Social marketing beginners first mistake: Me! Me! Me! and oh yeah my product…
One of my new social marketing subscribers from the San Diego show asked me a question and it was perfect for the next beginners article here.
She asked me what kind of articles she could write that would do well in social bookmarking.
Obviously my social marketing beginners article last week was not very well read, because once again here is a question in my Inbox. Did I not last week chide you all never to ask questions at the inbox? If this question had come in comments this person would have had a link to the domain of their site from me.
Why? Because you, the one leaving the comment would have created it when you entered the comment. All you had to do was go to last weeks article and add this comment to the comment from there.
Comments are your #1 social marketing interaction pawn. Have you ever played chess? Pawns take up space on the board, slow your competition down and set up a screen that allows your really powerful pieces to hide, until they are ready to move in force.
The link juice you get from comments is not worth that much. However they are your pawns in your incoming link building battle. How will any other Bloggers get to know you and read your blog if you do not let them know you are there. Good comments on any blog let’s Google and the whole world know you are there and active and it let’s other Bloggers know too.
I repeat any Blog. Because leaving comments with the link back to your blog is a indicator of activity to Google. It means you are being social. It means you do not just write your blog for only it’s own benefit.
This is worth tons here, pay close attention.
Think of it like this. If you use Digg, and you cast hundreds of Diggs on all kinds of articles. How much do you think your Digg is worth? More, less or the same as it was to begin with?
Now let’s say you submit an article to Digg. If you have submitted a few articles each week previously how do you think the Digg algorithm now sees your… let’s say article 8th submission. As valuable, not valuable or it does not matter?
Now let’s say you submit one article in one month’s time. AND you Digg one article in one month’s time. AND it is your own article. How does Digg know? You were stupid enough the add your site to your profile on Digg in the links section, so greedy your were to just get one incoming link.
How valuable do you think your one day participation is now to Digg and how much chance do you think it has of getting more than one Digg (that would be yours).
All it takes to be real on sites like Digg is a few minutes a day. The only reason Digg takes up all your time is because you got SO greedy that you went and added hundreds of friends thinking you could shout them and ask them for Diggs. Now that they did the same to you, you said “Holy crap, I can’t do this” and you quit.
A few minutes in the morning. Submit one good news article at night, that’s all it takes. Oh, yeah, and don’t get greedy. I use a simple system that allows me to Digg hundreds of my friends submissions all in a few minutes a day.
Then when I want to get something important Dugg, I have the power to bid for the front page. You all know where to find it and use that method for yourself.
Social Marketing is NOT about you, it is about them
Them, you know… Your friends? The one’s that read your stuff? Here is the question I received that prompted today’s article.
“I have a question about the Pannell case study. Clearly the way to get an article Dugg is to have it be very natural, informative and heartfelt. So how does a health practitioner get something in that vein across without compromising their professional position?
“I had some thoughts about it like, ‘Why I Became a Chiropractor’ or Some Feedback I’ve Gotten/Healing Stories type articles. But could you get away with writing that kind of post every week?”
First of all I write 3 to 5 stories every week. Most are not about selling my social marketing book. But in the end, EVERY article I write is about selling my book. However, the focus of what I write is about you. So…..
10 Things You Can Do At Home Without a Chiropractor
That is about us, it helps us, and it is free. That is what social marketing is about: Helping People.
Why I became a Chiropractor
That is about you. Unless we already know you we don’t give a flying hoot why you became a Chiropractor. In fact we are all pretty sure you became a Chiropractor to make money. I don’t know what the rest of you do for a living but I have this web site and three others to put food on the table and pay the bills. Hence…..
Why I Write This Blog
You don’t care do you? Why, because I write this blog to make money. Maybe not something anyone would care about or Digg. Honestly, I am here to make a living. I am pretty sure that is why you got up and went to work today too. What gives me SATISFACTION is helping people. A social marketer is WHAT I AM. An honest person that above all wants his blog, books and software to help people is WHO I AM. But one does not exist without the other.
The bottom line
This is usually the Chris Lang rant section. But today I want to leave you with this. It is a quote from Joe Schroeder and it is the one line that has followed me on the Internet for 10 years now.
“Don’t sell Joe a lawn mower. Teach Joe how to grow a better lawn. He will buy his next lawnmower from you. And his next, and his next….”
See you next week with another beginner article. - Chris Lang
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