategy.
What is the 5:3:2 rule for social media?
The 5:3:2 rule for business social media content is a guideline that helps brands strike the right balance between engaging their audience and promoting their products and services on social media. It states that, for every 10 posts, brands should follow this category breakdown:
- Curation: Five posts should be content from other sources relevant to your audience. This is known as curation.
- Creation: Three posts should be original content you’ve created that is relevant to your audience.
- Humanization: Two posts should be personal, fun content that humanizes your brand and makes it more relatable.
“Sticking to this rule is effective because it fosters trust and engagement,” explained Brandon Leibowitz, owner of SEO Optimizers. “When I first applied this strategy to a client’s campaign, we saw a noticeable increase in interaction rates.”
Here’s a more in-depth look at each aspect of the 5:3:2 rule to help you better engage your followers and improve your social media presence.
Fifty percent of posts should focus on curation.
Under this rule, most of your social media posts should be curated from external sources that are relevant to your niche and target audience. But how do you know what’s relevant to your audience?
To understand your audience, stay informed by reading industry news and participating in discussions about topics that interest your followers. Talk to your customers, sales team and customer service reps to identify genuine customer questions and pain points. Sharing industry-specific, relevant content demonstrates that you understand your audience’s concerns and stay on top of industry trends.
“For curated content, think along the lines of articles from industry leaders, interesting reports, and even sharing content from companies that you respect,” suggested Peter Lewis, chief marketing officer at Strategic Pete. “It’s a good way to tie your brand in with thought leadership.”
The following tools can help you curate content for your social media channels:
- Feedly
- BuzzSumo
- Pocket
- Flipboard
- ContentStudio
- Google Alerts
These aren’t the only curation tools, but they’re a strong starting point for discovering relevant, shareable content in your industry.
When you post curated content to your website or
business blog, add personal commentary about why you chose it and why the subject matter is essential or interesting to your audience.
Thirty percent of posts should be original content.
Next, spend time creating your own content that blends promotional and informational material. Try to avoid the hard sell; if you come on too strong, your follower list may shrink, and you might even receive negative comments. Instead, focus on publishing helpful, shareable content, which will ultimately attract more people to your brand.
Social media is about engaging your target audience, and posting valuable content is an excellent way to appeal to potential customers. You can also vary your content to keep things interesting for your followers.
Here are some original content types to consider:
Promotional content typically falls under this 30 percent category. Whether you are running a seasonal sale or launching a new product campaign, make sure your existing customers are in the loop. You can also build an online community by offering exclusive promotions and events for your customers and followers.
Visual consistency matters when you're
posting on Instagram for your brand. Your brand's "vibe" should align with your overall company branding and be recognizable to your followers.
Twenty percent of posts should humanize your brand.
Posts that humanize your team bring your brand to life, showing your audience that you’re not just a nameless entity trying to sell to them.
This type of content can showcase your brand’s personality — whether it’s humorous, lighthearted or uniquely engaging. These posts can relate to your industry or be completely random to keep people on their toes.
When you share this type of content, ensure two things:
- It’s the kind of fun your audience likes.
- It shows off your personality.
Another way to humanize your brand is by showcasing your employees and their stories. Highlight your company culture, behind-the-scenes operations or even how your business gives back to the community. This is especially effective if you handcraft products or have a mission-driven brand.
What are the benefits of following the 5:3:2 rule?
Steve Neher, CEO of Mail King USA, emphasized that each aspect of the 5:3:2 rule focuses on the audience, not the brand — an approach that builds trust, credibility and engagement.
“By not overwhelming followers with constant promotions, we create a more authentic connection,” Neher said. “While this rule is effective, I also stay flexible, adjusting the mix during product launches or major announcements to ensure our messaging aligns with business goals while keeping our audience’s interests in mind.”
Each content type has unique benefits, and following this ratio provides additional advantages.
Benefits of posting curated content
- Positions you as an expert in your industry
- Shows that you understand your customers and their needs
- Demonstrates that you stay up to date on industry trends
- May help you earn backlinks from the sources you link to
- Saves time and money because you’re sharing content already created by others
Benefits of posting original content
- Gives you control over what is said and how it is said
- Shows that you’re an active participant rather than a bystander in the industry
- Showcases your expertise directly
- Allows you to engage your audience on social media and enhance your reputation
Benefits of posting human-interest content
- Puts a human face on your company, allowing customers to form a connection
- Entertains followers and keeps them coming back
- Gets followers to share your content, especially if it’s humorous or surprising
- Reinforces your brand, values and culture while helping you tell your brand’s story
Benefits of posting in the 5:3:2 ratio
- Creates the right balance between professionalism and a more laid-back tone
- Intrigues and attracts new followers
- Retains existing followers
- Allows you to post shareable content without veering into clickbait territory
The 5:3:2 rule is a useful guideline, regardless of platform. Follow it when using
multiple social media accounts to ensure your content stays relevant, shareable and audience-focused.
Managing your social media content
While implementing the 5:3:2 rule, you must actively manage your social media presence to ensure timely, consistent posting and responsive engagement with your audience.
Fortunately, several tools can help you discover, monitor and manage social media content more efficiently while helping to improve your digital marketing ROI. Consider the following platforms:
- Buffer: Buffer provides tools to plan, collaborate on and publish content. It also helps optimize your posting schedule and suggests channels and hashtags to maximize engagement. Buffer offers a free plan with limited features. Paid plans start at $5 per month for basic publishing, with higher tiers (such as $10 per month) adding features and support for more channels and users.
- Hootsuite: Hootsuite was one of the first social media management platforms and offers robust publishing, analytics and engagement tools, including a universal inbox. Plans start at $199 per user per month (billed annually) for the Standard tier, with Advanced plans at $399 per user per month and Enterprise pricing available by quote.
- SocialPilot: SocialPilot is a budget-friendly option for small teams, with collaboration features for writers, designers and social media managers. Plans start at $25.50 per month when billed annually for individual users, with higher tiers starting around $42.50 per month for small teams and scaling up for agencies and multi-location brands.
- Sprout Social: Sprout Social integrates with platforms like Salesforce, Shopify and Marketo and provides scheduling, analytics and social listening tools. Pricing starts at $199 per user per month (billed annually), with higher-tier plans at $299 and $399 per user per month and custom enterprise pricing available.
Ultimately, your social media presence exists to engage your audience. Try to strike a balance in your shared content, avoid the hard sell and focus on valuable, interesting and fun material. Your goal is to humanize your brand and generate audience interest and interaction.
