Social media can feel like a lawless wasteland at times and a glistening utopia at others. When you find what works for your business, the content creation and marketing process is fun, easy, and gratifying.

On the other hand, when you can’t seem to crack the code on engagement or visibility, it can feel like you’re pushing a massive boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down seconds after you reach the top.

What do you need to get seen on social media? How do you run a business social media account that actually converts? These three golden rules will help anyone optimize their profiles, create more engaging content and develop digital marketing solutions that deliver real-world results.

Use the Right Analytics

Social media is not a numbers game, despite what you may think. The biggest metric most inexperienced users rely on to gauge success is likes and follower count. While those can let you know how people respond to your content in general, they are not useful in terms of business. It doesn’t matter if you have 5,000 likes if no one clicks the link in your bio to visit your site. Likewise, 50,000 views on an Instagram Reel doesn’t automatically translate to a boom in sales or even new leads. There are social media marketing tips for beginners that all deserve your attention and consideration.

To start actually gauging how effective your social media is, all of your content needs to be housed in a greater marketing strategy. Instead of posting on Instagram or Pinterest for presence, ask yourself how this content helps you reach your objectives. Using a CRM, or a Customer Relationship Management platform, can help you keep track of landing pages and paid ad performance. What you want to identify is how many people were driven from social media to your website, and how many people after that made a purchase, entered their email, or made an inquiry.

Build Content Around Your Advertising

There can be many objectives on social media that aren’t tied to direct sales. However, you shouldn’t focus so heavily on branding that you ignore your products. Whether you are in the business of sales or service, providing high-quality, high-value content should always be your top priority online. The added benefit of social media is that it allows you to promote your products or solutions in a more meaningful way. Rather than relying solely on descriptions, you can showcase the benefits of what you offer. When you are crafting your content strategy, think about what your current goals are from a marketing perspective. Then, build outward to make relevant posts that drive traffic exactly where you want it.

If all of this seems like a full-time job, that’s because it is. Digital marketing is an entire discipline dedicated to exploring the impact, efficacy, and method of advertising online. You can learn more about it online, but you can also study it in college. Earning a degree in digital marketing can prepare you to handle every level of your business’s advertising and content strategy. Paying for the cost of your degree needn’t cost a fortune, either. Private student loans from reputable lenders allow you to pay for your education on your terms. This can be especially helpful for a business owner whose budget has to be closely managed at all times.

Be Consistent

Be consistent about when you post as well as what you post. In the era of ultra-visibility and micro attention spans, you have to time your messages impeccably. You also have to build a reliable voice that consumers trust. Picture this: you own a hair salon and want to promote your brand through Instagram. One day you post stunning before-and-after, and the next you post a Christmas food taste test. If you’re scratching your head, imagine how your audience would feel. Consistency helps you deliver more powerful messages without the fluff. It also emanates authority and builds credibility. You demonstrate that you know what you want to say, and you know exactly how to say it to bring the greatest value to your audience.