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Good Things to Social Bookmark

Sharon Housley -- If you have your own site, blog, or online point of interest, here are tips that will help market your content and have people coming back.

It can be tricky to predict what content will perform well on social bookmarking Web sites. The interests of our democratic populace are widespread and constantly changing. Web pages, podcasts, and images which are deemed more newsworthy, humorous, or intriguing often steal the spotlight. Knowing how to present content on social bookmarking Web sites can help Internet marketers stand out.

Top 10

Top 10 lists generally perform well on social bookmarking Web sites. Whether listing movies, books, industry gurus, or tips for protecting your computer, top 10 lists always garner attention.

How To's

Detailed how to's and tutorials often gain popularity on the Internet; although rehashes of tired content go unnoticed. When writing a how to, pick a niche topic that has not previously been detailed and explain it well.

Offbeat/unusual

Everyone loves a story about the unusual or unique. Offbeat items attract attention and interest. Keep it real, though.

Controversial

For better or worse, controversy attracts attention. Well-timed controversial subject matter often gains traction on social networks. Taking a stand on controversial subject also generates a lot of comments (although not always positive).

Humor

The video segments on JibJab never fail to cause a stir. In fact, the most popular YouTube video clips are often mundane subjects portrayed in a ridiculous or silly way. That said, they are popular and have a high rating and large number of views.

Outrageous

It is smart to be bold. Outlandish stories that make you shake your head often get high numbers of votes on social Web sites.

Timely

Items that are timely are critical. Old news is not news, and will quickly be buried in favor items that are current.

Satirical

If you are able to pull off a satire that contains fact and humor, it too could perform well on a social Web site.

Keep in mind that social Web sites vary and appeal to different audiences. Study the social Web site to determine the kinds of stories that attract the most attention and interest. If it were easy to predict what would be successful there would be a whole lot of rich people in the world. Determining what will or will not be successful in business is not an easy task, and the same is true for predicting what will be most effective when it comes to social bookmarking.

Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds, and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for RecordForAll audio recording and editing software.

© 2011 Sharon Housley

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