Don’t try to create viral content.
Don’t try to create viral content.
Hey,
Surojit here.
Greetings to all 7,843 subscribers !!
Quick Note : I have decided to give more attention to Newsletters and share 2 high quality emails every week. I don’t know how consistent I will be, but I will try my best.
This Newsletter will take 3 mins to read (approx.)
Background 👇
In today’s Newsletter I will share with you my thoughts on “Viral Content”
I have been creating content on LinkedIn for the last 3 years and I have built a following of 73,000+ followers. I post almost everyday - helpful content for my audience.
Occasionally my posts go viral and it reaches 1 lakh to 5 lakhs people within a day. The thrill is hard to ignore, and there is joy everytime it hits the chords with my followers - I will admit to that.
2 to 3 years back when I started creating content I would try to make every post viral and count the number of likes and comments after posting.
When it worked I was on cloud nine, every other time I felt like quitting.
Gradually with time, I learned to detach myself from the dopamine hits and focus on creating high value content consistently and leave the rest to the algorithm.
Here’s my simple logic 👇
Imagine 2 scenarios
👉 Scenario one - You share something on social media and it goes viral, maybe reaches a couple of lakh people and you gain a few thousand followers. You are thrilled but you are unable to consistently create content because you are chasing viral content and not providing value to your followers. At the end of 3 months you have 10,000 followers.
👉 Scenario Two - You create only high value and helpful content consistently and none of your posts go viral. You gain followers slowly with every post. At the end of 3 months you have 10,000 followers.
(Assuming when both started they had zero followers)
Now, if you try to sell a product or service to your followers, which scenario do you think will be successful ?
Answer - Scenario 2
The Reason ?
In Scenario 2 you have gained the trust of your followers by sharing helpful information regularly.
You can’t gain someone’s trust overnight. You can get visibility, and some credibility but not trust.
It takes time to build TRUST
What people miss out on social media is that your followers are real people, and they observe you.
There are thousands of people creating content everyday, the reason they follow you is because they find your posts interesting, helpful and valuable.
With time I have realised that I have a responsibility towards 73,000 followers. I cannot just share any random idea that hits me.
Every post, article that I share is carefully created/curated and goes through multiple edits before I hit the publish button.
But, why take content creation so seriously ?
The reason is simple.
Content that you create on social media/YouTube is an asset. Today you might have less followers and less influence. But with time as it grows it can become an alternate source of revenue or get you more opportunities - by your personal brand.
I have 2 businesses and employ 25+ people.
👉 Training & Consulting (Growthdish) - Focussed on sharing knowledge and practical experience who seriously want to upskill or start a new career in Digital Marketing.
I run a 28 Days Digital Marketing Workshop. Sessions are Live & Recordings are shared. Trained 5000+ people so far. (New Batch Starts - 26th Feb.)
👉 Content Marketing Agency (Zoringa) - We work with brands to help them increase website traffic by creating SEO Focussed content. Currently we are hiring for multiple roles. Share your resume - surojit@zoringa.com
All of this has become possible for the community I have created on LinkedIn.
3 years back when I started writing on LinkedIn, it was just for fun. Today it has become a full fledged online business.
Cheers !!
Surojit
P.S. - If you enjoyed reading this Newsletter please share it with your friends and family. Your support means a lot to me and my team.