How to hack social algorithms to boost the reach of your posts (diagram included)

If you're a professional service provider, consultant, thought leader, or author who engages in social media, you've probably asked yourself this question before:

Should I post content to my personal social media page, or to my corporate/business page?

It's one of the most frequently asked questions I get from my clients. They don't understand which they should be utilizing (personal or corporate), and if they decide to utilize both, which order they should post in (Personal first, then share from business...or vice versa?)

I get it. I used to struggle with the same debate, thinking:

If I post stuff to my personal social media page, is it too promotional? If I only post stuff to my business page, does it lack authenticity?

That's the topic we tackled in today's Ask Me Anything, a Tuesday series where I address questions you submit regarding your marketing challenges.

Here's the video:

Here are the main points:

If you're a service provider, always post to your personal page first, THEN to your business page.

There are two main reasons you want to do this:

1. Organic Reach: Both Facebook and LinkedIn realize that their value is getting INDIVIDUAL users to engage in their platforms for sharing, and then getting BUSINESSES to pay them to reach those individuals. Understanding this one concept alone supports the fact you should be posting to your PERSONAL page first.
2. Audience Psychology: People like connecting with people. There's a reason "Influencer" posts on LinkedIn get more eyeballs than corporate posts from publications like Forbes. As humans, we want to know how other humans operate. We love to read about how Spanx Founder Sara Blakely started her business and key mistakes she made, more than we want to read about top trends in shape wear. Same with Richard Branson. His personal posts will always generate more interest than one published by Virgin Corporate. Why? We relate better to other individuals rather than organizations.

After you post to your personal page, SHARE to your business page.

Here's where you really get traction. By posting to your personal page FIRST, you get higher organic reach by working the algorithms and establishing your "relatability" factor. Kick that momentum up by now sharing to your business page and you get dual reach AND you show that...SURPRISE...your company is actually comprised of humans.

If you're a firm, USE this tactic too.

This isn't just for the solopreneur. This concept single-handedly amplifies a company's social reach.

Most companies have their experts write a blog post. Then the marketing team hijacks it, puts it on the corporate blog, then links to the blog from their corporate LinkedIn or Facebook page, then encourages their employees to share it.

That order is all wrong. You're not playing to the algorithms of the platforms or establishing personal likability.

INSTEAD

There's a simple hack that will boost your company's post reach AND your brand relatability factor. All you have to do is tweak the order of posting.

Confused? I created a handy little diagram for ya. Crude in nature? Yeah, I hand-sketched it with a Sharpie. Effective? Yup. Get it for free, follow it every time, and use it to smoke your corporate competition.

Remember, 15 great personal brands > 1 corporate brand.

They always will be, especially in a social media world. Look at your corporate brand as a collective of your people's individual brands vs. a brand that HAS people, and watch your social media success soar.

If you want the step-by-step diagram for doubling your corporate reach, get it here.

If you have questions, drop a note in the comment section below.