We talk a lot on this blog about how to optimize your social media efforts to maximize whatever goal you’re reaching for. That stuff’s important if you’re going to be successful.

It can also trip you up. People forget what social media is: a conversation. It’s not Excel sheets, and numbers, and trends, and optimizations. It’s you, talking to people, talking to other people.

Don’t overcomplicate it.

You want your social presence to look good, sure. But you don’t want to look like you spend all your time trying to make your social presence look good. (It’s like getting dressed in the morning.)

People should be pulled in by all the great stuff you do; they shouldn’t get turned off by posts that have clearly been vetted 14 times and rewritten to be just right. Stuff that’s created to appeal to everyone will hardly interest anyone.

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. Be a person (even if you’re a brand).
2. Be useful.
3. Be what you’d want to see if you were on the other side of the glass.

Then worry about the numbers.