Yet Another Social Media Thread ~ Does Social Media Work?

1. 60

   paradigmsearchposted 12 years ago

   Well, folks. Between Twitter and Pinterest, I did 50+ posts today; both my hubs and a whole bunch of other Hubber's hubs. We will see what the results are... Hope springs eternal...

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   1. 82

      Jason Marovichposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Surprisingly, most social networks are different from one another, nowadays.  That means each of us need to know what we are doing before we post on any.  From what I've seen on my own domains, an initial offering to social networks seems to help, rather than hinder my traffic (over a considerable period of time).  I'm talking evergreen content, mostly.  Reddit can get you all sorts of traffic, but if its the wrong kind of traffic, your domain could suffer.  I personally avoid Reddit because I'm a writer and not a 'shock artist'.  That doesn't mean Reddit won't work for some.
      
      Facebook is probably the best place to gain 'clout' with Google.  But, as Greekgeek noted, that sort of clout isn't going to come from a few hundred views.  I'm pro-Twitter, as well.  Twitter is unique in that the hashtags allow for better audience targeting.  I think I remember Paul E. being pro-Twitter, as well.
      
      Still, just jumping onto any social network without knowing it well is a mistake, no matter what we are posting.
      
      (Not meaning you, paradigmsearch, my advice is more for newbies).

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   2. 59

      iefox5posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Social media should be a long term campaign, so it is difficult to judge its effect with only a few days' results.

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   3. 60

      tirelesstravelerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      A good days work.  I never thought to count. I shall begin doing so immediately.

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2. 81

   Sally's Troveposted 12 years ago

   We're making Pinterest, Twitter, HP, FB, Google all rich by knocking ourselves out for pitifully little gain. Someone's learned to game the new system, but it is not I. or or whatever sour grapes might be.

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   1. 60

      paradigmsearchposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Despite my previous Happy-Camper post, I'm afraid that you are very, very, very probably right. This could very well be my last shot at trying to make this whole thing succeed.

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   2. 77

      Bard of Elyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Sally's Trove, I have often thought likewise, that the amount of work many of us do is ridiculous when we consider how much financial gain comes back. If I wasn't in need of whatever money I can make from anywhere I can get it I wouldn't bother. Facebook, I have realised is a place you have to pay if you want to get the traffic. The site tells you what percentage your posts are reaching and then suggests that the way to reach more is pay for ads.

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3. 74

   jacharlessposted 12 years ago

   Pintwiboogle ® -just merged them all into one. lol.

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   1. 82

      molometerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I like it, will you be selling shares in Pintwiboogle ? 'cos i'd buy that for a dollar

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4. 79

   Greekgeekposted 12 years ago

   It does, but it works differently.
   
   A lot of people try to use social media for backlinks to get search engines to rank their pages better. That works jack squat: a lot of social media links are nofollowed or noindexed! Google and Bing are beginning to use social signals a little in their ranking algorithms, but they're picky: social signals only count if something goes viral (LOTS of people are sharing it) or "authority" web figures with huge followings share a link (for example, if Stephen Fry retweets it, that may help boost a page's search rankings).
   
   Social media is social: it depends on word-of-mouth, which depends on people thinking something's worth sharing. Spamming links to ALL our stuff gets us banned or ignored as spammers. But if you understand what people LIKE on social media sites -- each site is different -- and share stuff that's the kind they tend to pounce on, occasionally you'll get lucky. In other words, you have to learn what is meme-worthy, what people are going to feel so strongly about that they'll pass it on. It helps if you're an active member of the site, participating in the community, giving (likes, feedback, sharing other people's stuff) as well as taking (self-promoting).  Be interesting, in order to generate interest.
   
   The other downside of social media is that even if something you shared does get picked up by the site, most of the time, you get a quick spike of traffic, then, after a few days, it dries up. I had a hub raking in over a thousand visitors a day on Twitter after it went viral, but that only lasted a week or so, and now it's down to 60. Of course, on a site that pays you for impressions like Hubpages, even a brief spike may be worth it!
   
   But social media is a fickle mistress (I say, having just tried for the first time since February to use social media to get traffic to a page about a trending topic that I feel strongly about).
   
   I prefer on-page SEO: set it and forget it. I try to write content that attracts the people who are searching for it without my having to be a sign-twirler.

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5. 60

   paradigmsearchposted 12 years ago

   Alert!!!!
   
   The seismograph actually moved! This was probably because I had done exactly as Greekgeek had said. To wit, I'd only posted stuff that I thought people would really be interested in; both as to my hubs and the other Hubber's hubs (and my illustrious blog). As in meme and trend (it rhythms... )
   
   So far, we are talking a 1.0 magnitude (or less). Based on previous experience, tomorrow morning's stats will tell the real tale....

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6. 79

   Greekgeekposted 12 years ago

   Let us enjoy our social media hiccups together. I've got about a 1.0 on reddit right now. The last time that happened (three years ago), it turned out all the traffic was from reddit users enraged that I'd spammed their community. This is the first time I've dared post my own stuff there since, guessing it was something that would fit reddit culture.
   
   No nastygrams in comments yet, so maybe this time they agree with me!

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   1. 60

      paradigmsearchposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I've heard that they have lynch parties quite regularly over there.
      
      So far, I've just completely stayed away from that site. I've already got too much to deal with

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      1. 82

         molometerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I have dropped a few hubs into Reddit and forgot all about them. When I was checking my analytic' s. It turned out I had had a couple of 100 views. I really don't bother much on any of the social networks, other than to post a hub that I like into a group that I think will enjoy it. Other than that it seems counterproductive. My traffic comes from the same place as Greekgeeks. SEO and helpful,interesting or useful content. It is simple to find what is popular. Just check which of your hubs does the best and do hubs along the same lines or themes. I may be telling you something you already know, but it was either write this or watch the Olympic opening ceremony lol.

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7. 60

   paradigmsearchposted 12 years ago

   Well, Twitter's timeline is a mess. I wanted to match up my twits with analytics, but the twit timeline is totally wrong. Major time lag due to their servers being at max all the time I guess. However, I can look at my first post here, to roughly figure my last twit there and then extrapolate.

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8. 60

   paradigmsearchposted 12 years ago

   Well Pinterest gave me the highest spike. Twitter gave me the longest spike. Both of which did their usual immediate post-spike crash. As for what I call post-pin and hashtag residues, won't know that until tomorrow.

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9. 79

   Greekgeekposted 12 years ago

   Reddit people are good peoples. I understand fiercely defending one's community from self-promoters, having had to maintain the cohesiveness of other online communities as a mod many years ago. And that was before link-dropping was so widespread.
   
   So I don't usually bug them. Only in this case, I thought they really WOULD like what I had to say, er, rant about.
   
   A modest showing from Reddit: 70 or so hits. Slightly more than Hubpages hits, which I actually consider social, since it's, you know, visits from fellow members of a social community. And then another thousand from Google, Yahoo, Bing.
   
   Trending topics, gotta love 'em. The spike on mine should die down tomorrow.

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10. 60

    paradigmsearchposted 12 years ago

    The hashtag residue has started. I'm picking up Twitter followers all over the place.

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    1. 82

       Jason Marovichposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Awesome.  You reminded me of something about Twitter I forgot to mention.  If any new writers on HubPages have time to network on Twitter, you'll notice that other writers and even publishing houses will follow you.  Look for writer groups to join.  These won't get you views, but they will get you people that follow you back.  It might seem a small thing, but it's not.  I've learned a lot about publishing on Twitter, both self and house publishing.

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    2. 82

       molometerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       I seem to get lots of twitter followers too. Mostly they seem to be SEO companies trying to drum up some business for themselves. So what goes around comes around I guess. I do get quite few on pinterest as well. The randomness of the web is fascinating.

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11. 79

    Greekgeekposted 12 years ago

    I'm getting some Twitter pickups.
    
    Twitter is the only social network in which I participate, because I'm never afraid of spamming anyone. If people don't want to read my stuff, they don't subscribe! And I actually do use Twitter to keep up with stuff.
    
    Jason's right; hashtags are our friends. Paradigmsearch knows this, but if anyone's still unsure of how to use hashtags, look for a hub on using hashtags in Twitter, or Google it to find out. They help draw people interested in your topic. (Hubpages should really append #hubpages in the default text for tweeting hubs; I keep forgetting to add it.)

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    1. 60

       paradigmsearchposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Well, as previously stated, I pulled the slot machine handle some 50+ times yesterday. No jackpots. No triple bars in a row. No double bars in a row.  No single bars in a row. No yellow bells in a row. My net results were somewhere between a single and double cherries.
       
       For me, the work versus reward ratio just isn't there. It's back to my usual occasional post when I happen to be at the hub anyway and I happen to think of it.
       
       This was not the first blitz I've tried over the last year, but it's my last.
       
       I guess I'm going to have to go back to writing viral hubs...

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12. 85

    WryLiltposted 12 years ago

    If you create "Made For Pinterest" title branded images, you can get hundreds of pins without even owning a Pinterest account.
    
    I rarely if ever go out of my way to spam, I find anonymous users are happy enough to like, tweet and pin my hubs.

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    1. 60

       paradigmsearchposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Paradigmsearch is doomed...

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13. 0

    Arlene V. Pomaposted 12 years ago

    I guess you can do all of these things mentioned, but i prefer not to.  Not enough bucks for the bang for me.

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    1. 60

       paradigmsearchposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       That's just about the size of it...

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    2. 85

       WryLiltposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       I *think* I have roughly 50k likes, 25k pins and 1,000 tweets on this account. I think it's worth it, doing it right!

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       1. 60

          paradigmsearchposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          You must be watched...

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             molometerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

             And followed lol. I'm there already.

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14. 61

    Jenna Popeposted 12 years ago

    I just started using hashtags on my postings. So we shall see if it is working.

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