HOW you share in Social Networking sites is just as important as WHAT you share because only those who read what you post benefit. Take a little longer and you’ll see a huge uplift in who follows your finds and comments. Using the FriendFeed bookmarklet makes it easier so install it first to use the tips below.
Tips for FriendFeed Posts Others Will Love to Share:
- Found a new writer you really enjoy or a best-of or new post at one of your favorite blogs? Select their best or most recent and relevant post.
- Highlight an excerpt that you most agree with or that reflects what that article covers.
- If the first excerpt was short you may wish to use more than one shorter excerpt. Copy and paste more from the text after the first excerpt. I connect these with three dots (…) and be sure to add appropriate quotation marks.
- Click on the Share on FriendFeed bookmarklet.
- IMPORTANT!!! Wait…and wait…and possibly wait some more until the excerpt and title appear in the bookmarklet. Do NOT click on an image or do anything else until it is done or you’ll be starting over. If you’re impatient like me, switch to another tab or computer and do something else while it loads.
- Check the Title – if it doesn’t include the Title from the post or a good description of what is found there CHANGE IT.
- Point at all available images and select the one that best reflects the author or article you’re sharing. Don’t click on any image that doesn’t have a blue border and the “Share an image on FriendFeed” text in the top left corner as those will not work and again, you’ll be starting over. Sometimes there are no images you can use. If you’re feeling generous you might send them the link to my FriendFeed Quick Tip for Getting More Traffic from Social Networking.
- Click Post and your optimized FriendFeed shared item will appear in your FriendFeed thread.
- If you have more to say about what you just linked in consider adding your own comments to get the discussion started at FF.
You can see plenty of examples by visiting GrowMap at FriendFeed. One that uses all of the above tips including more than one excerpt is for Mission Driven Marketing – Emotionally Connecting with Your Target Audience.
The FriendFeed bookmarklet did NOT pick up their title Spin on Cause Marketing Strategy Stirs Controversy from their post so it is important to add a title for them when sharing. Often I use their titles; sometimes I use a different angle. One may increase SEO value while the second enlarges their target audience so I believe both have merit.
I hope you can see now that what excerpts, images, and titles you select plus the comments you make add great value to what you share. These all combine to make it more likely that others will read – and share – your posts.
