Building social capital & creating an online following

Tips for leveraging social media to increase readership

by Adam WootenInternational Business Columnist

Deseret Connect

The challenge

• How do I get my articles linked across social media when my mother does not Facebook and I don’t know the identity of my only other reader?

Who in the world cares?

• Who is your target audience?Mothers, high school athletes, businesspeople, retirees, etc.

• Where do they hang out?Facebook (groups), LinkedIn (groups), Twitter, Ning, blogs, forums, etc.

What works for me may or may not work for you

38%

17%16%

11%

7%6% 5%

% of Visitors to Adam’s Columnfrom Social Media Sources

BlogsOther

Measured performance may tell you to make adjustments

• Social networks: if posting in a particular network is not affecting traffic, maybe you can focus time elsewhere

• Link titles: sometimes the article title is not the best “link bait” for a social network

• Subject matter: even most language geeks prefer my articles that are geared toward a more general audience

• Notification time: my readers are more likely to spread the word if they hear about my article first thing in the morning

Subscriptions keep readers coming back for more

• RSS feed subscriptions (feedburner.google.com)

• Twitter feed subscriptions• Email subscriptions• Blog subscriptions• Facebook page subscriptions• Status updates via LinkedIn,

Facebook, etc.

Burn your own feed for more control over subscription

Simple XML Feed Customized Feed

Avoid stereotypical,self-centered networking

Great networking is NOT all about you• Be helpful

o Provide recommendationso Share good Ideaso Promote the good ideas of otherso Answer questionsoGive positive feedback in comments

• Develop positive two-way relationships

• Unselfish networking is what builds good social capital

Spammers and “flamers” destroy social capital and credibility

• Spammers do the following:o Post article links everywhere, even in

locations not relevant to the topico Don’t provide additional valuable

information related to your area of expertiseo Don’t communicate one-on-one with others

in your social network

• “Flamers” or bashers do the following:o Engage in rude, hostile, or insulting

interaction with other internet userso Don’t handle criticism politely and

appropriately

Don’t forget the low-hanging fruit!

• Have you blasted your network to let them know you are writing?o Familyo Friendso Colleagueso Neighborso Online connections

• Do you email links to the people and organizations mentioned in your articles?

Social media tip summary

• Know who your readers are• Go where your readers hang out• Convert readers into subscribers• Build social capital – be an unselfish

networker• Preserve social capital - avoid spamming

and “flaming”• Remember the loyal, low-hanging fruit• Make adjustments as needed

Thank you

Any questions?