Guilty by Association - Are you mindlessly sharing content you haven’t even read?

The Copy Collective’s Jim Butcher lifts the lid on lazy sharing that could cost you ‘Likes’…

Isn’t it annoying when your personal Facebook or Google+ newsfeed gets chock full of mindless junk?

I’m not just talking about your cousin rejoicing in their latest Farmville conquest or your mate inviting you into the terrifying world of Candy Crush Saga. I mean the stuff companies whose Facebook pages you’ve liked, start sharing things with you that they think you’ll find “interesting”.

It’s the result of firms sharing content to improve and maintain their social media presence but not really thinking about the quality of their newsfeed.

One poorly chosen shared article from them and ‘click’ they’ve lost a reader and a potential customer. It’s something you should be very conscious of when sharing content with your readers too.

Too often people share content that they think is what their readers want to know about, but they haven’t even read the article.

To prove the point, National Public Radio (NPR) published this brilliant prank post on Facebook about why Americans don't read anymore. 

After the headline and title image, a quick message asks all people who have read thus far to simply like the post and not comment and see what happens.

The comments that follow are well worth a read and just goes to show people really aren’t paying attention to what they’re interacting with online.

 
To make sure you’re sharing the right content, here’s a quick checklist of other important criteria to consider each time you share something with your readers online:

• Does the hyperlink work? One of the most frustrating moments is when the lead-in to a piece has done its job but when you go to click through, the link doesn’t work.
• How old is the article? Even if the content you’re sharing is evergreen, make sure it’s not too old. Anything more than a year old loses traction. If it’s a stats-based piece, it cannot be more than six months old.
•  Is the article any good? Make sure it’s well written and interesting. Check it’s not full of bad spelling, poor punctuation or grammar.
• Is the article correct? Don’t share the article if it’s wrong, controversial or - even worse - off-brand.
• What does it offer your readers? Your readers will want to take something away with them from the article. Make sure what you share provides this.
• Would you follow you? Think about this as you share more and more to your curated content portfolio. People are likely to look back at what you’ve shared in the past.
• Remember, people trust your shares. Sharing poor quality content can adversely affect their trust and therefore your traffic.

As founder of ProBlogger - a publishing and information resource company - Darren Rouse says: “in the midst of the strategy and tactics, don’t lose sight of the people on the other side of your content.”          

 

Three things to get you through the tough times . . .

They visit us all - they can be personal, work-related, world events and everything in between - they are the tough times.

The Copy Collective is going through a tough time at the moment - all due to our success. Our business is going great, we have clients walking in the door with new jobs every week, we've doubled - and then some - the number of our employees in less than a year.

We are going through an amazing period of growth and we're like little ducks looking serene above the water with our feet going as fast as they can paddle underneath.

So what are our top three tips to getting through?

• The drug of your choice - for me it's lolly bananas
• Find something funny in the chaos - for me that was Jim choking on his tea at my lolly bananas
• Thank God It's Friday - and if it isn't Friday, then stay in bed until it is

I promise, if you apply these three simple steps it will either a) all look better than before or b) if not, you will have left things for too long and so some of them won't matter or c) at least you will have got to scoff a bag or two of lolly bananas. Have a great long weekend!

Seven things you need to do when the media comes calling

As a journalist with News Limited for 12 years ( prior to joining The Copy Collective) including being Business Editor of The Daily Telegraph, the Online Editor of Sydney Confidential and National Technology Writer for News Limited Maureen Shelley knows a thing or two about working with the media and is happy to share her knowledge.

OUR luminous leader Dominique Antarakis features - quite rightly - in a recent edition of The Australian  and we are excited that she's getting the attention that she deserves. That said, what are the seven things you must do when the media comes calling?

Huff Post on Bernanke

Joe Hockey 

1. Say yes - make yourself available within reason when members of the Fourth Estate call
2. Be prepared - if they call you out of the blue, give yourself permission to say "I'll call you right back". Take a deep breath, think about what message you want to get across (it needs to be a 30 second MAX sound bite) and stay on message. Also, have a professionally-taken headshot on hand that you can supply if requested.
3. If they want to take a photograph, ask when the deadline is and make sure that you can be at the shoot with your hair, make up and clothes portraying the way you want your business to be perceived.  If you're in your slippys and trackies, then do you have time to change or can you change the time of the shoot? (Never hurts to ask). If you can't change anything, then go with the picture anyway - a bad picture is better than no picture (unless it's one of these).
4. Be colourful - colourful quotes get up higher in business stories and have less chance of being cut by the sub-editor. So, while being neither flippant nor disrespectful, say "Our business rocks" rather than "When all things are considered, our business is responding well in what is a challenging economic climate".

   

   Shorten in the SMH 

5. Ask for the media person's direct number, email or mobile phone number. That way, the next time you have a story to tell, you can go back to them directly. 
6. Don't cyber stalk them, don't try and be their friend on Facebook (although LinkedIn is fine and so is following them on Twitter) but do contact them with an email and follow up phone call if you have a real story. Don't - and I mean DON'T - insult the journo or media person involved.
7. Know when you have a story - Don't call the media if you've installed a new piece of equipment in your tanning studio. Do call them if you are the owner of a tanning studio and there has been a recent victim of a drive-by shooting at your tanning studio.

You helped us get there. Thanks! Turning 60 is a big deal in most people's lives and hitting the magic 60 mark for The Copy Collective is something we are thankful for. It means that 60 people like what we do - or 1+ it! - and that 60 people are interested enough to make that "liking" public. That's commitment. We promise not to spam you or cyber stalk you. Hopefully, most of what we say will be meaningful and helpful to you - the people who like us. But today - we just want to say THANKS! - and yes, we know that's shouting but we want you to be clear on our message; we are grateful. Thanks.