Develop Your Social Focus: How to Determine Your Audience, Platforms, and Content

Play to your strengths. You can't please everyone, so build your content around a specific audience — then figure out where that audience actually spends their time. Getting started on social takes a little strategy before it takes any real effort.

Determine Your Audience

Facebook and Instagram both give you solid reporting on how your content performs — check your insights regularly to see what's actually landing. Keep posting what works, but expect personal content to consistently outperform business content.

One approach: post something personal, let that engagement build, then follow it with a business post. The people who engaged with the first post are more likely to see the second, since social algorithms surface content based on how much your audience is already engaging with you.

Choose Your Platform

Where your audience spends their time depends entirely on who they are. Most businesses need a presence on Facebook and Google Business simply because that's where most adults are. A realtor should focus specifically on the platforms eligible homebuyers actually use. You don't need to chase every new platform — research where your audience already is, and only invest where it's worth your time.

Content Strategy

What you post should be high quality and serve an actual purpose — less content that provides real value beats more content that doesn't. Pick a posting schedule you can actually sustain, and pay attention to what your audience takes action on. The Rule of Thirds is a useful way to keep your content balanced without overwhelming your audience. Above all, stay consistent with your Unique Value Proposition and your brand's broader goals.

Don't let social media overwhelm you. Focus on doing a few things well rather than being everywhere at once — you don't need to master every platform, just make sure your audience can find you easily on the ones that matter.