For Social Media, The 90-9-1 Rule May Be More Accurate Than the 80/20 Rule

The 80-20 Rule is well known because it can be so adaptable in terms of what the 80 and what the 20 mean. The first time I heard it, the 20 represented the percent of your clients who generate the 80 percent of your revenue. I recently read someone say that 20 percent of your work is more effective than the rest -- so eliminate the useless 80 percent of ineffective work...and keep on improving, I guess.

For social media, BtoBOnline magazine has identified a new rule: the 90-9-1 Rule, based on the concept that 1 percent of the members of an online community contribute 90 percent of the content. That's why it is important to listen to a community before joining in -- so you can understand the dynamics and personalities involved, and then identify the 1 percent who are the most influential.

The 9 percent, by the way, refers to people who add occasional comments.

The 90 also refers to the percent of people who just read.

Check out all 5 tips for B2B socual media marketing.