Stand out among billions on the internet or you’ll stand in the shadows of those who do …
If you don’t stand out, you’ll wring your hands, beat your head against the wall, cry out to the gods of cyberspace and probably start to think of throwing in the towel.
HOLD ON! Before you scream “It’s no use,” read on for some tips on standing out on the internet.
Just so you know, as of just a few minutes ago, there were nearly 3 million blog posts written today, over 154 billion emails sent, and over 648 million tweets. And the day ain’t over yet!
[source: http://www.internetlivestats.com/]
As the number of internet users it is more evident than ever that you stand out as a blogger, as a marketer among the billions on the internet – but how?
HOW TO STAND OUT ON THE INTERNET LIKE THE NAKED HIPPIES’ PICKUP CAMPER PARKED IN THE MIDST OF CLASS A RVS
1. BE YOU – the #1 thing you can do
There is no one else like you. No one else has your style, your voice, your personality and yes, even your quirks.
But, that’s exactly what attracts followers. You just have to be as real as it gets. Be the good, the bad and the ugly. It’s all allowed and adored because everyone is sick and tired of the hype and false pretensions on the internet (and everywhere else in life, too.)
People have a keen sense of smell … they can smell the stink of fake or the fragrance of genuineness.
Nobody can DO YOU like you do you! There’s a ton of people copying other styles, trying to “fit in,” attempting to be something they truly aren’t. You just do you and leave the mask off.
2. BE CONSISTENT
It doesn’t matter whether you blog every day, three times a week or even once a week. What matters is that you are CONSISTENT.
On social media platforms, it’s a daily requirement – at least once a day, but even better to have a presence several times a day for this reason … your social media posts have a short shelf life:
TWITTER: The median lifespan of a tweet is 18 minutes.
FACEBOOK: 75% of the engagement you get on your posts happens within the first 5 hours. After that, engagement pretty much dies off. [more statistics here]
INSTAGRAM: Your photo on Instagram may only get seen once, so make it a good one. [source]
PINTEREST: Your Pinterest pins are on Pinterest forever. However they are only going to show up in your followers’ streams when you initially pin them. [source]
3. USE IMAGES
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and it’s been proven to be the most engaging, the most valuable element of your social media marketing and on your blog.
Research from Skyword found that if your content includes compelling images, you can average 94 percent more views than your boring counterparts. [source]
Word of warning though: use only your own personal pictures or images that you have permission to use without worry of copyright infringement. The last thing you need is a lawsuit for grabbing an image from Google or Pinterest or someone’s blog, thinking because it’s on the web, it’s okay to use it. WRONG.
A great source for copyright-free images is Pixabay. The search function gives you tons of images to choose from, and they are available in different sizes to suit your needs.
4. TITLES AND FIRST LINES
A great title and the first few words of your social media post have to GRAB the attention of the reader. If it doesn’t, they will click off or scroll away from what you are sharing.
On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar. -David Ogilvy
Too often, more attention is given to the content created than the title or headline.
Jeff Goins writes, “You should begin and end every article with the question: ‘Would this make me want to read on?'”
In this article, he offers a simple formula for your titles:
Number or Trigger word + Adjective + Keyword + Promise
You’ve got about 3 seconds to get someone’s attention with your title or your social media post. Pay attention to the subject lines of the emails you receive from other marketers … notice how some have a title that you can’t ignore … you just have to read more. That’s exactly what you want your titles to do.
5. BE A RESOURCE
Be a resource for what people need.
Most people are always looking to increase pleasure or decrease pain in their lives. You can be the “go-to” person that they will learn to rely on for either (as you incorporate all of these tips.)
Being a resource doesn’t mean you have to have a PhD in a subject.
You just have to share what you know … the knowledge you’ve gained and the experiences you have had in life.
Decrease the pain: What are your skills? There is someone who is searching how to do exactly what you already know. You probably have more skills than you realize. Make a list of everything you know how to do, no matter how insignificant it might seem, from your expertise as a realtor to your amazing skills as a mom. You’d be surprised at what people type in the search bars!
Increase the pleasure: Are you a motivator? Do you inspire and encourage people? Are you funny and entertaining? Do you write poetry, compose music, create beautiful works of art? Share your strengths to be a source of light in other lives.
These five tips to help you stand out on the internet are intended to get your creative juices flowing and encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and show the world what you’ve got!
It does take work, effort and commitment to implement these tips, but, remember, there are millions, sometimes billions of eyeballs.
What other tips have you found to help you stand out on the internet? Share! I’d love to hear!
Trisha
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