10 Evergreen Social Media Principles to Last the Test of Time

Algorithm.

In the world of social media, no word looms quite as large.

It represents the dark side of exciting status updates, brightly colored images of family, friends, food and travel. It’s the convoluted, unknowable code that dictates whether your new job announcement reaches your dream hire or falls into the depths of shameful single digit engagement.

Or at least, that’s what they want you to think.

The truth is the “algorithm” that powers every social platform—from LinkedIn to TikTok—optimizes content on one, simple metric: will this post keep people on the app? (READ: will this post keep people on the app to ensure that they see the most possible ads so that we may continue to generate revenue?)

That’s it. That’s the secret.

These revolutionary platforms that have allowed us to connect with anyone, anywhere at any time are, at the end of the day, businesses. While we could go on about their immense marketing power, it’s important to remember that as businesses, the way they function is incredibly simple. And this fact is something we can use to our advantage.

Social media has no alternate agenda that’s being sorted out by evil-genius level mathematics. Every platform follows the money. So if you aren’t paying to play, you have to find a way to create content that keeps your audience engaged and online.

It may not always be easy, but it is simple.

Creating valuable, engagement-worthy content requires a thoughtful strategy. Gone are the days of random posting. However, a little elbow grease goes a long way when it comes to building your presence.

Here are the 10 Evergreen Principles of Social Media

Quality: Produce amazing content. Build your content for those who need your message, not the advertisers looking to capitalize on them. Give them a reason to care.
Consistency: Be consistent in not only when and where you show up (your cadence), but in the content you are actually sharing (the subject matter).
Partnerships: Work with others in mutually beneficial capacities. Cross-promotion to similar but unique audiences is an excellent way to grow.
Boomerang: What goes around comes around. Comment, like, share, and be an active participant on your channels and watch what comes back to you.
Nurturing: In the pursuit of more followers and growth, don’t neglect the audience you already have. Remember to be in service of those who helped you get to where you are now.
Accessibility: Regardless of how big or small your platform may be, the simple act of responding to those who reach out to you via comments or private messages can open you up to a whole new world of opportunities.
Tact: Remember what you write—the internet is written in ink. This principle implores you to be conscientious of your brand reputation.
Compounding: Saturate your own audience with a wide selection of touchpoints. The longer your practice of distributing rich, organic content, the more your community compounds, or grows.
Integration: Be who you say you are both online and off. The REAL magic of social media happens when you bring your full authentic self to the internet and then let that “personality” shine through evermore offline.
Fun: When it’s fun, it flows. And when it flows, it grows.

Although maintaining and growing a social media presence can often feel daunting and overwhelming, remind yourself to take a look around you and revel in what a privilege it is to live at this current juncture in time—one in which the floodgates of communication, connection, content creation, and global scalability have been opened wide.

All that you’re left with is sheer opportunity. Use it.

For more insight into these 10 evergreen principles, get your copy of the book Be.