When I speak to groups about social media, typically people want advice as to what to post.

Here are my top 5 tips to use as a guideline:

1. Interesting :: Only post something that you find interesting. If you think it is dull, imagine what your readers will think?
2. SME :: Write posts that position you as a SME, that is a subject matter expert. You can never go wrong posting things that show off your expertize.
3. Limit Sales Talk :: Limit posts that are too salesy.   I think 20 percent is the limit.  If every post says what a great deal you offer, people will quickly start ignoring you, unfollowing, un-liking and un-everything 🙁
4. No Politics :: On business accounts, stick to your business. Don’t post political rants. (unless of course you are a politician or in an industry that works with political parties)  Otherwise you piss off those who who have opposing views. In this business climate you want to conduct business with everyone you can.
5. Mix it Up ::  I try to have a mix of helpful tips, occasional relevant quotes, company news, information about offerings and occasional sales content.  Once in a while we brag about something, but keep the bragging to occasional as to not sound obnoxious. Pictures are great and when I launch new site I always post a screenshot and link to the new site. Images are especially effective on Facebook as people love to go through photos and these are the most popular posts on that site.

So an often asked question is: How do I know if I am effective?  I use re-tweets in twitter as barometer. If I am re-tweeted on a regular basis, chances are people like what I am posting. In Facebook, likes and shares are a good measure. In Google+, plus 1s are a good indicator, though I don’t see this practice in use much.

Please let me know what you think are are good tips for social media posts by commenting in the form below.