“SEO is dead. Social media works only when you pay for ads. Content distribution is harder than ever!” Shruti was getting frustrated week after week. She started her own blog in 2017 and was consistent throughout. She loved the sense of being the starter of an amazing community. She was on Instagram from her personal profile and had thousands of loyal followers. Her Facebook page enjoyed hundreds of comments in hours following her new blog posts. Everything was going great when suddenly her dream was crushed by an ‘Account Ban’ Notice from Instagram, much like millions of other accounts that published memes. To add to her woes, her reach was constantly decreasing on Facebook and ‘ad spends’ were out of control. A lot of you would relate to this situation if you have been heavily dependent on social media for promoting your personal brand or business. Social media platforms are becoming more serious about user experience. One cannot just think of relying on social media alone. We already know Facebook wants to focus more on users than influencers and advertisers. Because for one advertiser moving away, there are two waiting in line to start running their campaigns. We cannot ignore them altogether, too. Because social media has millions of users. Instead, you can strategise and leverage the social media revolution to your benefit without relying on a specific platform. The keyword here is to ‘Build Long Term Trust’ and transition from a platform-based strategy to a holistic promotion plan where ‘organic reach’ matters more than ‘vanity metrics’ ORGANIC REACH > VANITY METRICS SUCH AS LIKES & FOLLOWERS If you relate to the philosophy here are two amazing platforms you can use differently to build authority and organic reach for your brand or business. Quora – The Underdog That’s Been Answering All Our Queries We all use Quora, right? For finding answers, to share our opinions or for research. Well, it is one of the largest user-generated repositories online. Many have failed to take it seriously till now. Most businesses and users think it’s pointless to answer questions. But think about it – inbound and content marketing strategies preach of understanding the users and addressing their pain points. What’s better way to kill both the birds with a single stone than Quora? Real people come to find their answers on Quora. If you manage to answer correctly, they would start seeing you as an authority in the domain. Leave alone the free source of referral traffic you’ll get in return for your blogs and website. I would say there is nothing better than Quora for creating as well as implementing a persona-driven content strategy. Want to know how to use Quora for finding your audience. Read my other blog here How to Start Utilizing Quora? Build a Profile (Human Profiles Would Give Better Results Than Corporate Profiles) Whenever you begin writing for a blog, research about user questions on Quora for the same topic Create your blog with user pain points in mind (the ones you gather from research) Once you publish your blog, get back to Quora to answer relevant questions Make sure never to deceive users into clicking your blog links embedded in posts. Rather, give full disclosures about your interest. If you’ve written the blog, say it. If you’re a marketer, tell them. Humans still love honesty. When you tell them what’s in for you in it, there are greater chances of them believing you. Trust me on this. What will you gain from all this? Two things. Firstly, people would start asking you more about the industry you work in. (Answer Requests on Quora). The first step to building a domain authority is to make others believe that you know your work. Secondly, if you time your answers well and offer value, you will get an evergreen traffic channel that keeps directing interested (warm) leads to your blog or resource for a lifetime. Please note that keyword stuffing, link spamming and all other black hat practices would get you banned from Quora. So, try to be helpful and see better results than being a robot who just wants more traffic. LinkedIn: More Than Just a Professional Network Do you still think of LinkedIn as just a static professional network? Well, you must be in for a surprise if you check it now. People have created empires just through their LinkedIn profiles. Check , , and . Brand Samosa bleWMinds MedSnake Media If you go behind these big names in their respective niche. You’ll observe one thing. Their founders have built their business while riding on the LinkedIn wave. You should know that LinkedIn has evolved from just a place to find jobs, to a thought leadership platform. Content creators, entrepreneurs, storytellers, and business owners who are into B2B services enjoy amazing advantages through LinkedIn. If you use LinkedIn nowadays, you’ll observe how everyone is into creating interesting posts or stories around their niche. Some post about their experiences, some about valuable growth hacks, some about their experiences. You’ll realize one thing from all these. Everyone who’s creating on LinkedIn is enjoying some kind of engaged following. The reason? Because people love to follow advice and enjoy personal connections with success stories in making. If you’re not active on LinkedIn, you’re bound to lose a huge pie. Why I say this? Because a large number of LinkedIn users are active decision makers in their organizations. Growing your visibility means more prospects coming your way. And the best part? LinkedIn is less competitive and more rewarding than other social media algorithms. If you find your niche, keep engaging with your target audience and keep adding value, you’ll enjoy amazing long-term advantages. How to Start on LinkedIn? First and foremost, think like a human and not a company. People enjoy ‘real connection’ not automated replies. Complete & optimize your personal profile to suit your industry. You can research a bit before getting it right. Start by connecting with only relevant connections. Just adding anyone to your connections would dilute the purpose of getting advantage of LinkedIn. Never pitch directly after you connect. Build a rapport by engaging with some posts, being visible, and exploring synergies. Start with value commenting on posts that talk about your industry. This is an important element of the LinkedIn strategy. Once you’re finished with an optimized profile and the confidence through engagement on comments, start posting on your own profile. Leverage storytelling practices to create a post. Start with an interesting hook, mix white space with value-oriented paragraphs and always make sure to add value to a reader’s life. Remember, are key elements here. If your posts are not relevant and your network is not receptive, there is no point of posting. relevance and receptivity What ‘NOT’ to do on LinkedIn? Never try to use LI connections for cold prospecting Never build your network through ‘SPAM’ posts that promise instant growth in network Don’t just make your profile a ‘one-way’ street. Instead, try to initiate meaningful conversations in everything you post – a comment or a post. Don’t share outward links (blogs/website) in your post section directly. Instead use comments section for sharing links. Don’t just give everything to your company page yet. First build valuable connections through your own (founder’s) profile. Never tag others mindlessly on posts. You’ll end up being despised. LinkedIn is not just a site for job seekers. Instead, if used correctly, it is a place to build a community that admires you. And it goes without saying that founders and entrepreneurs want to be admired by their target audience. So, if you’re not going big on LinkedIn, someone else would for sure. And that one could even be your competitor. Wrapping Up Everyone wants to grow their website traffic with minimal effort. The best way is definitely to go organic and think beyond Google Search results. Of late, Google has also been trying to offer an inclusive experience to searchers by trying to embed all information on results page, resulting in traffic reduction from organic means. Such a scenario paves the way for venturing out and trying new platforms. Planning and executing organic reach campaigns is a long-term effort that requires consistency over anything else. So, if you’re good at content creation and can spend a few hours every day on relevant distribution, you can enjoy massive benefits. All the best!

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How to Leverage LinkedIn & Quora for Building Your Brand's Presence Online?

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