Companies don't always know what they're getting into with social posting. A lot turn to outsourcing because they do not have the time to get to know the process and learn to navigate social media. They might as well be holding a big SOS sign. You need to be an expert in the field so you can offer the best value to your customers.

Many businesses agree that "creating compelling content for social media is both the most effective (82%), and most difficult (69%) part of social media marketing techniques." It's also one of the most challenging social strategies that brands perform.

The point is, there's more to local social media marketing than you might think. There's a major difference between posting to your personal account and posting on behalf of your company.

Behind every great company ...

... is a group of great people! A business begins with the individuals who run it and finishes with the people that use it. Before thinking about what your company should post or what customers would like to see, ask yourself if-- as an individual-- you 'd be engaged by that content. If there's no voice or personality in your business's online presence, consumers get disinterested fairly fast.

Be personal! Engage with your audience. Brands can be promotional and engaging simultaneously. Just be sure that the engaging posts outweigh the promotional ones.

The good, the bad and the spammy

Everybody has that one person on Facebook who chokes up their feed with various opinion pieces or "buy-my-product" posts. Don't be that person. No one wants to see that from their friends, and guess what? No one wants to see it from a business, either.

Focus less on yourself and more on your customers. If somebody follows your company, they already know what you are selling. There's no need to over-saturate a feed with links to your site: if it's listed on the page, followers already know how to get there.

So what's the secret? I'll tell you: providing consumers with value is what makes them want to stick around. And I'll let you in on one more secret: companies don't need to post something every day to keep that connection. If you can provide value while posting daily, then by all means, post every day. If that's not the situation, follow this rule: quality over quantity, people. Quality wins every time.

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