10e20 Blog

Good advice does not necessarily have a single application. Solid advice can be “recycled” and used for a variety of situations. In January, I wrote how advice for startups can be applied to marketing a website. A recent post I read applied advice in human resources to SEO. I want to take that post and go the next step: into the world of social media.

This post highlights four main points, all of which have applications just about anywhere when you are looking to become active in the social media world and to have the sites that people care to share.

Lesson 1: Attract Attention

The key to being discovered is having something that attracts attention. Whether you write a list post, a how-to, or you gather a collection of viral photos, the key is about writing something that captivates your audience, whoever they may be. The title needs to grab the eye. Graphics can even further help the cause. Do something different. An old post by Robert Scoble about blogger Kathy Sierra resounds in my mind almost every time I write a blog post.

For social media sites like Digg, you’re limited to a description that is short and sweet, but you need to say something that attracts the attention of other users of the service so that your story gets promoted. Look at successful stories and see what it takes. Don’t simply reiterate the title in the description. Be descriptive enough without losing the reader.

Lesson 2: Know Your Keywords

Keywords in social media are important. Just like selling yourself in HR and your site in SEO, you need to sell your linkbait by using those prominent keywords that will ultimately be linked to when your viral campaign kicks off. Without at least some mention of the keywords in the obvious areas, you may not attract the right audience. Use the right keywords, and for any social media submission, study the power words and use them as needed.

Lesson 3: It’s Important to be Popular

You have no idea how important this is in social media. Having a lot of friends is critical. If you’re a nobody and are perceived as such, you won’t get far. You can’t create a website and expect traffic to come without any marketing or promotional efforts. The quote, “If you build it, they will come” is not true. Become well-known. With millions of users on the Internet, you’re not a big deal unless you put effort into self-promotion. That’s how you become popular. Be active in your community. Befriend people with similar interests and they’ll reciprocate.

Lesson 4: Stand Out in the Crowd

Beyond being like everyone else, you need to do more. What do typical users of social media networks do? Not much. In order to be a success, you need to study the network — and this will take time — to know what stands out and lets you be noticed by others. The popularity will follow, but they do go hand in hand.

There’s the difference between what’s good and what’s great. Be outstanding. Work on content that people notice. Use those keywords to draw the attention and your popularity will follow.