When it comes to content, if you put time into creating something and no one reads it, it feels like it would’ve been less painful to have a tree fall on you than it is to hit refresh over and over while your face burns red with embarrassment and your blog traffic, post shares, and article comment remain tauntingly at zero. You may feel like you wasted time creating it, and you want to delete it all entirely.
First things first, if you are creating – and, even more importantly, publishing – content for yourself and your business, hooray! Good for you. For most people actually putting your ideas out into the world is the most difficult step. In fact, if you are doing it, you are part of the 1 percent internet elite actually creating content and not simply consuming it.
Before you beat yourself up over the lack of article engagement, you have to be honest – really, really honest – with yourself about how much time and research you’ve put into creating content people want to read, sharing it, and interacting within a community.
These three simple steps are some key ways you can improve your posts’ reach:
Copy the Greats – I’m not suggesting you go down the route of stealing and plagiarism. But rather there is a huge benefit of surveying the content of others that is performing well and study them for what’s working well. Analyze the types of posts that are being shared and how they are structured.
Are they “How To” articles? Are they numbered lists?
Are they inspiring?
Are they insightful?
Are they keyword heavy?
Are they personalized narratives with a universal theme?
Are they written more like news articles?
Are they full of tips?
How is the title structured?
Does the title ask questions?
Does the title compel you to click or conjure mystery?
Share – When it comes to content, one of the biggest ways content creators fail themselves is by not sharing their posts or only sharing them once, at, say 11 pm after they finished their post. Like most things, much of your success in sharing content comes from timing, measuring, consistency, and quality.
This brings up the age-old question of how often should you share your content? That answer depends on many factors. What type of relationship do you have with your audience? What do they expect from you? What social media platforms are you using? Do you sponsor content or are you relying entirely on organic results entirely.
It’s a balancing act of seeing what’s working and what is not and then making adjustments. Rinse. Repeat.
Share Alike – Going it alone from a proverbial bell tower is not going to garner the results you seek. If you want your work to connect with others, you need a tribe. A tribe gives us a sense of belonging, which generates connection, confidence, and hope. Luckily our industry is tight-knit community filled with interesting people dedicated to elevating the work we do together. In other words: a tribe.
Start using your social media account to connect with the many industry allies you have out there. You don’t have to look far to find cohorts who are interested in connecting online and sharing the knowledge they have (and find) with others.
Share their content. If you are connecting with them in a genuine way with sincere interest, they will share yours. It’s the other circle of life, Simba.
Aubrey Collins is the director of marketing and communications at MediaTree, a supplier of branded digital entertainment cards. She fell in love with the promotional products industry in 2011 at her first PPAI Expo. She shares her perspective on everything from the industry, what parenting continues to teach her about business, to what marketing campaigns make her cry on her blog. Connect with her on Twitter or email her atacollins@mediatreegroup.com.