Promoting Other Websites with Using Social Media

[Troy]

Recently I stopped using social media.* Basically, this means I don't engage on the platforms; I don't like, share from, post content, or acquire friends.  

My originally intent was not to even visit social media platforms, but that quickly proved unrealistic because an increasing number of authors' primary web presences are on Facebook.

But another issue presented itself; After reading an article I liked and wanted to share--my initial reaction was to click one of the social sharing buttons--a action that surprised me because previously I never thought about doing it.  I just did it.  So how does one quickly share good articles with others?  Of course, the answer is obvious; I share it the way I did before social media was invented I;

• Post a link in the comments section of other websites;
• Post a link on discussion forums like this one;
• Email the link to others;
• Include the link on my website or blog in a related article or webpage; and
• Share the link in my newsletter

These are just a few web-based options.  

I mention these because collectively we have forgotten these tactics, then has only served to increase engagement on social media platforms.  I would also argue that in the vast majority of cases sharing the link using any of the above options is actually a better way of sharing an article you enjoy because it would have a better targeted to the recipient.

Now clicking a social sharing button may be the easiest option, but the extra effort required to share a ink using one or more of the alternative methods I described actually helps ensure that the content shared is actually worth sharing.

The benefit of sharing valuable content on another website helps uplift that website rather than a social media platform.  I know AALBC.com is a more value website because I actively share links to other websites.

Another benefit of not using social sharing button is that your privacy is maintained.  Social sharing information is a valuable commodity that is sold to marketers and used in ways to manioulate our behavior.

*Actually, I do still use on social media network, google's YouTube, because the value proposition is still worthwhile and they even pay me for my contributions to the platform.

[Mel Hopkins]

1 hour ago, Troy said:

Of course, the answer is obvious; I share it the way I did before social media was invented I;

Thank you for the reminder!!!

[Troy]

This was the case when I read your review of VL Towlers book.  Ideally, I should have just simply linked directly to your book review.  But I'd already posted it before I realized it was on your blog.  Still, the multiple links back to your site may be more valuable from an SEO perspectve

Now image if we have 5, 10, or 100 additional sites linking to your book review. I can see from VL Facebook feed (right hand side of this page) that she linked from there which is cool too!

[Troy]

Hey @Mel Hopkins (or anyone), I'm wondering if restricting myself from clicking the social sharing buttons is going too far? 

Again the data tells me that clicking social sharing button generally has little impact traffic, save the rare instance when something goes viral and results in a surge in traffic. My even questioning whether I should do it is a reflection my conditioning to use social media over the years.

Today I posted information about a 9-year-0ld girl you is the youngest #1 bestselling author on AALBC.com . It was one of those things that I would have shared on social media.  I thought about clicking one of my social sharing buttons, but decided against it.

In 6 months or so I review the impact of not using social media and share it here.

[Mel Hopkins]

15 hours ago, Troy said:

I'm wondering if restricting myself from clicking the social sharing buttons is going too far? 

I don't think you are. It feels like you are helping us remember to enrich our own property.  For example, would I cut my neighbors grass' and allow my lawn to be overrun?  Why would allow my property value to decrease and risk a fine?  I wouldn't. I'd take care of my property which in turn helps the neighborhood! There are so many abandoned black-owned website's that we've turned the "black web" into a ghetto.   Everyone ran to the suburbs of Twitter, Medium and Facebook.

But I digress.

Mostly, I've been pressing articles that I like to two of my 3 websites and adding my own commentary.  I sometimes share articles and info through twitter.   I'm on google plus, twitter and I have 5 followers/likes on my facebook "page" (pages can only communicate with pages).  I share my blog posts through those platforms and I post directly on my AALBC profile status because I don't have an aalbc social sharing button. 

When I wrote the commentary/review for "Severed" I linked to @VL Towler's website and her book on Amazon (I'm finally an amazon associates) ... I share aalbc.com discussions  on my websites (melhopkins.com/theleadstory.org) and through twitter. AALBC brings traffic to my site as does  other websites.  In fact, I really like to see that I get traffic from other independent websites.  It encourages me to leave my comments on their websites with my website address.    As long as the website and its blog remains active I continue to get referrals.  The cool thing is I actually took my melhopkins.com website down for a bit.  When I put it up on wordpress.com  I noticed I was still getting traffic from those websites!

As for as searches,  yes, SEO is still the best.  TheLeadStory.org which is hosted through wordpress.org  still gets the most traffic from google and would you believe the second highest is traffic from baidu (the search engine based in Beijing, Peoples Republic of China) ? Maybe you can tell me why?  The LeadStory.org is focused on black media consumption and anything related to black community activism through the arts.

Also can you answer why is my traffic higher on wordpress.org hosted website than wordpress.com hosted website?   Thank you for reading. You touched on a topic that really excites and interest me.

[Troy]

The neighborhood analogy works for me.  I may actually use it.  

So many Black websites have disappeared it is not funny.  As I've migrated old pages to the new format, Virtually all of the links I had to other sites were broken and in most cases the domains were no longer active.  It is astonishing how much Black content has disappeared from the net.

Again, I think indie website are the way to go.  The list below is traffic from other websites (excluding all search engines)

The counts are from my first full day of not posting anything on facebook (March 2 to March 5th.  For perspective: 

• More people visited my website from the newsletter I sent this week.than ALL of the sources below combined including Facebook
• The traffic below is a tiny fraction of the traffic I get from organic search

This is also an environment where webmaster simply do not link to other websites. Most of this traffic, like the 27 visitors from Wikipedia are there because I have added content on Wikipedia that links back to AALBC.com.  I have not added anything to Wikipedia in over two years but Wikipedia consistently generated more traffic to my site than Twitter, Pinterest and Google+ combined--and I have posted on these sites, daily, for years

You see I get more traffic from other sites organically than I get from Facebook.  Again I was posting on Facebook daily for years, which doing very little to generate the traffic I got from the other sites.

Now imagine a world in which sites like Ebony, Black Enterprise, The Griot actually reciprocated and linked to AALBC.com.  Image if every author, publisher, or writer I linked to linked back to at least their page on AALBC.com.  The number below would look very different.  Today all the links provide and promote, as indie Black sites all goes to social media, but not to ourselves.

So my strategy will be to work other websites, the way I did social media.  Again if I get more traffic from these sites doing almost nothing than I do from Facebook posting everyday.  I should get a better return for my time.

Right now spending zero time on social media is a get benefit in and of itself ;-)

Count		Site
133		facebook
28		l facebook
22		mobile facbook
3		lm facebook
186		Visitors from Facebook
283		Visitors from other sites
27		blog / (not set)
27		wikipedia
20		disq
19		kennesaw
13		twitter
13		madmimi
12		secure-nym
10		pinterest
9		en
9		blavity
7		googleplus
7		aol / organic
6		outlook
5		feedburner / feed
4		theleadstory
4		email12
4		kidrex
4		plus
3		twitter
3		blackboard
2		blakink21
2		aalbc / banner
2		ahrefs
2		blacknews
2		culturalpolitics
2		ecosia
2		email02
2		fortworthtexas
2		iprism / referral
2		jimisound
2		publishersweekly
2		tvtropes
2		welcomewhitefolks
1		wm
1		absolutewrite
1		advertserve
1		api
1		aplanguagemrphillips
1		app2
1		atlantablackstar
1		avg / organic
1		biography
1		blackrefer
1		cafepress
1		chrisdburns
1		cn
1		cuyahoga
1		dailykos
1		de
1		delta-search
1		earl-brooks
1		getpocket
1		goodreads
1		guides
1		harlembookfair
1		hunter
1		images
1		informationvine
1		it
1		izito
1		libguides
1		linkedin
1		lipstickalley
1		mail-attachment
1		mail
1		mail
1		messenger
1		mg
1		mswritersandmusicians
1		olatodera
1		redfordlibrary
1		reference
1		research
1		s1
1		school
1		scs
1		shirleyshowalter
1		theblack-board
1		theblacklist
1		therealmerkabah
1		thereviewreview
1		thumperscorner
1		web03ds
1		wunderlist

[Mel Hopkins]

Look at 4 visitors coming here from TheLeadStory.org!

One of my favorite links to AALBC from The LeadStory  is the AALBC book event widget!  Every author with a website should at the very least use the AALBC calendar of literary events widget. It is the one widget that promotes other authors, literary events and keeps one abreast of national literary events throughout the year.  I just noticed an upcoming event in Jamaica.

[Troy]

If every author used the events widget, the authors would benefit, the events would benefit and readers would benefit.  I'm not aware of any resource that provides this information so freely.

Mel I have almost 3,000 authors on this website.  I know I link to at least 1,000 author websites (benefiting their sites more than mine as I have more traffic than 99.9% of them).  Now if they all linked back to AALBC.com and generated just 2 visitors to the website a day that would be about 3/4 of a million visitors a year--an extra to this site!  That would allow me to finance more and better content and less dependency on the large corporate sites. I'd be able to reach more readers and help them buy the books they will enjoy--everybody wins.  

It really is just that simple.

Jamacia... oh my! @Mel Hopkins, I failed to update the query on the widget   I just updated it.  Please refresh the page, it is fine now.  The Jamaican Festivals (Kingston and Calabash) are not until 2018.  

But you are correct the widget is a really cool thing.  I'll remind people that it is available.

By the way, I started adding an icon to the sites most popular pages to make it easier for visitors to share out content via email.

 

[Mel Hopkins]

19 hours ago, Troy said:

That would allow me to finance more and better content and less dependency on the large corporate sites.

I forgot I added AALBC to my warnerbros mediapass list of platforms. When I went to update my profile today, I went to add it, AALBC.com popped up.  It's either an already recognized site or I made it one.

Warnerbros.mediapass offers videos, photos, news releases on all their upcoming movies - they also host media junket Q & A... I keep active on the site to see if there are any black movies or black actresses I'd like to feature and promote. All this to say, we writers/journalists can also post enterprising stories on our own site and submit to aalbc for possible publication too!

[Troy]

Yes using each other's sites they way we try to use social media, as long as both sites link to each other it is all good. If someone discovers say, your review of VL Towler's novel on AALBC.com they can discover your site (and so can the search engines).