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Nothing happens on you social media site, it’s a failure and it fades away - this is a frequent reality and goes to underline just how difficult it can be to get a social strategy going. When you set up a blogging site or build a community it requires an a large amount of commitment and effort, with the rewards potentially a long way off in the future.
I spoke with a successful blogger recently and he told me he was posting 3 times a day on his site to get interest, even when no one was reading it. That’s a full time job, for someone. So is it your full time job? Should you pay someone to blog for you? That really does depend on whether you’ve got something to say – but bear in mind, if you write a beautiful 3 page post, well crafted and edited – it will either stagnate and become a bit wiffy in a few days or be scrolled off the screen by a bunch of your colleagues hitting “press this” and adding their comments.
Blogging successfully is not about being a journalist in the traditional sense, it’s far more modern, bite sized and transactional.
I remember the adage that “the people who should blog don’t have the time and the one’s that shouldn’t do!” Now I know that’s not true of many of the successful blogs I read – but the billions of lines or stagnating text out there remind me that blogging is sometimes no more than electronic vanity publishing.
“Nothing” happens more often than you might realize. While there is no official count of unused applications, stagnating Facebook pages, or inactive communities, the social media landscape is burdened with dead weight. These types of failures tend to slip away quietly with little fanfare. They don’t ignite passion — they don’t really accomplish anything, except perhaps waste time, money, and space.
via 4 signs you’re a social media failure – 1. Nothing happens – iMediaConnection.com.
Very very true Mike, good post.
I always think the Seth Godin mantra of “be remarkable” is true in this case Mike….if you are saying stuff people want to share, people will share it. Also, when being remarkable, you only need to be remarkable to your audience….not to everyone.
Also, judging a blog by the numbers is so tough….if I want to reach an audience of the top 100 PR agencies and get subscriptions from people at 40 of them, I am pleased. If I was a general blog wanting to rival an audience of a successful trade magazine for example, I’d need to resign from my day job, hire a couple more people and do this stuff full time.
I think the bit that is so important before you start writing is to figure out iwhat you expected , what you want it to achieve and who your audience is, then you’ll clearly be able to see if it is failing and if so, invest your time somewhere else or better still, tweak the strategy and the content to make it work.
Blogging like managing football teams is something that many people have an opinion on and comparatively few people do well.
In order for something to be social there needs to be a conversation:
- That well-crafted post may be too well crafted not allowing people to interject.
- Continue the dialogue via commenting on other peoples blogs and linking generously demonstrating good online citizenship
Think about the promise that your blog makes with the reader:
- Did you start off with lots of posts and peters out?
- Does the blog run off topic?
- Does the blog offer a break from the norm?
- Is your blog useful?
In order for your audience to discover your blog, search plays a major part, you are not only publishing for people but also machines. 3 times a day builds a body of content that is good from a search point of view and aids discovery – but I still read blogs that post less often.
Finally think carefully about the ‘tyranny of numbers’, not everything that can be measured needs to be and that engagement is often more important than reach.