Marketing and branding | Apr 2

Social power: How to make social media work harder by focusing on relevance, frequency, and value-led content

Marketing and branding | Apr 2

Why relevance, consistency, and value-led content drive better social media results

Ian Wylie Journalist, broadcaster, educator

Reading Time 5 minutes

For many small business leaders, social media can feel like an endless obligation: more posts, more platforms, more pressure. But the most effective SMEs aren’t necessarily the most active. They might just be the most focused.

Research from lender iwoca suggests the overwhelming majority (97%) of SMEs now use social media to boost business, with Facebook and Instagram proving most popular. Nearly half even hold a TikTok account for their business.

Yet SMEs are five times less likely to use social media than medium-sized counterparts. Louise Morgan, Director of B2B PR and communications agency TMPR, also cautions that ‘posting content is not a social media strategy. Neither is being active on every platform.’ Instead, she advises founders to ‘leave FOMO [fear of missing out] at the door’ and focus efforts on quality over quantity.

Start with relevance, not reach

A common mistake among SMEs is trying to be everywhere at once. Morgan argues that relevance begins with understanding where your audience actually is. ‘Relevance means looking at where most of your customers spend their time on social media,’ she says. ‘The solution can be as simple as asking a few of them.’

For many B2B firms, that means prioritising one platform (often LinkedIn) rather than spreading efforts thinly. With limited time and budgets, she says, ‘it often pays dividends to pick one channel and do it well, before broadening scope’.

Luke Wilson, owner and Managing Director of packaging manufacturer FACER, takes a similarly focused approach. His business prioritises video-led content, particularly on LinkedIn, with a clear sense of what resonates. ‘What moves the needle for us is short-form, talking-head or behind-the-scenes machine-focused content,’ he says.

By contrast, content that lacks personality or purpose tends to underperform. ‘What flops tends to be soulless over-polished corporate graphics or generic announcement posts, either with no takeaway, no purpose, no values and ultimately no FACER,’ says Luke. Relevance isn’t about being present everywhere, but about being meaningful in the right place.

Build value into every post

If relevance is about where you show up, value is about what you offer when you do. ‘Value-led means thinking about what would benefit your target audience rather than only ever broadcasting news that you want to share,’ says Louise. She warns that it’s easy for businesses to treat social media as a broadcast channel. ‘But how is that adding value to your current and future customers?’ she challenges.

Instead, she encourages SMEs to focus on practical usefulness: sharing advice, addressing pain points, and offering solutions. Content that educates, saves time, or simplifies complexity can position a business as a trusted expert. Businesses should be ‘willing to give some things away for free’, rather than hiding all valuable insight behind paywalls.

Luke’s approach reflects this philosophy in practice. ‘We capture content for problems, not products,’ he says. His team focuses on client challenges and common frustrations, using social media to demonstrate solutions and expertise.

Behind-the-scenes content also plays a key role. ‘Clients also love the “how”, the behind-the-scenes sneak peek at concepts turning into packaging reality,’ he explains. This kind of transparency not only educates but builds trust.

For consumer brands, value can take a slightly different form. Lisa Hicks is founder of SNOAP, a dispenser for solid soap and shampoo, who won backing from Dragon’s Den investors, and often posts with well-known ‘Dragon’ Deborah Meaden.

Lisa says she structures her content around a mix of demonstrations, storytelling, and proof. ‘Balancing promoting our products and creating content that lands is hard, of course,’ she says. To manage this, she uses four distinct content pillars: product demonstrations, founder-led posts, lifestyle content, and proof or education.

That balance ensures her content does more than sell. It shows how the product works, tells the story behind the business, and demonstrates real-world impact.

Find a frequency you can sustain

If relevance and value determine what you post, frequency determines whether your efforts are sustainable. Here, consistency matters more than intensity. ‘Before developing anything, be realistic about what’s practical,’ says Louise. ‘That’s the only way to create a sustainable approach.’

Rather than chasing ideal posting targets, she advises leaders to commit to a cadence they can maintain, even if it is modest at first. ‘Decide what’s sensible to start, even if it’s just twice a month,’ she suggests. ‘It’s better than nothing to get you going.’

Planning is key. Mapping posts in advance can reduce pressure and avoid last-minute scrambling, helping social media become part of routine rather than an afterthought.

For Lisa, consistency is built into a structured content system. She posts daily on Instagram and Facebook, supported by a content in the form of a blog, LinkedIn content, and a newsletter that feeds into her social output. This integrated approach allows her to repurpose content across channels while maintaining a steady flow.

Luke takes a similarly disciplined approach, posting daily on weekdays across company and personal channels. His team batch-produces content with a videographer and plans material a month in advance, making consistency achievable despite operational demands.

For SMEs, the most effective strategies share common traits: a clear focus on the right platforms, content that delivers genuine value, and a realistic, repeatable posting rhythm.

As Louise puts it, the goal is not to do everything, but to do what matters. Then do it well.

Ian Wylie Journalist, broadcaster, educator

Ian Wylie is a journalist, editor, and broadcaster for the Financial Times, Guardian, BBC, Monocle, and others. For 16 years he was a staff writer, feature writer, and section editor at The Guardian newspaper. He also teaches on Newcastle University’s undergraduate and postgraduate journalism programmes.

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