Branding yourself on Steemit and keeping followers

Why do we post to our Steemit community?

Are we motivated by love of cryptocurrencies, a need to express ourselves, a desire to engage with others, a passion for a certain subject we want to share, or perhaps a combination of all of the above?

But above all the questions of why we write looms an existential question of How: How do we get others to read our posts and follow us? How do we become whales, or at least large minnows?

Writing from a personal perspective, I really don't have a definite answer to that question..., but I am working on it:-) I certainly do not have a social media marketing plan (yet), even on Twitter! I focus on creating the best blog I can, and the old cliche about "if one does not have a destination, any road will do to get there" keeps going through my head. Yes, it is time to think seriously about where I want my blog to go...even if it is kind of scary.

Case in point, I logged on to make a post and noticed I had lost some followers since the last time I logged in. I have no idea why that happened, and it troubled me. Did I post something outside their comfort zone, or a topic they did not like? I know I cannot control what other people think, but do I need to define what I write about better and keep more on point with content, i.e. consistent branding? Y'all wonder these things too?

I find this picture hilarious and offensive at the same time..., but this is more like sponsorship/paid advertising than branding.

Upon further reflection I decided that having a certain amount of change in my followers is inevitable, so instead of having great angst about why people unfollow me (which I will probably never know for sure), I should concentrate my efforts on producing the excellent content that will engage more followers.

Actually gain four to ten more is my intent:-)

I don't mean to be cavalier about losing followers, it is just I realize people only have a finite amount of time to read and sometimes what I write is not feeding their specific hunger. I have read enough from other writers to know that it is better to follow your convictions rather than try to market yourself to what you think is popular.

Fashion is a fickle and moving target...

The concept of branding myself that I mentioned earlier bothers me, because it strikes at the very heart of what excites me so much about the Steemit platform; the richness, variety and incredible cornucopia of things, people, places, and ideas I get exposed to on a daily basis.

I don't want to live in a social media bubble of only like-minded people echoing the same old beliefs. And I don't want to write about the same topic everyday.

There are people on Steemit whose opinion I respect, like @modernpastor, that make a good argument for some form of personal branding, which I interpret him as saying be real, authentic , and consistent. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, let me show you what I think product branding means from my perspective as a MBA.

While this a fairly good basic graphic for traditional branding, it does not describe the reality of social media. What I really want to do with this blog is to produce content I can use to establish a social media presence across two or three platforms that is consistent, appealing, and still allows me flexibility. Any ideas and help would be greatly appreciated and widely shared!

Most people I follow utilize Twitter and Youtube as their two main alternative platforms, in many cases I suspect because they are migrating content to Steemit from other platforms instead of vice versa. At any rate, my research has led me to believe that social media advertising/branding to gain followers is a different critter than traditional methods that work for physical products because I am not trying to sell anything for money upfront on social media:What I really am after is attention (views and followers). Specifically, YOUR attention that millions of others are also vying for!

So here is what a glimpse of the social media universe looks like...just the major players!

Is it just me, or is that an overwhelming amount of stuff to keep straight unless you are actually a social media professional who does this all the time for a living?

This is a great website to visit when overwhelmed:-)

Here is what is really important. I think of my followers as an extended family who have trusted me to share valuable content with them, real people that I can interact with. So, instead of being overwhelmed with social media possibilities, I am going to interact with you, my Steemian readership/followers and tell you what you can expect from me..., then I ask you tell me what you think in the comments:-)

The Presentminded Credo
I will post valuable, original content that is worthy of your time and attention. If you find it good (or not!) please comment and tell me why.

I will answer each and every comment I receive, and do so in a timely manner. I want these posts to be the start of the conversation, not the end.

I will always be open to new opinions, different points of view, and ideas for future posts. This blog will be a respectful place to exchange ideas:-)

I will write mainly in the three areas of politics/philosophy, finance (including cryptocurrencies), and mind/body wellness AKA being present minded.

Obviously I am interested in much more than these three areas so occasionally riffs on musclecars, great hiking places, and the awesome posts of fellow Steemians might also grace my pages. I can promise you one thing: life here will not be boring:'-) I think that doing these things are also the best way to engage and create loyal followers. And if sometimes the creative torrent is just trickling I will go looking for great posts to comment on, and this image exactly captures why!

There are so many great, passionate, extremely talented people here on Steemit and I want to share my best with our community. Since I have been here a while now, this is a more mature introduction (re-introduction?) and a heartfelt Thank You to all who have read and commented on my posts. I have learned a lot from y'all. Adding value to your day is what makes my work worthwhile.

Namaste.

As always images are from Google and should have links/credits imbedded in the image. If you like my work, please upvote, resteem, and leave comments...especially leave comments! I would love to continue our conversation:-)