The Thing About Likes
The Likes, Shares, Views, and even Comments on your favorite social platform might be an indication of popularity. They might tell you how well your content has spread. I am not convinced they are meaningful even in that respect, but one thing is sure: these scoring systems tell you nothing about the real impact your content is making.
Reach is important, but it is never enough. An ineffective piece of content can become viral and leave no residue at the same time. When you seek to build your personal brand, you have to provide your audience with a value that will resonate long after moving to the next post in their feed. None of the built-in social metrics can convey this.
It is better to have a smaller audience that acknowledges the value of your content than a vast audience that Likes and moves on.
The Thing About Trending Topics
It is so tempting to write about the thing everybody writes about just now. Addressing trending topics seems like a reasonable thing to do. After all, everyone is talking about them, so the audience is tuned into these topics.
But this is precisely the downside of joining a global discussion: your voice is not likely to make any impact. Your content should stand out, and in that respect, writing about something other than the one thing everyone is talking about is more likely to make your content shine.
It’s not that you need to write something contrary to the trending topics. Just write about the things you care about and ignore the noise of what all the rest care about.
The Thing About Posting Daily
You have to be persistent. You have to be present. But quantity and quality don’t always go together.
Your personal brand is made out of all of the ideas you share. If you favor frequency over quality, the value of your brand will be impacted.
Make sure you are writing and sharing meaningful ideas that provide value and add something new to your previous body of work. It’s a good practice to keep a backlog of content ideas, but if you don’t have an idea to write about, wait for it. Don’t post just to be heard. What you say is more important than just saying something.
