3 Ways To Get People to Read What You Wrote

I’ve heard people say social media doesn’t work and my 1st question is, “Why do you say that?”

Often it because whatever their expectations were, they were not met.  One of the expectations has to do with people reading what they post.  It could be a blog post, a news release, or something on one of the social media platforms.

As we prepare for a long holiday weekend in the U.S.A., here are 3 ways to get people to read what you wrote:

1. Invite them.  Sounds simple enough, but this is often neglected.  You have to promote with a link on the appropriate social media platform. Perhaps an email too.  When I say appropriate I mean you need to understand the differences between Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, Google+, and any other social media platform you are tempted to use.  Each is different so don’t autopost to all of them the same thing.
2. Write and Update regularly.  I don’t care if it’s your blog, or Facebook or Twitter, you need to be actively engaged.  Step it up a notch or two.  Go from 1 blog post a month to 1 each week.  Tweet a few times a day and converse back and forth with others.  Post something on Facebook a few times a week.  These are my recommended minimums that a lot of people are not doing.  The same people who say it doesn’t work. Let’s say you are planning on driving from New York to California this weekend.  You fill up the gas tank before you leave and run out of fuel after driving all day.  Would you say that driving from coast to coast doesn’t work because you didn’t refuel your tank?  Same principle with your online activity.  Keep it fueled regularly.
3. Use odd numbered lists in your article and title of your article.  I just read about this a few days ago.  Studies show that a short list attracts more than a long list and that an odd number (3,5,7,etc) gets more reads than even numbered.

Lesson over.  Go do it and enjoy your weekend.  And yes, I will update this on the 4th of July because I’m on the 5 day a week plan.