How to make your blog or social media page be mentioned in National News
There are lots of factors affecting your profits on the internet. But all of us will agree, that the main reason some people get more money on the web than the others is that their name or brand is just more recognized.
There are loads of book concerning this subject, but to my mind, Ryan Holiday's bestseller "Trust me, I’m Lying" is the best one to start learning how to make yourself go viral.
To get started
First of all you need understanding of what is happening on the web. The only thing internet produces is information. So basically what makes a successful citizen of the web is the ability to make pieces of information better than the others.
But the question is, what is the criteria defining a good or bad "product"? Well, according to what I’ve read and seen, on the web value of information is defined by these two major factors:
- Ability to provoke emotions.
Great content is the one that makes us feel something. It inspires people to think about what they read and share it with their friends. Emotions is what people often lack in their life due to daily and work routine. Give it to them and they will surely appreciate your generous gift.
- Ability to teach something.
If your post bares information on some useful knowledge, that a person can’t get anywhere else. It is bound to go viral. And I am talking not only about articles starting with "How to…" Or "Interesting fact…". Content that reveals unique relevant pieces of information about famous events, lives of celebrities or even world conflicts will certainly bring some fame to you.
Why is it works?
Well, traditional journalism, where every piece of information is double checked before publication is now has a fierce rival – blogging.
Blogs mostly don’t actually bother checking if the information they’ve found is actually "true". Due to such reasons:
- The majority of blogs live on account of traffic they get. The more sensational piece of news is – the more traffic which later converts into money they get. It is out of their interest to spend time on checking the material. They will better post it before other sites and later in case of what write a rebuttal on the article.
- Smaller blogs are often a source of information for bigger ones. Those sites rarely have enough money to hire professional correspondents. So most of the time they just monitor other blogs for information and rewrite it for their own sites.
- Journalists themselves use blogs in order to find content. Blogs provide information faster, than any other media channel. So even big companies like BBC or CNN use them quite often.
How is it works?
I think, you’ve already got the idea. Journalists get content from big blogs, big blogs get it from smaller ones, and smaller ones may publish anything you need in case if the article is informative and emotional enough.
To get to the top of this chain (National News), information you provide in your blog or on public social media account should be really unique and powerful. Or even provocative.
What should you do to succeed
After reading this post this may seem like an easy task, but trust me, it is not. Creating content that will go viral on purpose may be a real challenge. For example I’m still struggling to do this trick with this facebook page and this blog Edusson.com where I actually work.
I would recommend to:
- Monitor news and blogs in order to recognize current and future trends;
- Try to create something that has no analogs;
- Be truthful and don’t use lie to increase popularity. It may seem like a good idea, but trust me, this is a short-run and will bring more bad then good to you.
This is just a short look on how modern media work and how to use it for your own personal benefits. In order to get more information on the topic you can write me on Google+ and I’ll provide some additional books on the topic.
Don’t be afraid to try something new, because it may lead to unexpected positive results for you and your career!