How To Be Crazy Successful Writing In Medium (Part 6 — Further Distribution To Social Media).
As writers, our job is not done when we hit the publish button. The business of writing goes beyond writing. After all, we do want readers, am I right? This is akin to the post-production of movie creation, where we have to give our stories an additional push for eyeballs. I will focus on social media distribution for this story.
Distribution is important because we want more readers for our Masterpiece. I wrote about distribution within Medium through publications. You can read it here.
I will focus on the distribution of our stories on social media platforms here. The Why of this is simple. Consider the following: -
- There are 760 million users on Linkedin in 2020.
- There are 330 million monthly active users on Twitter in 2020.
- There are 2.7 billion monthly active users on Facebook as of the 2nd Quarter in 2020.
The social media marketplace is where people are, and eyeballs follow the people. If we want to get more readers for our Masterpiece, distribution into various social media platforms is pivotal to our success.
The real question is not Why. It is How. I will emphasize How in this story. Let me address one concern before that.
Social Media Algorithm Slices Our Medium Readership On These Platforms. Yay or Nay?
It is true, and that reason is simple. When our followers choose to read the Medium stories attached to our social media posts — one thing happens.
They are extracted out of the social media platform and parachuted into Medium. No executives from the social media giants are happy with people leaving their platforms.
Therefore, they de-prioritize such posts containing our Medium stories.
I will not debate on the right or wrong of this. The commercial intent is what I see. They want to keep their account users within their platforms as long as they can. I will do that too.
However, this should not be the consideration for distribution into our social media platforms. Here’s why.
I may get 5 readers for my stories if I self-publish. I could potentially get an additional 15 readers if my story is published through a publication.
If I could get an additional 50 readers from social media after a post-algorithm discount — the fact is, I am getting an additional 50 readers from social media.
Maybe the actual readership from my followers on various social media platforms could be 200 instead of 50. Maybe. In reality, we are still getting an extended outreach of 50 readers.
That is a Yay for me.
Now for the How.
Let Me Start With Linkedin.
Professionals are on Linkedin for networking purposes, presumably. If you are interested to learn more about Linkedin, feel free to read the following story.
Back to the distribution of our stories on Linkedin.
I curate specific topics that are relevant to the people of the platform. Since Linkedin is a platform for working professionals, I distribute work-related stories. I also distribute stories about the quality of Work-Life balance. These stories have a high distribution success.
These are the stories. The images of Linkedin distribution follows below.
Take note. When it comes to the distribution of our Medium stories on Linkedin, FURTHER DISTRIBUTION is the key.
You have to write your Linkedin post so that your followers will “Share” your posts with their network of followers.
When we do that, our stories get pushed further by one degree of connection.
And Then There Is This Funny Platform Known As Twitter.
There is a social media party platform known as Twitter. Everyone tweets what they feel like, without much thinking. Each tweet is limited to 280 characters.
If you are thinking what I am thinking — you know this is a headline game, not a story game.
Unlike Linkedin, where relevance is important for distribution, Twitter seems to be for everyone. I say “seems to be” because there is no specific segment of people on this platform. We can find Political Leaders, Hedge Fund Managers, and Bloomberg updates live.
If you want to get anybody’s attention from a giant ballroom, you need a strong punch. That strong punch is delivered through the headlines of your story (because it shows on your tweet) and your tweet post.
Be as controversial as possible. Boring is ignored.
There Is A Lot To Cover For The Social Media Distribution Ecosystem … And I Cannot Cover All.
For a simple reason, people; I have to work.
If we want to distribute our Medium Stories into Social Media platforms with success, we have to experiment until we become successful.
Mindlessly forwarding our stories into Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms, do not yield any results, unless we have a giant following.
Then again, it takes time to build a giant following.
And so, I propose that we focus our energy on a select few tasks. Focus our attention on a couple of social media platforms to distribute our stories.
We will get that additional outreach we seek.
The next topic will be on the Long and Short of Medium Stories.
Stay tuned.
Get Started And Happy Writing.
Aldric
Related Stories from the Author — A Writer’s Start Pack.
About the Author:
As a content contributor, I write my observations from daily life and my business exposure.
Because our life experience is the bedrock of our unique perspectives.
As a Consultant by training, I believe in making the complex simple.
Because simplicity adds value.
And with clarity — We grow.
Follow me for my stories on Medium!
This is more “About Me”.
