Today is Social Media Wednesday. I thought I would take a stab at writing a social media post. Hope you enjoy!
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If you are involved with social media marketing for more than five minutes, you will inevitably hear someone preach about the power of Digg. It is funny how hard people work for their 15 minutes of fame. Yes, if you make it on the homepage your website will receive hundreds of thousands of views in a single day. Yes, the links it provides will help your search rankings. And yes, the Digg girl will magically show up at your house and play Twister with you. But is that stuff really necessary?
I have yet to make it to the homepage. In fact, I have had only mild Digg success. When I first created my account about two years ago I tried commenting a few times and learned a lot. I specifically remember asking what an Ubuntu was and quickly deleting the comment after reading the numerous replies of people laughing at me. Afterward, I continued participating and eventually got a better feel for the community. I even got to the point where I thought I could use this to my advantage.
I had an upcoming job interview and crafted a masterful plan. I spent three days writing and perfecting an article about how Kevin Rose had a higher popularity ranking than the President. I woke up at 5:00am the day of the interview and submitted the story. (Later I learned that between 8:30am-10:30am is a smarter time to submit.) My ingenious plan was to make it on the homepage by 3:00pm and casually use it as an example when the interviewer asked me about my hobbies. (I now know stories take upwards of 24 hours to hit the homepage.) My hopes were high as I checked the Digg count leading up to the interview. Two measly Diggs and my story was already on the 3rd page of upcoming. Foiled again!
I ended up getting the job (this one) and spent the next seven months honing my skills. At my new job I was on a new playing field. I was a lonely Digg homepage virgin working at a Digg homepage brothel. The added competition and resources actually ended up helping me yield better results. One day it came to me. The perfect Digg submission. It combined every Digger's three favorite things: the internet, TV references, and porn. It was foolproof.
My plan was to post my piece here and submit it myself to make sure it had the best title and description possible. All that kept me from sure internet stardom was actually writing the piece.
First attempt - Not funny and a little offensive.
Second attempt - Too dirty and slightly uncomfortable (apparently aardvark porn is taboo).
Third attempt - I did it! It was all I had ever dreamed of, but it had one tiny problem. I couldn't post it.
I made the same mistake that countless people have made before me. In writing my 'perfect' piece, I neglected to write for my core audience. My post had some funny bits but was also mildly offensive. I decided not to post or submit the piece. I think too many people (myself included) get distracted by the quick gains social media provides and avoid working on long term plans.
Social media can be a wonderful tool if supplemented by great content, but it is not the silver bullet I was looking to find. Being successful online is achieved the same way it is offline. It requires hard work, intelligence, connections, and luck. Only recently have I been able to realize that a funny quiz or top ten list is not going to change that. Writing for Digg is fun, but now I realize my time is much better spent writing content for all of you.
Dude, what's the matter with aardvark porn?
I was wondering the same thing!?!
But yes, the 830-1030 window is the best. Folks have gotten to work, checked their email, poured a cup of coffee, and are looking for something to talk about for the rest of the day.
Nice job, Danny. The error too many folks make is assuming "viral" is a goal. Viral messages illustrate a technique, not an end unto themselves. Getting to the first page of Digg might make you look cool, but if it doesn't drive business results - however measured in your world - it's just traffic with no purpose. Better to build slowly for your core audience, just as you've shown here.
Keep up the great work.
Very well written Danny! I like the punchy sentences :)
I look at Digg as an auxiliary tool in most cases. It helps drive traffic, but if you do not have the chops to back it up than the success is exactly as you stated; 15 minutes. You are spot on in your assessment that my time is much better spent writing content for all of you. Growing and maintaining a qualified and quality core audience can only help you in the world of social media. Those individuals will see your posts on digg and elsewhere and support you strongly. It is my belief you can get a strong viral buzz off of a solid network because they will help bolster your efforts.
BTW; I was a lonely Digg homepage virgin working at a Digg homepage brothel. Priceless.
Well put, I couldn't agree more. It looks like you are in the same boat as me as far as learning SEO. Best of luck and and thanks for the postiive feedback. It makes me want to write more...
I've had plenty of Digg comment success... act like my sarcastic, asshole self and they love it!
As for story success, that's gotten incredibly difficult over the past few months. Even with top users submitting high quality content and 200+ diggs a story still won't break. Meanwhile a stupid story with just a few dozen diggs will skip to home like they've got some magical Fast Pass. It's gotten editorial at this point and is more bastardized than the good ole days of DMOZ.
Danny's right, for smart marketers there isn't enough time in the day to waste on "perfect" Digg-bait there are hundreds of other, more targeted alternatives. Digg shouldn't be ignored, but don't kill yourself trying to make it unless you know you'll see irreplaceable returns.
And, for the record aardvark porn is the best, second only to platypus.
Actually, there is a no fail process to hitting the front page with a story on Digg.
You must follow each of the following steps carefully:
Step 1
Write a hysterical anti-Digg rant on Drivl.
Step 2
Submit said rant.
Step 3
Watch it get promptly buried.
Step 4 (and this is critical)
Wait approximately one year until some Digg Dogg somehow stumbles across it and re-submits it while you are completely oblivious and attending an industry conference.
Step 5
Watch it go wildly successful with several thousand Diggs in a matter of hours.
Voila'. That's all there is to it. It's really rather logical when you think about it. Uh huh...
Helpful hint: Remove any personal references (i.e. email addresses, work and home phone numbers, etc.), from any online profiles you may have, lest you be stuck on a rooftop with a rifle, fending off the Doggs that think you're "every digger's dream girl".
Nice post. It really is a crazy challenge to manage social media.
Props for being so diligent!
I wonder if we'll all look back in a few years and laugh at the lengths we went to to manage SMM ("Oh Boy! Time to update my Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr, Delicious, Twitter, and Scribd accounts!").
If synergy doesn't arise and breed efficiency models, we're in for some late nights of researching, writing, and commenting for a long time!
since Ann Smarty is back - we should ask her to get this submitted to digg - its funny enough to make most people smile. You are on fire Danny - thats three impressive postson top of each other!
Nah, I have no idea how to make things hot at Digg. To me both the algorithm and the community remain a mystery. If I dare to comment there, I get plenty of thumbs down; once I dare to submit something there, it only gets 5-10 diggs... No, Digg is something I can't get and honestly have no desire to...
rishil,
Thanks I really appreciate it. No need to digg this though, I think the last two paragraphs won't sit well with diggers. Also, this post doesn't have enough pictures to hold the attention of most diggers. ;-)
Well, here's an image for you to use. :)
Digg Lousy T-shirt
Much appreciated. Consider it added.
the only time I had any success with a digg story was when I included a call to action in the title. That got me like 6000 diggs.
too bad the content wasn't my own...but it was still nice to help out another site.
Put down your spade (i.e. stop digging) and keep writing great articles like this!
Don't turn your back on Digg, keep at it. I walked away for while but I am back on there, it's a learning process. Sure, I only get 5 diggs, (and that's only if I shout it), but I am having fun again, and building to bigger goals.
The amount of work and overall effort put into MAYBE getting on the front page (although highly unlikely) is probably not worth it in the long run. You may get a slew of hits in one day but Digg is as someone else scribed it "a one night stand". It's all short-term traffic. Not to say that it's completely use putting up articles and so forth on there but one should certainly not rely on their site's ultimate success with a tool like Digg. It's short term baby!
"Writing for Digg is fun but now I realize my time is much better spent writing content for all of you."
And maybe actually having this great content at the FP on Digg and giving you your 15 minutes of fame! Your writing here is appreciated!
Good post! I have tried many times as well to get an articles and realized that the only sure way to get a lot of diggs is to somehow make the article about Kevin Rose and add it in the title because it seems like everyone diggs anything with his name in it.
Thanks,
I actually haven't seen anything on the homepage with his name in it for a long time. From rreading comments it seems that th digg community has slowly turned its back on him. It will only get worse if/when he sells.
If they've gotten the DIGG model to bring someone willing to spend so much time to solve the equation to their knees like this I would say they've WON! Just kidding, you have a viable point. Even IF getting DUGG is so powerful it is meaningless if it alienates your core audience.