Making the most of social bookmarking
Social bookmarking is the human twist to the search engine. It is a way for thousands of internet users to share, search, organize and manage bookmarks of web resources. These resources can be interesting articles, infographics, funny pictures, informative videos and anything else that can be referenced online and shared with other users over social bookmarking websites.
The websites in question are popular hotspots like Digg, Reddit, Technorati, StumbleUpon and Del.icio.us among others. These websites receive thousands of hits and are ideal for exposing your business to a huge number of people. Readers use a voting and/or tagging system to rank and categorize listings. The more votes you get, the higher you place on the website. The right promotion (such as an article soft selling your website/business) could become so popular on a social bookmarking website that you could generate a huge amount of traffic to your website. Here’s an estimate: If your listing hits the front page of one of these websites, you can expect the visitors to your website increase by 20,000 and more. Sold yet? Read on for a few tips on how you can make this happen.
1) Create attention-grabbing headlines
First impressions are very important in every encounter. And readers on social bookmarking sites rarely show interest if that first impression- your headline- doesn’t interest them. Therefore, as good as your article maybe, it’s the headline you give it that will make or break it on websites like Digg. Here is an example that will show you the difference between an average headline, and a good headline that will encourage visitors to read what you’ve got to say:
Average Headline: Identifying your cognitive capabilities.
Good Headline: How to find out your intellectual strengths?
2) Write interesting and meaningful descriptions
So your headline has managed to generate interest. For readers to maintain that interest, the descriptions for your article- usually a couple of lines- will need to be interesting and representative of your articles. There is a trade-off between a really luring description and what your article really provides but it doesn’t have to be. Remember- if your content is good, it will rise to the top by itself. Sure, you can trick readers into visiting your website once by promising unrealistic (and untrue) benefits but you can forget repeat visitors this way- something that is really crucial to your success. So while you should work on writing an attractive description, refrain from outright lying.
3) Work on the content itself
The first paragraph is the third stage in capturing the attention of the readers. Start off with a bang and readers are sure to continue reading right till the end. And remember, if your content is good and you manage to get attention, that’s all you really need to make a splash on social bookmarking websites- and generate traffic to your own website.
Here are a few additional pointers that can help you in generating traffic from social bookmarking:
- Time your submissions well- you should know when your target audience is awake and online.
- Try to build your network- get friends and supporters to vote for your articles initially to give your submission notice.
- Make sure the facts you cite and the grammar you utilize are virtually fault-less. Nothing says “unprofessional” like readers’ snide comments on your self-concocted “facts” and poor language skills.
- Respond to the comments that your article gets to supplement long discussions and soft-sell your website.
Social bookmarking is becoming one of the leading promotional platforms for businesses and professionals. The right submissions to a social bookmarking website can help increase the traffic your website receives. With just a little work, you can increase the exposure your business gets and benefit from large-scale promotion.
Tags: social bookmarking