Doesn’t it seem everyone is assessing their progress in social media based on likes, new subscribers, followers, comments, and engagement? This, my friends, is a huge mistake I see entrepreneurs making every single day since the advent of media sharing sites. All these influencers senselessly continuing to religiously evaluate how popular they are each day! It’s the equivalent of saying…
- “I’m popular because people were sitting at my table at lunch.”
- “Everyone is coming to my party!”
- “People tell me I’m pretty.”
If that’s your measure of success, well then my personal belief is that you’re operating your social media business as if you’re a middle schooler.
And, guess what? You’re not.
The reason I think most of us do this is because there’s a lot of conflicting information out there.
Most people in social media are sending their interested pursuers, possible fans, potential new customers, future lifers… on a goose egg hunt.
Look, does this sound familiar?
You’re checking out someone’s short video on Instagram. “Hey, I hope you liked this video. If you did, don’t forget to check me out on Twitter!” Then you go to Twitter, follow a bunch of their tweets, and find this, “Hey, I just uploaded a new video to YouTube!” And you click, go to YouTube, and they say, “You know, let’s see how many likes we can get on this video! Don’t forget to subscribe! And by the way, if you want to follow me on Facebook…”
And you keep going around and around and around in a circle.
When I get business emails, or even those from personal accounts, I always look at the custom signatures. Most emails I get are signed with a list of every possible place I could find them. There’s a link to a Facebook Page, Twitter handle, Instagram account, Youtube channel, and Lord knows how many more!
And I’m thinking… just tell me ONE way to get in touch with you.
What we want to do, rather, is this…
Tell people how to continue the relationship with you via email.
In other words, 80% of what you’re posting in social media should send people to an opt-in or a freemium (or should JUST deliver content). Very rarely should you be sending people someplace else, which leads to someplace else, which leads to someplace else, which leads to someplace else.
Ultimately, if someone’s paying attention to your stuff, checking it out, watching an entire video… they’re interested! You’ve got their attention. They want to get to know you. So why do you send them to five other locations?
For most of us, our thinking pattern goes as follows:
I’m on YouTube right now and I’m staying on YouTube, so don’t ask me to go check out how your Facebook wall because I’m on YouTube and that’s where I’m at.
The same is true when you’re on Instagram. Or any other platform!
So what is the hard, fast rule?
It is this: create a freemium. Create an opt-in. Create a gift that you want to give people who are just like you, except maybe they’re a couple steps behind you. They haven’t yet figured out whatever it is that you’ve just figured out. Create something to give to people as a token or as an invitation to continue the relationship.
That relationship takes them directly from wherever you are to your website or to your opt-in page.
That’s what I recommend you do every day in social media. That is my plea, my call to action for you today. Evaluate and come up with a strategy. This way, everything you’re posting, wherever you’re posting it – Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, you name it – takes people directly to your free gift.
