Social media marketing can never be under estimated, especially because it can generate enormous buzz quickly. You have to keep in mind that before social networks got started, it was much harder to generate the buzz you wanted to because everything has to be done manually. With that said, social media has changed the way in which people engage with content, often finding the MOST valuable quickly, and with very little effort. I believe that you have to always write the best content, however, you should always find ways for readers to find it quickly. This way, they get the value you are trying to provide, and you can build massive branding quickly.
Today, I’d like to discuss a few cool ways to build momentum on Facebook. This is a social network that pioneered social marketing and can do a lot for those looking to get started. However, you need to know what tools to use, and how to attract the right type of visitors. Let’s discuss some cool strategies to generate social “Likes” and “Shares” effectively. Your opinion will be great appreciated, and if you know any other ones, then please list them below.
Let’s get started…
Effective Call-To-Actions
One of the best ways to generate a buzz quickly is by having effective call to actions. What does this actually mean? People are NOT going to share your content if you don’t let them know how to or tell them to. If you offer value, then it’s important to ask them to “Please share the value”. This will help you define a clear call-to-action, especially for those who forget to share while going through your content the first time around. Next,
It’s also been said that if you scatter the word “Share” within your content, it can help embed the word in the reader’s mind. This will automatically force them to share when they are done reading the content. The next time you write content, it’s important you encourage your readers to share your content or even use creative words like “share” or “like” within your content.
Adding Value
I can’t believe how easy it is to get an enormous amount of “shares” or “likes” when you add value. As a matter of fact, by simply adding value, people will love to share your content because it helps solves a common problem. I know many of us are under the impression that others don’t like to share content because it creates competition, but I’ve been in the business long enough to know adding value means to simply help others. I’ve shared so many pieces of content online because I knew it would help grow my brand simply because I’m adding value to my readers. It doesn’t matter if I wrote the content or NOT because my readers will know they’ll find the best when visiting my blog.
So, what is valuable content?
If you’ve read my other posts, then you’ll know what my definition of value truly means.
First, it’s about researching your competition so you provide something better to your readers compared to your competition. It’s about solving a common problem within your niche that otherwise has been difficult. Secondly, it’s in-depth content without having a maximum word count in mind. Why? I believe your content has to be as long as possible to get your point across. Third, it’s structured content that is easy to read and skim through. Keep in mind, people don’t want to see cluttered content when they are reading content because they automatically feel finding value is going to be hard. Keep paragraphs short, include intros, include a conclusion, and pay close attention to grammar.
Finally, it’s providing this type of content for free because people these days don’t want to pay for content, especially when so much is available online. It’s just NOT going to happen if you decide to charge. I forgot to mention, it’s important you always add action steps toward the end of your content because many of your readers simply need help starting in their niche.
Narrow Down the Choice
I don’t understand why people give their readers so many choices when it comes to social networks. For example, why would you add 5-6 social share buttons when you should only be focusing on 3-4 major ones where most of the people hang out? This doesn’t make sense to me and to be honest…it’s decreasing your engagement.
In my opinion, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ have 75% of the audience. If you share images, then Pinterest should be used, too. You should only have these social share buttons embedded within your blog pages so your readers don’t have too many options, hence confusing them going forward. If you give them too many choices, then they’ll end up sharing on a networks that don’t have engagement, wasting a valuable sharing opportunity. When you set up your blog, it’s important to think about these small things because it’ll be the difference between a successful online campaign, and one that has failed.
For those of you using WordPress, this doesn’t have to be hard. For example, plugins like AddThis.com and ShareThis.com have made it very easy to add code to your website. Install the plugin then configure the tool with the social share buttons you want. It’s so simple that you can play around and run some tests to find out which ones give you the highest engagement.
Here’s something else that has come to my attention. When you reduce choices, you’ll ultimately increase the overall number of shares from within your blog and externally. If you’ve written content that provides value, then popular social platforms will be push your content in front of other high impact people who’ll share it, too. Some of these people will have thousands of people, which could help create a viral buzz very quickly. Again, give it a try, and if some platforms don’t seem to work well, then you can switch them with the click of a mouse button.
Create Posts So People Feel Obligated
Many times, we stick to writing content we feel reflects our expertise. This is something I encourage because the best type of content is backed by credibility and experience. However, it always helps to write controversial content that you know people will agree with. I remember a few years back, someone had visited the Microsoft head office, and pretended like they were peeing on the entrance sign. I found it to be funny, however, the funny thing is that image alone was shared 10,000+ times in one day. All the Apple users were thrilled at the image, which is why it resonated so much. With that said,
I encourage all of you to write on a topic close to your heart that you think would be controversial. Why? You might find thousands of people who share similar insight on the very same topic.
This topic can be anything related to your niche that you feel very strong about. However, it’s important to write about something that will have several opinions so you can start a debate. This is the best way to get people to comment on your content, and even share your idea.
Use the Tools You Have
What’s awesome is you have so many tools available that you never had before. It’s so easy to find #hashtags and social keywords that you should be embedding into your content so you can encourage additional sharing. Here`s a quick example…
A few months back, I stumbled across http://hashtagify.me/ and this tool provides you with the MOST popular tags trending on Twitter. By understanding what tags are popular within your niche, you’ll be able to make use of the same ones going forward. This will allow you to reach out to even more people, tapping into popular areas within a social platform. Here’s a quick overview of the tool.
Head over to http://hashtagify.me/. Make sure you have 2-3 main keywords in mind so you can start searching right away. Next, type in your keyword within the search bar and start the process.
The tool will generate a list of hashtags relevant to your main keyword. At this point, you can start to narrow down your hashtags, sorting them by popularity. I like to do this by first going into table mode then clicking on popularity.
Make a list of the top 5-6 MOST popular #hahstags within your niche so you can add them to your headline when sharing on social platforms. When others type these tags into social media platforms, your content has a higher chance of being found because it’s in front of more people. This, combined with the fact that you have written awesome content, will increase the chance of others sharing, generating more traffic going forward.
Next,
You have other tools available that will allow you to write awesome content. For example,
Google Search –
This is one of the best FREE ways to find trending topics that you can then generate into valuable content. Once you have completed your content, you can use other tools to get it in front of the right type of people. Simply type in a “main keyword” then see what other ideas you can come up with. If you see a specific topic that has been mentioned several times, then combine it and write some awesome content.
Google Trends –
Amazing to find trending topics, and I have been using it for years to find what keywords are generating enormous buzz within my niche. This tool is a great way to find untapped keywords then write content that hasn’t been covered by your competitors. When you write untapped content, you’ll be able to attract readers more quickly because your article is unique. After,
Use the tools I’ve suggested to promote popular new content you’ve published. You can use these tools to find other popular hashtags to implement into your social sharing.
Forums –
Forums have been an awesome place to get started when looking for the right type of information. These have been around for years, and continue to build momentum each year. Why are they so popular? Simple…
They provide in-depth information quickly and with very little work going forward. You have thousands of people online, and they are all sharing in real-time. This means if you need information, you can find it within forums almost immediately. However, keep a few things in mind before you get started…
- Always provide in-depth information within forums so your account doesn’t get banned.
- Always look for niche targeted forums so you can keep information relevant and full of substance.
- The more value you provide, the higher “shares” and “likes”, so use forums to find high quality questions.
- Always create a list of popular threads so you can go online later, replying to each then providing a link to your content.
Final Thoughts
Getting the right amount of “shares” and “likes” is very important, especially with the expansion of social media. Getting your content in front of the right type of people is important to generate enormous traffic and buzz. Networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ understand this so have made their interface very easy to use, and have even provided valuable tools to help you get the job done quickly. For example, if you are building your blog using WordPress, then you have a handful of plugins that will automatically tweet your content to the right networks. This means you have automated the sharing process, hence increased the likelihood of someone finding your content.
Next,
It’s important to always test and tweet new things because you’ll find out what type of content is resonating with your readers. Some will outperform others so it’s important to try out new things. Again, you have tools available that will help streamline this process, allowing you to really find out what works and what doesn’t. It’s amazing.
What’s left?
It’s time to start putting your plan in action by starting with research. Create a list of lists where your niche people hang out, like forums, communities, others blogs, and social media networks. By doing this, you are organizing where and how to find people to reach out to once you have written your content. Get down to business right now by writing valuable content that people want to share. Make it in-depth, making sure it answers a common problem within your niche…It’s that simple. After, you can find ways to implement auto-sharing strategies to help you boost engagement. You have some of them listed above that you can pretty much start with right away.
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