Following up on our series of the Top 10 Ways to Monetize Your Blog for 2010, I’d planned on discussing how the component of expressing yourself within your blog posts and blog community is absolutely critical as part of your strategy to grow your audience and hopefully help in your quest to make money blogging. It was interesting timing for this post as just this morning I attended our local Social Media Breakfast Ottawa (#SMBOttawa) put on by three great hosts; Simon Chen (@sylc), Ryan Anderson (@ryananderson), and Rob Lane (@roblane). In the past few Social Media Breakfasts I have attended, generally the themes have surrounded tactic-related social media strategies and observations on engagement in the social media sphere. However today, I had the absolute pleasure of listening to a sociologist’s perspective on social media interaction – discussing specifically the “social” in social media – the human side of social media, if you will. And as such, I’d like to shift what I originally planned for this post closer towards the idea of expressing yourself properly based on the audience you are looking to attract.
At this morning’s discussion, Sam Ladner, PhD, talked about the need to understand how and why social groups interact within the communities they participate in (both online and off). For those of us attempting to build an online community (via a blog as just one example), developing a good understanding of our audience personas as well as how the individuals in these groups use “audience segmentation” - the concept of how groups of people are inclined to frame their online personas based on the audiences that can view them in a particular social network – is particularly crucial to being able to foster a truly engaged community. She discussed the idea of “embarrassment”, and how that sentiment is ultimately a community builder’s worst nightmare; putting an audience member or group in a position where the way they can be openly perceived to their own audiences becomes a source of embarrassment, or worse; shame. The goal of bloggers as community builders should be to create a place of engagement where your readers are not only free from threat or embarrassment or shame (or scrutiny, judgment, etc.) but additionally create a place where your readers are encouraged to participate in a way that makes sense with how they would interact on a human level and the circles in which they run.
Audience Segmentation Fail
(Photo courtesy of FacebookFails.com, and idea courtesy of Sam Ladner)
Take for example, females participating in online social networks. It is important to understand not only how, but also the reasons why the way certain females participate in these social networks and how these differ vastly from one group persona to another. Grasping these differences and using the intelligence when developing content in forms of blog posts, contests, comments and even requests for reciprocity is key to creating an optimal environment with which to grow your community. Although both of the “female” demographic, the way in which “mothers” participate in online social networks is largely different from they way “single, 20-somethings” interact on the very same online platforms (i.e.: Facebook, Twitter, etc.). While mothers are more likely to participate for reasons based on the sharing of ideas, conducting research and looking for help or suggestions, single women are more likely to create and use their online experience as a compliment to their real-life social interactions, a way of reinforcing their identity and actually planning social events. This is just one example that Ms. Ladner cited, but the principle remains that bloggers need to not only understand WHO their target audience is, but HOW and WHY they interact and the types of content they are most likely to be willing to broadcast themselves as being aligned with – without the threat of embarrassment. For example, although both “mothers” and “single, 20-somethings” may in fact read ‘Martha Stewart Living’ within the confines of their domestic sphere, one group may be more inclined than the other to broadcast it as a “like” on Facebook based on the audience it’s being portrayed to and the reasons why they’re online. The same applies for your blog: if you decide that you want to talk about a certain topic, event, idea, whatever – that’s absolutely fine. Just keep in mind that even though your audience may agree/disagree with your thoughts, they may choose not to interact because they may not necessarily want to be perceived as aligning themselves with it in a place that can be both publicly searched and archived.
She also gave a great example on how we should approach our interaction on the social communities we build as being the “perfect host” at a dinner party. As the community host, we should create an environment with which our “guests” feel as though the never have to ask for something while equally being welcome to ask for whatever they want; and additionally make them feel as though they are able to both arrive and leave when and how they please. A good host also knows when to make the right introductions, directs their guests towards people with similar interests and affinities without prompting. It’s this type of approach that I see as key for bloggers to adopt within their own social communities, and that’s how a true two-way interaction is created and reinforced.
For bloggers looking to grow their communities and make money blogging, tying these concepts and approaches into the notion of expressing yourself properly means spending a good amount of time trying to deeply understand the audience you’re attempting to attract: what types of things they are likely to say and equally what they are likely not to say, what are their goals, the types of social circles they run in, etc. Identifying and understanding these elements will help define the reasons readers should engage with your blog and the types of information and interaction you can provide that is likely to supplement their experience and make them feel welcome and safe.
A special thanks goes out to Sam Ladner for her keen insights and perspectives, and helping me beef up my blog post today!
