When in doubt, go with a picture of your cat. But do include a picture of SOME kind, no matter what.
- Be a pro. Proofread and remove errors. If someone points one out to you, fix it and thank them for the feedback. Make your posts look professional, not hastily assembled or sloppy. The appearance of the post can’t help but make an impression. Take the time to preview the post and make sure all links lead to the right place.
- Monitor results. You won’t know what works unless you’re looking at the data, even if it’s at the topmost level of “how many comments?” (This is a bad metric because so often the answer is “none.”)
- Pay attention to the Zeitgeist. Pulling your blog topics from Google or Twitter trends can be a good idea — as long as you have something useful to say. Don’t hashtag for the hell of it.
- Content trumps cash. Producing good, interesting, useful content will outperform any amount of money thrown at advertising. I find that some social networks send me coupons to use on advertising every once in a while and I do use those — but once they’re used up, I stop the campaign.
- Promote other people. This gives you good content if the recommendations are wholehearted and worthwhile.
Your profile matters. Fill out your profile on social networks and make sure it includes your website’s URL. This adds to its search engine ranking, making it appear higher in search engine results.
