An instant way to BIG traffic!

1. 89

   TimArendsposted 9 years ago

   I found a quick way to get a BIG boost in traffic...and it's built right into Hubpages.
   
   When you create or edit a hub, you are given the opportunity to share it under the various social networks such as Facebook, and under the Facebook category, there is the option to "share it on a friends timeline."
   
   I created a hub on my experiences at my old alma mater which, is the most in-depth hub I have written–about 9000 words in length, with several original photos.  I know the hub is of interest, because under my stats section I have a visitor retention rate of five stars, the top rating.
   
   I have a Facebook friend who went to the same college and he must have friended a lot of fellow classmates. When I clicked"publish," I chose the option to share on a friend's timeline. When I did so, I got an instant hit -- well over 1000 views and a lot of nice comments.
   
   I wish I could say that I was able to keep up the momentum from that initial promotion, but it has tapered down considerably since then, so I may have to repeat the process. All you have to do is friend those on Facebook with good followings, and when you update your hub, choose the share it on their timeline option.
   
   I looked up the etiquette of this technique online, and could find no negative references to it, and, as I say, it is a part of Facebook and it's built into the hubPages interface. This technique should be fine as long as you don't overdo it. Like anything else, it can be overused and abused.
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   1. 84

      johndwilliamsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Time,
      
      Where do you see "I know the hub is of interest, because under my stats section I have a visitor retention rate of five stars, the top rating." - is it within Hubpages I've never seen this feature?
      
      Thanks

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      1. 78

         LeanManposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         When you open a hub to view it when logged in you will see at the top three tabs to click - "edit" "stats" and "delete"..
         
         The stats tab is where you will find all of this information

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         1. 84

            johndwilliamsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            Well I'll be an Uncle's Monkey - I've never noticed  that information before!
            
            Thanks I am off to explore now

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   2. 94

      sallybeaposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      The stat information you gave here is probably the most useful piece of information I have picked up - after two years of being her - I had not realized all that information was available to me.  Thank you so much for that.

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   3. 61

      The Examiner-1posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Tim,
      FB is the only one which I am not on because I have read how it is mostly seniors these days but I will try it.

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   4. 81

      peachpurpleposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      i use all the share medias provided by HP, very useful indeed

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   5. 62

      Daniel Carterposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      You'll find that the same old routines and tricks for promotion don't work for too long before the next fad hits. I share a lot of what I write here on FB because I have a pretty good following with pretty good results. But I don't spam other people's walls with it. Ever. The reason you had such great success with your hub is because so many people could identify with it because you all share the same alma matter. But for other hubs on different topics, you'll get widely varied results. If you use FB for more than just social interaction with friends and family (as I do) then you'll need to hone your posts and develop a well crafted post every day. That's the key to FB promotion. Your friends and followers always rely on you as a source of well presented content that they "like" share and comment on.
      
      Sharing your article on others' walls on FB is pretty daring. I usually remove other people's shares on my wall unless they are directly related to my purposes of having a FB account. You'll find, (as another hubber has already mentioned) that most people will perceive your wall shares of you promoting your hubs as spam, if you do it very frequently.
      
      Pinterest, Google+, relevant blogs and a host of other social networking will help promote your hub. Utilizing all the available ways is easily a full-time job, if you want to take it that far. But quite frankly, the instant gratification of going viral or semi-viral is going to be fleeting at best, and it will never take away the value of a seasoned, well-written hub that continuously ranks well in search engines, didn't get penalized, and spans age groups and demographics. Time needs to be your ally, not your enemy.

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2. 83

   LuisEGonzalezposted 9 years ago

   Thanks. I had not noticed this before. It's worth a try.

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3. 89

   TimArendsposted 9 years ago

   You're welcome Luis. I was surprised to find so little on this topic online, especially when it is such a potentially powerful promotional technique.

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4. 78

   LeanManposted 9 years ago

   Social sharing is a great way to get a good peak in traffic if done in moderation. Sharing something that is actually of interest to your connections is fine.
   
   However many people will get onto facebook and share everything "the best hand drill to buy under $50", "My visit to the toilet on Thursday" and a host of other articles that most people would consider spam or irrelevant.

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5. 74

   WriteAngledposted 9 years ago

   I would not dream of spamming my Facebook friends in this way!
   In fact I only link to something I have written on my own timeline once or twice a year. People who are constantly self-promoting on Facebook annoy me and I have removed a number of them from my friends list. I have no intention of having the same done to me.
   Such a pity that everything has to be ruined by being turned into a marketing tool.

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6. 82

   earnerposted 9 years ago

   What I write online is of no interest to people I know.  It'd be spamming if I stuck any of my hubs on their Facebook.  It's a good tip, for the very few people that could use it responsibly.

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   1. 89

      TimArendsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I'm in exactly the same boat. I very rarely write about things that my FB friends would be interested in. For the most part, I don't even share that kind of stuff on my own timeline, much less somebody else's. Besides, I don't have enough FB friends for it to matter.

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7. 93

   FatFreddysCatposted 9 years ago

   Yea, I think it would irritate the hell out of my FB friends if I used this method, and soon I'd have no friends left!
   
   When it comes to FB sharing, I only post links to my Hubs on my own personal FB page and in a couple of "groups" I belong to that are pertinent to the subjects I write about, and that's all.

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8. 63

   Lisa HWposted 9 years ago

   I only have, I think, twelve "friends" on Facebook.  Two of them are my daughter's cats, and one I don't really know who it is.      The remainder are family (and whatever an ex-husband is).  They all know where to find what I write if they're at all interested (and the cats, as far as I know, can't read - even though they do seem to know their way around my daughter's keyboard).  In any case, I refuse to mix my own genuine "socializing" (limited as my online socializing may be) with marketing tricks/techniques.   One of the reasons I don't bother much  with Google+ is that it's obvious when someone does the obligatory x number of non--promotional Hubs and that throws in a link to his own stuff every x number of posts..  To each his own, though.  Maybe it's easy to stay "Internet-high-minded" when one has such a high percentage of cats as Facebook friends.   

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9. 89

   TimArendsposted 9 years ago

   My post was not really about spamming your existing FB friends. My post was about making NEW friends relevant to the topic of the hub you want to promote, and then sharing it on their timeline. Admittedly, one could call this spamming, if you make friends purely for the purpose of promoting your hub.
   
   That's why I was surprised to find so little information on the etiquette of this method online. That's also one reason I decided to throw this topic out to the HP community--to get others' opinions on this. I personally think this method could be used responsibly, if done in moderation.

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   1. 92

      aesta1posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      How about joining groups where you can share a relevant post? This way, you are not spamming your friend. Your school has probably an alumni group.

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10. 85

    DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years ago

    I created a separate FB page under my writing name, as used here, and that is where I post any and all such 'shares,' be it something interesting I found elsewhere online, someone else's great and interesting Hub, or some of my own.
    
    That said, I use it rarely, and in extreme moderation.  Probably fewer than  a single post per month.  When I first started the page, I posted about weekly, just to get the attention to the page, and gain some followers...but now..half of the time I don't bother, as it never truly did much good.
    
    The trouble is, the kinds of stuff I write and share, regardless of source, are educational bits that are very important for people to know, if we are to keep this country from totally destroying the middle class (which process is well under way, I might add!).
    
    That leads to the very annoying. disappointing, and uncomfortable fact that I usually end up "preaching to the choir," and the people who really need and should pay attention to and act upon the information, don't read.

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11. 57

    Hicks Daysposted 9 years ago

    i notice it before, it might worth a try.

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12. 93

    Suzanne Dayposted 9 years ago

    If you read my hub on how to get real Facebook likes and engagement, it will inform you how to publish on social media (ie Facebook for starters) and get targeted traffic (not family and friends) to read your stuff, even if you don't know anyone. It's a type of marketing, check it out - it's good for anyone who has a stunning hub and cannot seem to get it to go viral.
    
    The technique works really well as long as it reaches the right people in the right way and with you providing the perfect content (it has to be excellent content or no one will want to read it, no matter how much marketing you do). I have had hundreds of viewers revisit my hubs months later because they liked what they read initially, after I found them in the Facebook groups for the topics I was working on.

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       MJ Martinposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       I will be reading that hub next.  Also working on content to turn it into excellence.  I enjoy marketing and learning how not to overuse it.

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13. 61

    onehourdeviceposted 9 years ago

    thanks for the great advice

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