The 5:3:2 Rule for Social Media Explained

What is the 5:3:2 rule for social media?

The 5:3:2 rule for business social media content is a guideline that helps brands strike the right balance between engaging their audience and promoting their products and services on social media. It states that, for every 10 posts, brands should follow this category breakdown:

• Curation: Five posts should be content from other sources relevant to your audience. This is known as curation.
• Creation: Three posts should be original content that you’ve created and is relevant to your audience.
• Humanization: Two posts should be personal, fun content that humanizes your brand and makes it more relatable.

“Sticking to this rule is effective because it fosters trust and engagement,” said Brandon Leibowitz, owner of SEO Optimizers. “When I first applied this strategy to a client’s campaign, we saw a noticeable increase in interaction rates.”

Here’s a more in-depth look at each aspect of the 5:3:2 rule to help you better engage your followers and improve your social media presence. 

Fifty percent of posts should focus on curation.

You should curate most of your social media posts from sources that are relevant to your niche and target audience. But how do you know what’s relevant to your audience?

To understand your audience, stay informed by reading industry news and participating in discussions about topics that interest your followers. Talk to your customers, sales team and customer service reps to identify genuine customer questions and interests. Sharing industry-specific, relevant content demonstrates that you understand your audience’s concerns and stay on top of industry trends.

“For curated content, think along the lines of articles from industry leaders, interesting reports, and even sharing content from companies that you respect,” suggested Peter Lewis, chief marketing officer at Strategic Pete. “It’s a good way to tie your brand in with thought leadership.

The following tools can help you curate content for your social media channels:

• Feedly
• BuzzSumo
• Quora
• Pinterest
• Hootsuite

These aren’t the only curation tools, but they’re a great starting point. Your posts should be helpful, shareable and relevant to your niche and audience.

Thirty percent of posts should be original content.

Next, spend time creating your own content that blends promotional and informational material. Try to avoid the hard sell — if you come on too strong, your follower list may shrink, and you might even receive negative comments. Instead, focus on publishing helpful, shareable content, which will ultimately attract more people to your brand.

Social media is about engaging your target audience, and posting valuable content is an excellent way to appeal to potential customers. You can also vary your content to keep things interesting for your followers.

Here are some original content types to consider:

• Use video in your content marketing strategy. 
• Create your own blog posts (as a bonus, you can refresh and repurpose your blog content to enhance its value).
• Design infographics to present information visually.
• Write e-books that inform and entertain.
• Draft email newsletters to keep your subscribers updated on your business.

Here’s an example of varied original content, including an infographic:

Promotional content falls under this 30 percent category. If you’re running a sale or launching a social media campaign, let your customers know. Build an online community by offering exclusive promotions and events just for your customers and followers.

Twenty percent of posts should humanize your brand.

Posts that humanize you and your team can bring your brand to life and show your audience that you’re not just a faceless corporation trying to sell to them.

This type of content can showcase your brand’s personality — whether it’s humorous, lighthearted or uniquely engaging. These posts can relate to your industry or be completely random to keep people on their toes.

Innocent Smoothies excels in this area. Dogs that look like Chewbacca have nothing to do with smoothie making and drinking, but it’s funny and encourages interaction with the audience.

Random posts like this are great — if you strike the right balance. The result? More followers keep coming back to see what fun content you post next, while also discovering valuable content along the way.

When you share this type of content, ensure two things:

• It’s the kind of fun your audience likes.
• It shows off your personality.

Another way to humanize your brand is by showcasing your employees and their stories. Highlight your company culture, behind-the-scenes operations or even how your business gives back to the community. This is especially effective if you handcraft products or have a mission-driven brand.

What are the benefits of following the 5:3:2 rule?

Steve Neher, CEO of Mail King USA, emphasized that each aspect of the 5:3:2 rule focuses on the audience, not on the brand — an approach that builds trust, credibility and engagement.

“By not overwhelming followers with constant promotions, we create a more authentic connection,” Neher said. “While this rule is effective, I also stay flexible, adjusting the mix during product launches or major announcements to ensure our messaging aligns with business goals while keeping our audience’s interests in mind.”

Each content type has unique benefits, and following this ratio provides additional advantages.

Benefits of posting curated content

• Positions you as an expert in your industry
• Shows that you understand your customers and their needs
• Demonstrates that you stay up to date on industry trends
• Can earn you backlinks from the sources you link to
• Saves time and money because you’re sharing content already created by others

Benefits of posting created content

• Gives you control over what is said and how it is said
• Shows that you’re an active participant rather than a bystander in the industry 
• Showcases your expertise directly
• Allows you to engage your audience and enhance your reputation

Benefits of posting human interest content

• Puts a human face on your company, allowing customers to form a connection
• Entertains followers and keeps them coming back
• Gets followers to share your content, especially if it’s humorous or surprising
• Reinforces your brand, values and culture while helping you tell your brand’s story

Benefits of posting in the 5:3:2 ratio 

• Creates the right balance between professionalism and a more laid-back attitude 
• Intrigues and attracts new followers
• Retains existing followers
• Allows you to post shareable content without veering into clickbait territory 

Managing your social media content

While you’re following the 5:3:2 rule, you must stay on top of your social media presence to ensure timely, consistent posting and responses to followers.

Fortunately, excellent online tools can help you discover, monitor and manage content effortlessly. Consider the following platforms:

• Buffer: Buffer provides tools to plan, collaborate on and publish content. It also helps optimize your content schedule and suggests channels and hashtags to maximize engagement. Pricing starts at $5 per month per channel, and a free plan is available.
• Hootsuite: Hootsuite was one of the first social media management software platforms, so it has robust management tools. In addition to providing content creation tools, it can show you your digital marketing ROI in detail, increase your reach and manage your social media in one place with a universal inbox. Pricing starts at $99 per month for 10 social media accounts.
• SocialPilot: SocialPilot makes it easy and affordable to manage a social media strategy team with experts covering specific roles. For example, a writer, graphic designer and social media manager can collaborate seamlessly. Plans start at $42.50 per month and there’s a free trial, so it’s a good solution for smaller businesses.
• Sprout Social: Sprout Social supports multiple platforms, including Pinterest — a feature many other tools lack. In addition to integrating with Salesforce, Shopify and Marketo, Sprout Social provides content scheduling, analytics and social listening tools to reveal audience insights and help employee brand ambassadors spread the word more easily. Pricing starts at $199 per user per month, so it’s ideal for established brands.

Remember that your social media presence is there to engage your audience. Try to strike a balance in your shared content, avoid the hard sell, and focus on valuable, interesting and fun material. Your goal is to humanize your brand and generate audience interest and interaction.