The 80-20 rule or the Pareto Principle is extremely important to market your business online. Now, for those who are not aware of this principle, the 80-20 rule was initially introduced by Vilfredo Pareto in 1897, hence it is also known as the Pareto Principle. He discovered this rule when he observed that 20% of the pea pods were responsible for 80% of the peas planted in his garden. Later, this rule was first applied in the macroeconomics field in 1909. This application was to describe the distribution of wealth in Italy in the early 20th century.

Communication Mix: 20% of content could be promotional & 80% could be engaging

Social media could be used to give your brand a personality, interact with the audiences and build long term relationships, as it is the only two way communication medium. You could have two content buckets: One, the informational bucket which involves posts on everything happening in and around the world of your product or service. And two, the interactive bucket where you can actively engage and interact with your audience, and not bore them with your social media marketing promotional doldrums. 80% of your content could be from the interactive bucket, and 20% could be from the informational bucket. Also, you’ll find that 20% of the eventual content you post gets the maximum traction. 

80% of search visits may come from 20% of keywords

20% of your keywords may contribute to 80% of your search visits. Hence, it is advisable to focus more on those select keywords (you’d arrive at those select keywords after a lot of split tests) rather than the entire set of keywords.

80% of the artwork could be design and 20% could be text

Not only does Meta recommend that only 20% text be on an artwork, but even on an individual level, you will realize that visuals attract more than text. If the visual catches your eye, you actually read what the text says. Hence, minimum text, maximum visuals is the ultimate mantra when it comes to social media creatives.

80% of engagement may come from 20% of followers

Sales is a disqualifying process. If you have 100 followers, 20 may engage with your content. If 20 people engage with your content, 4 people may make an inquiry. And if 4 people make an inquiry, 1 person may make a purchase. 

80% of visibility comes from 20% of campaigns

Not every campaign you execute will be as successful. But out of the different artworks you try, different buckets you serve & different campaigns you run, 20% might actually deliver the maximum results.

So, if you can observe the 80-20 rule well in different areas of social media marketing, you’ll be able to deliver more effective results.