“Change is the only constant.”
– Heraclitus (and every social media manager on the planet)
Social media is one of the most dynamic and fast-evolving spaces in digital marketing. Algorithms shift, trends come and go, platform features get updated or scrapped, and audience behavior continually evolves.
Running social platforms for clients often feels like running on a treadmill—always running, never stopping. Juggling platforms, digging for third-party content, and keeping up with a plethora of posts is a lot of work. It’s easy to fall into a routine way of working, where you forget to take the time to grow and push the boundaries. In other words, it can be hard to find the time to optimize.
As fast as social moves, optimizing (growing and improving) a social media account can be a super slow process–painfully slow sometimes. Social media growth, especially organic, is often more of a slow burn than a rocket launch (despite what the highlight reels on LinkedIn or Facebook suggest).
Why the slow growth?
- Algorithms reward consistency, not quick wins.
- Your best content usually gets seen after you’ve built trust and rhythm.
- Engagement snowballs—but it takes time to get those first few people to care.
- Platform saturation makes standing out harder unless your content is really specific or emotionally resonant.
- Metrics lag behind effort. What you’re doing now may pay off months from now.
The Quiet Build to Social Breakthrough
We’ve been managing social media for The McGowan Companies for nearly a decade, and while the early years were steady, the last two to three years have marked a significant turning point.
Growth didn’t happen overnight. Instead, we focused on optimization–making small, strategic changes over time. We began refining messaging, experimenting with new layouts, and leaning into what was already working. These adjustments began to positively impact improvements in engagement, reach, and overall brand presence. It’s proof that lasting success in social media arrives from a thoughtful, evolving strategy.
Social Media Optimization: From Old Practices to New Strategies
It’s very easy for clients to want to chase trends for quick wins and forget that real, sustainable growth is built on consistency and relevance.
We’re constantly reminding clients that the real wins on social come from sticking to the basics. It’s not about reinventing the wheel every week—it’s about showing up consistently and sharing content that matters to your audience. That means using your blogs and e-books to spark conversation, getting your team involved to boost engagement, and sharing real-life photos from around the office or out at events to show who you are and what you’re about. Syncing up your social posts with email campaigns helps drive home your most important messages and share relevant third-party content. When you stay focused on these simple things, the results start to add up.
Over the past couple of years, we’ve helped our client make a handful of key shifts that really moved the needle.
- Prioritized best practices, especially using 1080×1080 graphics for better visibility and performance.
- Leaned into video, with short clips about specific products consistently ranking as top-performing content.
- Added UTM codes to track which posts drive the most website traffic and better understand ROI.
- Reused blog and e-book content by posting multiple times and running paid ads to extend reach and drive consistent traffic.
- Humanized the brand by featuring team members—videos with subject matter experts and posts highlighting regional sales managers performed especially well.
- Switched from link previews to full images, improving post visibility after link previews were downgraded to small, less noticeable thumbnails.
Reflecting on the Journey
Simple Format Shift Made Our Videos Pop
We switched to a square format for videos, which now take up more space, especially in mobile view. Previously, each video began with the same entrance slide. We noticed this created a repetitive look and made the posts look identical on the page. Now, we start each video with text, and this gives each post a different look. Viewers instantly know what the content is about. It’s a small change, but it’s made the content feel fresher and more engaging.
Before and After:
Turning One Blog Into Multiple Touchpoints
Initially, we shared their blog articles just once on social, but we quickly realized we were leaving traffic on the table. When we started posting multiple times about the same blog post, we needed a way to keep the content feeling fresh. To do that, we paired each post with a different image and tested alternate titles and subtitles to appeal to a broader range of viewers.
Eventually, we developed a branded template with varied imagery and messaging. This approach not only helps attract different audience segments but also reinforces McGowan’s brand identity with every post.
Three different posts, taking viewers to the same blog:
Turning Long-Form Content into Scroll-Stopping Posts
To take advantage of the different post formats LinkedIn offers, we began using e-books as carousel (document) posts. With so much valuable content packed into each e-book, they were a perfect fit. Breaking them into swipeable slides made the information more digestible, engaging, and interactive, giving us a fresh way to repurpose long-form content and drive more visibility.
Carousel post:
Real-World Content, Congratulatory Statements, and Employee Engagement
One of the most effective ways to expand your reach on social media is through your employees. When team members share company news or celebrate wins, it adds authenticity and significantly boosts visibility. That said, getting clients to submit content featuring real people can be a challenge—it takes a bit of creativity, sometimes, a LOT of creativity.
In one case, we received an internal email highlighting recent successes from Regional Sales Managers (RSMs). We repurposed that content into five individual posts, each spotlighting a different RSM.
This approach allowed us to tag each person, increasing the likelihood that they—and their networks—would engage. These types of posts often generate strong interaction, with plenty of congratulatory comments and shares, creating a natural ripple effect of engagement.
Bringing Product Posts to Life
We replaced static product graphics with short, voiceover-led animated videos. While the format is simple, the added motion and audio make these posts far more engaging. Even quick, straightforward videos consistently outperform static images by grabbing attention faster and holding it longer.
Results and Impact
With the gradual changes above, over the last few years, we’ve seen:
- 45% increase in followers
- 30% increase in organic impressions
- 35% increase in organic engagements
- 3.6% increase in engagement rate
We’ve been especially pleased with our jump in engagement. We’ve witnessed a jump from 1.88% in 2021 to over 8% in 2025 so far. Here’s a quick view on what this means for our client:
- Significant Growth in Audience Interaction: Moving from under 2% to over 8% engagement shows that the content isn’t just being seen—it’s resonating deeply with the audience. This level of engagement suggests strong relevance, trust, and connection.
- Building Momentum Over Time: The steady upward trend highlights how consistent, strategic improvements can compound. Engagement rates above 5% on LinkedIn are considered very good, so breaking 8% is exceptional.
- Potential for Further Growth: If this trajectory continues, the client is in a great position to leverage this engagement into leads, partnerships, or sales, depending on goals.
“We’ve worked with Blue Star for nearly a decade now. They’ve been a dedicated and strategic partner, supporting us with content development, marketing automation, and social media. Blue Star has folded into our team, working with us to make smart, consistent changes that show great results over time. They are a well-oiled machine that keeps our marketing initiatives running smoothly, and we couldn’t be happier.”
– Suzanne Young, Vice President & Director – Marketing, The McGowan Companies
Key Takeaways & Learnings: Slow and Steady Wins
- Real Growth Takes Time: The biggest improvements didn’t come from one flashy campaign—they came from years of steady, thoughtful adjustments that added up to real impact.
- There’s No Magic Switch: Success on social media doesn’t happen overnight. It’s built through consistent effort, testing, and refinement.
- Strategy > Trends: Following best practices and aligning with brand goals produced far better results than chasing what’s “hot” in the moment.
- Small Tweaks, Big Wins: Simple changes—like switching graphic formats, updating video intros, or reposting blogs with fresh visuals—can dramatically improve performance over time.
- Consistency Builds Trust (and Algorithms Love It): Showing up regularly with relevant, branded content keeps your audience engaged and helps platforms prioritize your posts.
- Patience Pays Off: The steady climb in engagement rates over the years shows that social media success is a marathon, not a sprint.
Our slow, steady, data-driven approach is a textbook example of how patience and strategic optimization pay off big on social media.
