Would you prefer a massive following of random accounts from faraway places or a more modest audience consisting of locals, past clients, and contacts from your database?

If you're marketing your local business on social media, I'm guessing you'd choose the latter option.

So here's some advice: Stop fretting over vanity metrics like follower count, views, and likes. Yes, I know these measurements do matter algorithmically, but you should think about the bigger picture.

Unless you're trying to become a celebrity, why obsess about ‘em? Instead, focus on what truly matters: reaching and engaging with potential clients who are local to your area.

Last year, for instance, Mark Zuckerberg revealed that AI suggested content already accounted for 15% of what users were seeing in their Facebook and Instagram feeds and would more than double by the end of 2023.

(Sidebar:  AI-suggested content is algorithmically generated recommendations tailored to each user's interests and preferences on social media platforms.)

Frankly, that means fewer-and-fewer of your followers will see your posts as their feeds become more-and-more saturated with AI suggested content.

On the other hand, by creating content that’s tailored to the needs and interests of your target audience, you effectively train the algorithms to prioritize and display your content to the individuals for whom it’s genuinely relevant:  i.e., local, prospective customers!

Here’s how to optimize your posts to, quote-unquote, “train the algorithm” to show your posts to locals:

1. Publish content that caters precisely to the interests of locals, thereby arm-twisting the algorithm to identify and display it to the right audience.

2. Utilize hyperlocal hashtags to attract the attention and interaction of local users who follow or engage with such hashtags.

3. Always tag your location in and around your area when posting content. This signals the algorithm that your content is relevant within that specific geographic area.

4. Consider promoting/boosting your posts within a 15-mile radius of your marketplace for maximum visibility among potential customers in your immediate vicinity.