Steemit 101: If You Want People to ENGAGE with Your Content... Create Engaging Content!
I have been in a bit of a lull, as of late... not feeling terribly creative.
But even when I am not posting my own content, I do spend quite a bit of time interacting with other people's posts... and one of the never-ending questions on Steemit always seems to be "How to I get people to read and interact with my posts?"
Doesn't matter whether you're a freshly minted Minnow or a senior Whale... this is always an important issue.
The Heart of SOCIAL Content
Finding a delicate balance
Whereas we all have our own reasons for being here, let's remember that the heart of social media of ANY kind is "interaction," and more specifically "engagement." Steemit is no exception.
Now, I think part of the "problem" many people might be facing-- especially more recent arrivals-- is that their primary reason for being here is "to make money."
There's nothing WRONG with that, but don't lose sight of how that process works, here. Actually... don't lose sight of how that process works, IN LIFE.
As in, the whole idea that you just get to sit somewhere and squeal until someone gives you a shiny new penny (that's a metaphor, folks!) is just pretty much delusional. You gotta do something that actually appeals to people; something that makes them want to voluntarily pitch a few pennies into your tip jar.
That's why street performers end up with a lot more money than sleepy beggars on the corner.
And this relates to Steemit... how?
By The Numbers
I am a bit of a numbers geek. What I mean by that, is that I like to wrap my "gut hunches" in some supporting statistics.
Colorado mountain scenery
One of Steemit's really good sources of data on "The State of Steemit" is @penguinpablo's "Daily Steem Stats Report." If you want to keep your finger on the pulse of Steemit... it's a really good starting point.
Anyway, one of the pieces of data I have been following for some time is the "number of comments per post," which has been declining for some time. That number currently floats around in the 2.2-2.4 comments per post range... which also means it's not so surprising that some people feel like engagement is lacking.
That's not very much. It's especially not very much when you take into account that a growing number of comments are "auto posts" by upvote and resteem services. I can only speculate on the "true" number (the number of comments left by HUMANS), but it has to be pretty low.
Building Community Requires Engagement!
Blooming bougainvillea
But let's return to what Steemit really is about... this is a Social Content Platform.
SOCIAL. Content. Platform.
I am going to wag my cautionary finger at some who read this and point out that this is NOT a "get paid to click links" scheme. If you are operating from that perspective, you are really in the wrong place... and you should probably head back over to Mechanical Turk instead!
I've been part of social media pretty much since it was invented... and whereas there are millions of "gimmicks" that allegedly bring success, the one solid takeaway I have... as far as creating lasting success goes... can be summed up in one word: "Engagement."
Engagement.
No matter what gimmicks or tricks or "systems" you might try, it is ultimately an engaged audience that leads to long term lasting success.
Engagement is a Two-Way Street
Succeeding through engagement is actually a two-part process.
A beautiful fall sunset
Part one-- and this is the most important part-- is that in order to have people engage with your content, you have to create engaging content.
It's pretty simple. If you're hungry, are you more likely to pick a 5-star dinner or "slop on paper plate?" So it is, with your content.
Nobody expects you to be Hemingway, but at least be yourself, be original, be authentic. Don't just copy some news story from the web and expect people to be interested in it. Why would they read it from YOU, if they can get it directly from MSNBC or RT?
If you're going to use "outside" content... at least make it interesting by adding your own "I read this and thought _____" followed by your own "engagement hook," namely asking the question "What do YOU think about this?"
If you don't give people a reason to interact with-- and care about-- your content, why should they care?
There is a good reason why my content averages about 28 comments per post, rather than the site average 2.3... I ASK people to interact! And not by "begging for votes and follows," but by asking questions related to the content. I don't even ask for upvotes and follows (they happen by themselves), but occasionally I'll ask people to re-steem, if they find something compelling, and I think the topic is important. Like this post.
Engagement, Part Two
The second half of building success through engagement is to be a good curator of your own content. What does that mean?
Japanese maples in fall
Well, we talk a lot about people going out and commenting on other people's content as a way to become seen and known, a developing a following. And that's an essential part of being on Steemit.
But let's not forget the people who took the time to comment on your own posts. Take a moment to acknowledge and thank them! Leave a response. Upvote particularly noteworthy comments-- lets the responder know you saw their efforts and appreciate it.
Yes, it takes a little effort... but is well worthwhile. So just DO it.
Now, as I said up top... we all have our own approach. I have been a blogger and content creator for almost 20 years... so I take the "human angle" to social media... and really don't care about bots and upvote services... I care about real interaction and connection with real people.
How about YOU? What is your approach to Steemit? Are you getting good engagement on your posts? Do you take the time to curate the comments left on your own posts? Are you well versed in blogging and social media, or is Steemit your first experience? Do you think engagement is important? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!
(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Created at 171114 14:46 PDT
As your post popped up in my feed and among others, I was grabbed by your title: "If You Want People to ENGAGE with Your Content... Create Engaging Content!"
My first thought was a bit sarcastic like - Really?! You must be kidding me! I would never think of that!
But well, then I read the whole article. And I must admit that I completely agree with you although it might seem so obvious and self-understanding. Despite that we often (for some unknown reason) forget about it. Sometimes is even irritating to see people around completely neglecting that part, especially when it comes to the comment part and replying to our readers and commentators.
I was kinda zombified today and instead of creating some posts, although it was my first intention, I find myself digging and researching some Steemit data. I came across the guy who has been on Steemit only for several months but despite that fact, few of his posts have been the most shared ones among all the other Steemians for the whole past year where one of those posts received even more than 50K shares.
But when I looked that post here on Steemit I saw it earned only about $12 bucks and had only 4 comments there. It was kinda weird to see that such highly popular content (otherwise and on other networks) on Steemit attracted it such a small audience. Besides, the article was original, very well written and the topic was also quite interesting. So, I was thinking - Why?
And then I spotted just what you are talking about here in your article. He didn't respond to any of those 4 comments left there either upvoted them even just a bit to let those readers know he saw it and appreciate it. - He is not engaging!!! (Despite the fact that his content is in fact very engaging, as with 50K shares we really can't deny that).
Yeah, I know... it was sort of obvious, and might be taken by some as "Do you think I'm DUMB, or something?" but it was designed to get people thinking a bit... and, oh... engagement. Sometimes a little well-placed "cage rattling" is a good way to get the conversation started.
For me, a lot of this was learned in forums and message boards in the early days of the web where it was simply considered "good etiquette" to be a good "garden tender" on any original posts you made. It's a reciprocity thing-- common courtesy-- if someone takes the time to acknowledge your stuff, you take the time to acknowledge them. And that was long before anyone got "rewards" for anything.
I think what sometimes happens on Steemit is that people get far too wrapped up in their rewards. And they post "for rewards," rather than simply posting what interests them and allowing those rewards to flow as a consequence of being their interesting selves.
I've had a couple of posts here that ended up shared on external social media and ended up with 2000+ views, but they were not necessarily my "most active." It all depends...
Hi, thanks for your perspective on this! I’m a “freshly minted minnow” so any tips are appreciated. I have had one problem so far...the iOS app is very slow. I left a comment on a rather lengthy post about a budget proposal system and found that my app froze and it didn’t get sent. Not really your problem, but maybe you could direct me to a place or person to whom I could address this concern? Anyway, thanks again for the tip!
Sadly, I am the wrong person to ask about technical issues... as of late (the past 2-3 weeks) the site has been somewhat glitchy across the board due to interface changes that have recently been implemented.
You ask about my experience with engagement on other social media platforms. That is an interesting subject because based on my experience, they feel like different types of engagement. If someone were to look at my Facebook page, they would say that I have a very high engagement rate based on the number of likes and comments I receive. The difference is that most of those comments will be short responses like, “looks like you had fun!” or “beautiful photo!”.
Even though I sincerely appreciate the good thoughts and intentions from each of those comments, I wouldn’t really consider them to be meaningful points of engagement. I may get fewer overall comments on steemit(at least at this point!), but I feel as though I am actually getting to know people better. I am always thrilled when a fun conversation sparks up in the comments, or someone shares a piece of their life experience that they felt inspired to share based on the post.
Side note... I really like the way you sparked engagement at the end of this post. Instead of a generic “Let me know what you think!” statement, you asked detailed questions that really gets the reader thinking. I’m definitely taking notes so I can play with that more on my own posts.
And that's an important "endorsement" of Steemit-- at least it is, for me, as a content creator... people here seem far more interested in actually interacting with good content than elsewhere. Facebook is basically a "like contest" which I find boring in the long run.
As you say, they are not meaningful points of engagement.
The concepts of this post are uber simplistic, but at the same time hold very true... if you want engagement, engage people! How do you do that? Ask relevant questions. Make it EASY for people to join the conversation. There's no magic "it" that's going to come along and make your posts go viral here... YOU are in charge of that, or at least in charge of getting the ball rolling.
If you happen to post about something that's a hotly debated topic of the moment, so much the better... but that's not even essential. I have seen some great posts about philosophy and psychology get dozens of comments... just be yourself, just be engaging.
I always try to create engaging content because it helps me know what I can improve on or if others have a similar situation they are going through or have been through and they can provide feedback
And you have done really well with the approach, being here only since June... which is a nice example of succeeding simply through good content and engagement.
Thank you very much
Hi there. Well I joined Steemit earlier this year and after an initial addiction I stopped posting for about 3 months. Now im just returning and I find its so sporadic as to what my posts make. Ive written original content posts that have taken me hours to write that gain less than 2 dollars. One post recently made $27. I'd love them all to be in that range.
My followers continue to grow so i'm just posting really for me and if people like what I write hopefully a few months from now I will see a difference.
For myself I love Steemit because of the positivity here. Facebook is so depressing and people are so rude to each other there. I hope that never happens here. I love our Steemit community!
You touch on a couple of things I've noticed, as well: A more positive atmosphere... I noticed that even a couple of days ago when I spent a little more time than usual ("Usual" = "almost none!") on Farcebook, and noticed just how angry and personal many of the debates were... people just being mean-spirited to each other.
The other thing is that this is a really nice venue for "personal" blogging... sure, there are some people here with specific niches, but mostly I just enjoy story telling, commentaries and observations on the various absurdities of the human condition. And there's a LOT of that here. Occasionally, I make a few dollars, and that is nice, too... but it's not my driving motivation.
Good evening @denmarkguy!
Thank you for including @penguinpablo's stats in there, it is really crazy to see more accounts, but less commenting! Engagement is so important, how are people going to know who you are if they never see you?
Making money is cool, but I feel that interactions are less genuine or viewed as secondary. To succeed on social media, you gotta get to know others, before becoming known yourself. I'm going as far to like and comment everything I like, if rewards are meant for me, they'll come at some point.
I've been on social media and blogs before, but nothing like this, where thinking is actually required! Before I even write my post I make sure that I replied everyone properly. Tending to your own post's comments is the best evidence of caring for your followers.
Let's go on a commenting spree!
<3 shello
Yeah, that's definitely one of Steemit's strong points for me... I look at just the tiny microcosm that is the comment section of THIS post, and pretty much every comment is "real;" an actual person took the time to interact with the content. That's pretty rare in the "me too" world of most social media.
The other thing about Steemit is that people like authentic voices here... I look at some of my favorite Steemians and all their stuff is "personally" flavored. You find "them" in their content... they are not just posting colorless manuals on how to switch out the drum of a laser printer. They tend to be "characters." And they engage with their audience.
I agree, it's definitely nice to have a post where everyone is contributing to it. To me, that's what I see value in.
I literally just got through this user who was in my anti-spam post asking me to upvote his article. We got into this whole thing that you should leave genuine comments, and I thought he was starting to understand.
Then he has the audacity to ask me to review his plagiarized copy/paste article "he just wrote" during our conversation. Gee whiz these people. So yes, seeing a nice conversation, and ideas being carefully laid out by all participants is a treat to be a part of!
Well, it's hard for me to get into commenting on an experience like you just had without getting into "cultural profiling." But it seems to hold remarkably true... why is it (for example) that members of the Nigerian community are quite capable of using Steemit appropriately and are very open to learning... while many from certain parts of SE Asia follow the pattern you just described? Again, I can only observe "what is."
And I appreciate you posting info about the anti-spam initiatives.
Your description is pretty accurate though @denmarkguy,
I've been blessed to know a few of Nigerian community better, and I've realized that I share a lot of the same philosophy that these Steemians hold. I am sure when other countries hit bottom and can't improve, they will open themselves up a little more to idea of learning for real.
Also thank you! I want Steemit to flourish, so learning about the things that hurt us can be presented to help others c:
With love,
shello
On Steemit, we have the upvotes and our reputation score. It would be nice to have some engagement score. It is, like you say, all about the engagement. I gauge my posts by the number of good comments -- and how many people come back to comment over time. Getting to know people is what keeps people on Steemit - that sense of community. It is hard to keep up with more and more people though!
I forget whose post it was, but a couple of days ago, someone was asking for suggestions on how to improve the curation algorithms... and one of the things I pointed to was that it seems unreasonable that someone with (for example) 100,000SP who has NEVER posted (but who curates) with a rep of 25 should have the same weight as someone with 100,000SP who has posted 10,000 times and has a rep of 73.
That suggests that "effort based" stakeholding is meaningless. You just "buy your way" to rewards... where's the incentive to be active in the community? Now if we STARTED with a stake-based reward like we now have, and then there was an additional multiplier according to engagement, that seems more equitable to me... AND more conducive to growing an active social community.
When then brings up the next issue: Just how (un?)important is the Steemit social site front end to the powers that be? A lot of the time, I get the impression people here are far more interested in developing apps and SMTs.
Yup, I have definitely 'lulled' from steemit for the last week or so (10 day..?).
Everything you say is correct, but my motivation was to wax lyrical, and getting paid for it, to be honest.
My initial ( and very content) target was to make 10 dollars a day, which I didn't feel was too excessive/greedy for my input.
I had to back away from steemit out of a sheer negative cycle I found myself getting into, because of lack of (how I perceived it) $ for my input.
I hate poker (considering I love games, that's kind of hilarious)- but can grind 10 dollars a day out of it - so I took a holiday from steemit -and made my 10 dollars a day since, doing something I get no pleasure from but by the end of the week, I find myself not in a negative cycle, and feeling my time was productive(at east a little)
Plus I CAN paint up my war gaming armies, while playing !
It's nice to be back though, in my refreshed state of mind..
Sometimes it goes well, sometimes it doesn't.
I've more or less given up on figuring out what "earns" around here and what doesn't... rewards have been on the decline for some time now, mostly the result of the falling price of Steem, but other factors as well.
Used to keep blogs elsewhere as well, and considered myself lucky to make $20 a month from AdSense revenues, so getting a few dollars per post here is definitely an upgrade, and every now and then getting $20+ is a bonus... and now and then $100+ and it "Woo-hoo time."
I mostly get a kick out of posting and interacting in a way I definitely do NOT find on Farcebook (where I don't get paid jack, period!) and that's a reward in its own way.
nice post
no..wait...don't hit me!
I don't know what come over me.
I hardly ever act like that.
I'm usually so charming and deboner.
um.
moving along.
You got it exactly right. To be on a social network you must BE social
(dunno what the mechanical turk is..do I really want to?)
as always..the problem is bots.
bots can vote for you
and comment for you
'nice post'
You don't want to know about mechanical turk. It's a cesspool of 100,000s who pretend they are "Making Money Online" by clicking advertising links, visiting link farms and transcribing supermarket receipts. The going rate works out to about 13 cents an hour.
There are probably people on Steemit right now who are paying people 1/10th cent to create a Steemit account and upvote their post. What's worse, there are people who are taking them up on their offer to do so.
People should just interact.
That's how social media works.
SOCIAL... media.
shudder sounds horrible.
Great post, thanks! It's interesting, engagement in Steemit. We've been building our YouTube channel for about two years now, and I guess in videos you get to be so personal with people (if you want). And people will respond to you in same way. In written text, what Steemit is more about, I'm still looking for how to open up without boring people, how to share what I am passionate about that adds value to others. One thing I'm noticing is people aren't necessarily on the look out for the biggest answers to their biggest questions. Rather, they love to see and hear about what you love, what I love, the special little things. The things that they may or may not recognize from their own lives, but that they can relate to nonetheless. I've noticed that when I share on topics like that, people respond a lot. And that when others post like that, I enjoy responding and building relationship too.
Thanks for opening great topic for discussion!
Steemit-- in some ways-- is a bit of a throwback to the "social blogging" movement that was really popular around 2002-06 and died an untimely death at the hand of MySpace and Facebook.
People mostly wrote "personal" blogs, rather than niche specific blogs in some area of expertise. And yes, people are more interested in learning through insights from your personal experience than simply hearing the 1278th version of "Why iPhones Are Cool."