8 Simple rules for improving your online presence

Eric Qualman, often referred to as the godfather of social media theory, once said, “It’s not about if you use social media (SM), it’s how wellyou use it.” Everyday SM users are not always aware of how to improve their presence in the SM sphere. We can help with that.

Start a blog

Starting a blog can be a daunting task, but once you get into the habit of writing and posting regularly, you will start building a following of those who share similar interests. You can use your SM accounts to advertise your blog, and vice versa. You don’t even have to be a good writer; you can post photos, designs, or simply share other articles you find interesting.

Hashes and tags

To show your followers what your interests are, or to highlight certain ideas in a status update, hash tag certain key words or phrases. Other SM users, who click on the same hash tag used in someone else’s status, will be able to see your status and are likely to start following you, too. Similarly, when you tag a friend’s name your status will appear on their profile and their friends will see it. Some familiars might recognize your name and start following you.

Sharing is caring

Remember, SM sites are generated by algorithms. Try to share news stories, pictures or friends’ status updates at least five times a day. Your page will continually appear in your followers’ or friends’ news feed, thus exposing your page more often. Based on the algorithms, once other SM users see they share similar interests with you, they will ‘like’ your statuses and your updates will appear in their newsfeed more often.

Add media to statuses

SM sites are flooded with updates. You need to grab their attention – make your update stand out beneath the avalanche. Adding interesting photos and videos to your written text will not only catch the scroller’s eye, but also direct traffic to your site. You don’t just want users to see your update, you want them to engage (‘like’, comment and share). The more clicks you have on your site, the more popular it will become and the more it will appear in newsfeeds.

Link and be linked

Whenever you speak about a topic that someone else has already written about, add a link to their page. Once you’ve linked a page enough you make a blimp on their radar. If they like what you say about them, they can link you in return. If you have a blog, linking is what you do to divert traffic from your SM page. All you need to do is copy the URL (or web address in the search box) to your social media page. You can add a hyperlink to your blog to send readers to another page.

SM analytics are your friend

Remember the algorithms? They are here to inform and help you. You can now access sites which inform you what time of the day people mostly access SM, who accesses which sites, which age groups are most active, etc. Plan which users you want to attract and update your page accordingly.

Here are just a few analytics pages:

https://www.google.com/analytics/

https://hootsuite.com/

https://www.qualia-media.com/intro_portal

https://bufferapp.com/

Follow trends and the news

Once you’ve integrated SM analytics into your update scheme, you will see which topics are trending. They are trending for a reason – get with it! Use trends to attract traffic to your page. Big news events spread

like wildfire across the web. It is what people want to see at that moment – use it to your benefit. Write about it, comment on it or share it.

Broaden your horizons

There’s so much more than just Facebook and Twitter. Don’t forget about LinkedIn, Pinterest, Tumblr, Flickr, Vine, Instagram and YouTube. You don’t have to keep each one running separately. You can link all your

accounts and have one update posted to all (or most) of them by using programs like https://bufferapp.com/

Don’t be a hater

Very few people want to follow someone who is rude and obnoxious or solely criticizes others. Remember, once you’ve said something, it’s out there and you cannot take it back. Never tweet or post when you are emotional or drunk. Wait a day to cool down and then respond.