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Businesses are typically painted as these entities that take, take and take some more. And we\\u2019ve really earned that reputation over time. So it might be useful to have a formula to offset that, and be that business that gives a little more.

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This is Clickstarter, the Australian Digital Marketing podcast. I\\u2019m Dante St James.

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The Pareto Principle is a widely known ratio used to describe many things in life, where 20% of the people in any workplace end up doing 80% of the work. And likewise there\\u2019s that 80% of people who end up only handling 20% of the work.

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The same goes when it comes to the content you\\u2019re making for use online. It works a little like this:

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\\xb7\\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0 80% of the time your content should be giving value in the form of something that people find interesting, find educational or find exciting

\\xb7\\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0 20% of the time you can then do something a bit more salesy, like mentioning a promotion, sale, price or product that you are selling

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This 80/20 rule has slowly become the major way that businesses present themselves on social media.

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This could just as easily be asked as, \\u201cIf I\\u2019m not selling, what the heck am I allowed to do?\\u201d

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Glad you asked.

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Your content is in the 80% of giving value when it\\u2019s providing something of value that someone can take into their life and action straight away. So you\\u2019ll find that social media professionals will show their followers lots of tips and tricks on how to use social media. People selling skin care products will produce videos of how to best use their products Or perhaps how to prepare your skin for a better use of moisturiser. Someone selling homewares might make videos of how to place their items in the best spot in your home, or how to choose what else will match with those items in your home.

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The key here is to show something that isn\\u2019t asking them to buy something. You\\u2019re providing something entertaining, interesting or that teaches them something.

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What works in the 20% of content?

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Your 20% then is the stuff that you want to move as a business. That last few bits of stock that you need to clear out of the warehouse. Maybe that new range of items that people might be interested in buying. The sale you are running until midnight Saturday.\\xa0 Or introducing a new product or service to your mix of offerings.

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In his book, Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook, Gary Vaynerchuk introduces a concept of Give, Give, Give, Ask. You earn the right to ask someone to buy something, or book you in, only by first providing something of value 3 times beforehand. He often operates well over the 3:1 that his method suggests. Often he\\u2019ll g o 100:1 and produce so much helpful content that it\\u2019s hard to see what. He\\u2019s actually selling. I even had this question myself the other day after providing a series of free workshops interstate. \\u201cWhat does your business actually to do make money?\\u201d said one woman in my workshop.

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The fact is that I don\\u2019t make much on my interstate workshops. Especially the free ones. Once I factor in the flights from Darwin to Townsville, add in accommodation in both Cairns and Townsville, the car hire to get me between Townsville and Cairns, and then things like eating out, paying for things that I don\\u2019t have because I\\u2019m away from home and extra fuel and occasional things I forgot to bring from home, the little bit that I make from government programs or ticket sales usually sees me lose around $600 per workshop trip. I consider my workshops to be a \\u201cgive.\\u201d I may mention my services towards the end of a workshop, but that isn\\u2019t the point of the workshop. I really like working with new, small businesses. The trouble is that they can\\u2019t afford to pay the $150 each that it would take for me to cover the costs and come away with enough profit to make it a revenue item.

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But what it does do is show my expertise and give those little new businesses a person to point the other businesses that they deal with towards.

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To learn more about digital marketing the Australian way, jump in to the Learn section at clickstarter.com.au and start on the road to helping your Australian small business to get known, get found and stay known.