How to Effectively Promote Yourself as a New Content Creator on a Shoestring Budget by sharing content using social media.
If you’re passionate about doing creative work, nothing sounds more appealing than making a living from what you enjoy doing. Whether the content you create is articles, videos, music or anything else, it’s simply not enough to post it to your blog and leave it at that. In fact, you could have the most appealing and engaging website in the world, but no one will know it even exists if you don’t take the time to engage with those who would enjoy it.
Large corporations may be able to create high-quality content and distribute it further than a developer who’s just starting out, but there is one element that can even the odds, and that’s sharing content using social media.
With current trends changing the way that brands market to consumers and printed media giving way to largely free digital platforms, content creators can create a large amount of hype and a lasting impression, regardless of their budget. So now that you have your Twitter and Facebook accounts set up, it’s time to find out how to effectively utilize them to drive traffic to your content.
Hashtags assist sharing content using social media:
If you plan on using hashtags in your campaign, be sure that you understand the difference between organic and annoying. If you’re a video game reviewer, stick with a particular genre of games for your content and use the appropriate hashtag. A great example of this would be a channel owner who dedicates themselves to reviewing video games of the past would find more value in using #retrogaming in their posts as opposed to #videogames. The use of a highly specific hashtag makes it easier for other like-minded users to find your content rather than getting buried among other posts that have nothing to do with your specific genre.
Here are some good guidelines to follow when using hashtags:
- Don’t use too many (2 maximum).
- Do exercise caution when using a trending hashtag.
- Don’t be robotic in your posts and replies.
- Do embrace new features on established platforms as they’re released, like Twitter video sharing.
Schedule Automatic Posts help sharing content using social media:
For fledgling content creators, their passion is something that they pursue outside of their day job. That doesn’t mean that they can’t continue to be a lively and active presence on social media. With free apps like Hootsuite and Buffer, scheduling posts across Twitter and Facebook can be your best friend. Paid services, like the TikTok followers for sale on Virall.com, are the preferred methods that influencers like Charlie D’Amelio use to fast track their growth.
For example, say that a release relevant to your niche is striking Australia shortly and they’re 12 hours ahead of your time zone. Instead of staying up until 3 A.M. to create a live post, simply:
- Log in with your email or social media credentials.
- Select which profile you’d like your post to go to.
- Type it up with the relevant hashtag(s) and attach pictures or add URLs where necessary.
- Schedule for the optimal share time.
Further, apps like Klout that tell you your optimal share times based on your followers and time zone. Schedule those posts for when your followers are most likely online for best results.
Don’t Be a Spammer
If you’re looking for organic traffic, you can’t expect it if all you’re ever doing is directing people to your content. In fact, part of the idea of creating an organic audience is to engage with them regularly by sharing content using social media. Dedicate at least an hour a day to sharing and responding to similar content.
A good rule of thumb to follow is the 30/60/10 ratio, which dictates that:
- 30% of what you share is owned.
- 60% is curated from other users.
- 10% is promotional in nature.
The added benefit to natural engagement that isn’t skewed in your favor is that it keeps your content fresh in people’s minds and creates an engaged and like-minded community.
If you want to win the Internet? Don’t be a robot, bottom line! Be effective by sharing content using social media.
Author Bio: Robert Conrad is a self-proclaimed “video game nerd” who had the illustrious honor of helping two video games sites lift off the ground. When he’s not helping his fellow gamers learn how to “Internet”, he can be found sharing a pizza with his totally awesome son. You can follow him on Twitter.
