Read on for social media success secrets and the truth behind one famous quote.
There is a distinct back to school vibe already and waaah, I didn’t have a vacation. No matter, this photo quote expresses how I feel.
For quote aficionados, this was photo quote was inspired by a Wall Street securities broker, Henry S. Haskins. William Morrow published the book, Meditations in Wall Street in 1940, listing the author as “Anonymous”. The author’s widely quoted aphorism from the book includes:
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us”
has been wrongly credited to everyone from Emerson, Thoreau to Oprah.
Does anyone care in an age rife with copyright infringement and sloppy journalism? Maybe a tiny group, but if one person is happy to learn the truth, it’s my pleasure.
Now, the secret:
I was going to post this directly on Facebook but deleted it. Only a fraction of my friends see my feed and on my other page, Cat Wisdom 101, it’s even worse, unless I pay. I’ve resisted for as long as possible and do pay small amounts to boost some posts on Facebook but have not paid for any ads yet.
Sadly, it’s the same story on Twitter and Instagram. I haven’t paid for either but it looks like I’ll have to buckle under.
Welcome to our pay for play world, folks.
Anyone lucky to build a following organically before the Draconian algorithm changes fared better, but the truth is all large accounts and brands pay and pay big. There are rare exceptions and lucky breaks when content goes viral.
And, all those well-known people who you think are posting by themselves?
The well-known experts, the big name bloggers, NONE of them work alone. They have a small team at the very least. The bigger the name, the bigger the budget. They hire social media managers to create, edit or augment their content. These agencies charge from 2K to well above 10K monthly.
That’s why you’ll see posts from certain people in your face all the time. They are scheduled automatically and strategically several times a day if not hourly. Most of the time the reader has no clue when the person shares (if at all) or when the agency is posting on their behalf.
It’s a well-oiled social media machine designed to make you either click, buy or deepen brand affinity.
That means when you think of a certain product, you think of certain brands and not others. In any field or profession there is something called social proof where certain people become the go-to person, the guru, the one quoted on their topic above all others. It’s not because they are the best person but they have the most social media klout.
It’s all about the numbers, baby!
We are psychologically driven to follow the crowd. No one wants to sit in an empty restaurant. If there is a line around the block, everyone wants in. If 5 people share a post, it must be good but if 50,000 shared it must be better right? It isn’t. It’s just the illusion that it’s better.
In the cat world, where I live 24/7, my social proof is decent but can’t compare to the rock stars. Are they better than me? No, but according to social proof, yes, so there you have it, a few of my social media success secrets.
People really are like sheep but you don’t have to follow the crowd.
I’m a little fish in a big ocean who can’t afford to shell out hundreds of dollars a day or week for ads. So, the next time, you see a post with no shares versus a gazillion shares, think twice. You can line the pockets of the agencies and their clients or you can support the minnows among the sharks.
Your reward
is Karmic Brownie points and reading unique content from one person. Yes, one real person like me and countless others who aren’t part of a social media marketing agency team pumping out content.
