Introduction
“Great results, can be achieved with small forces.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Recently people have been a little down on Steemit and that is understandable.
The Steem price has slipped down and it is inevitably accompanied by some drama as people's spirits go down.
Many of us keep looking to the Steemit team to bring about change, momentum and higher prices.
That is also understandable but the fact is they can't do everything on their own.
There are lots of little opportunities that can help to make both Steem and Steemit stronger.
The good news is that these don't take much time or effort and if we all do a little it can make a big difference.
We may be a comparatively small force but we can achieve great things if we work together.
1) Welcome and Help New Users
"Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death."
-Sun Tzu, The Art of War
What Sun Tzu was saying was that if you treat people well they will stand by you.
If Steemit is to succeed we need to not only attract new users but also retain those that are already here.
How?
Welcome New Users
A good place to start is by welcoming new users:
https://steemit.com/created/introduceyourself
Just spending 10-15 minutes welcoming and encouraging new users can make a big difference.
I try to do it every day.
Help If You Can, Signpost If You Can't
Also when you are in the chat take a quick look in the "help" and "general" channels.
New users often post queries here.
I've seen @pfunk trying heroically to help as many people as he can in these places but one person can't do it all!
Have a look and see if there is a simple query you can answer.
If not is there a more knowledgeable Steemian you can direct them too?
Either way it should only take you a minute or two to help.
Don't Forget to Resteem Content You Like Especially From New Users
Established social media like Facebook and Twitter live on people reblogging content.
Don't resteem everything but do share things you like especially if it is from users who are not established or well known.
It helps all of us.
Share, Share, Share! - Especially on Twitter
“Hence a wise general makes a point of foraging on the enemy. One cartload of the enemy's provisions is equivalent to twenty of one's own, and likewise a single PICUL of his provender is equivalent to twenty from one's own store.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Instead of networking from scratch it would be wise to make use of what already exists - we can use the competitor's (enemy) resources to spread the word about Steemit.
Use the social media platforms that already exist to their maximum potential.
I believe the optimal way to do that is to use Twitter:
Why Twitter
Twitter doesn't shadow block content like Facebook.
If you post links on twitter all your followers can see them.
Although people seem to think Twitter is less important than Facebook I would argue that it actually has more influence where it counts.
In my experience many of the big influencers are a lot more accessible and easier to talk to there and they are a lot more likely to see your post too.
But I don't have a Twitter account!
Don't have a Twitter account?
Then make one.
It takes a few minutes at most - do it now in fact:
Maximise Your Profile
Make sure to add a profile picture and fill in some of your details (see below):
A lot of people ignore empty looking "egg" profiles as potential fake profiles - simply adding an image and some information will put you ahead of the pack and make a big difference to visibility.
Also you may as well put your Steemit blog as your website address whilst you are there:
https://steemit.com/@yoursteemitname/
It all helps.
Share Your Twitter Profile
You may also want to do the reverse by putting a little footer at the end of your Steemit posts with your twitter name or twitter profile link.
That way we can follow each other, retweet and like Steemit related posts.
This all helps to spread the message about Steemit by making content more visible.
Learn How To Optimise Your Tweets To Maximise Visibility
Twitter posts need to be a maximum of 140 characters.
You may find it helpful to use a URL shortener like Bitly (my personal favourite):
Making a free account also gives you some basic analytics for the tweets you share.
Make sure to use the @Steemit tag on your posts (that will make it visible to the Steemit twitter account).
Use hashtags (they are like steemit tags) to make your tweets easier to find e.g. #life etc - these make your tweets more easily searchable.
This PCMag article has some useful Twitter tips.
This Edudemic article is also quite useful.
Who To Follow?
It is entirely up to you but a good starting point is to follow the main Steemit account:
You can "mention" other accounts by using their @name just like on Steemit.
If you are making a Steemit related tweet make sure you mention @Steemit - if you are lucky the main Steemit account will retweet your post.
Steemit Follow Suggestions
Here are some other people you may know (including me):
@thecryptofiend: https://twitter.com/Soul_Eater_43
@hilarski: https://twitter.com/RandyHilarski - Randi and his wife Annabel run the Steemit social media:
@anahilarski: https://twitter.com/AnabellHilarski
@stellabelle: https://twitter.com/stellabelle
@ned: https://twitter.com/certainassets
@kadavy: https://twitter.com/kadavy
Add your own suggestions and your own twitter link in the comments.
Retweet and Like Tweets
This is an important part of how Twitter works.
If you like something share your appreciation by clicking the heart symbol (a like) and share the post by retweeting.
Just like on Steemit this will help you to network with and find new followers.
You help someone else and they are likely to help you.
It grows your potential audience and hence it grows the audience for the Steemit links you share.
Conclusions
These are a some simple things we can all do to help grow Steemit.
Don't wait - start putting it into action as soon as you can.
Each little action creates a small ripple but put them together and we can create a tsunami of action.
Thank you for reading
If you like my work please follow me on Steemit: @thecryptofiend & on Twitter : Soul_Eater_43. Don't forget to share your posts and posts you like on other Social Media - it all helps spread the word about Steemit!
Screenshots are my own and uncredited images are taken from my personal Thinkstock Photography account. More information can be provided on request.
Before you go have you filled in the Coinbase form to list STEEM? It only takes a few seconds. THIS POST shows you how.
Are you new to Steemit and Looking for Answers? - Try:
Well done man! I didn't follow you on twitter, but I do now. You just made an amazing post about helping people, especially the new users.
They need our attention now more than ever because with all those fights they will not understand what's happening and they will make a bad impression about Steemit. I also try to spend some time to say hello to the new users and I saw a lot of people doing it. This post is really great!
Cheers!
Thanks:)
Great post and thank you.
I have also notice the negativity on here recently. It is a little disheartening and I am not sure what to make of it all really.
I love the Steemit platform and simply love posting what I want to share. If people like what I post then that is great, If they dont then that is great too. I dont have expectations.
I also dedicate some my time to welcoming new people to the platform.
I had a warm welcome when I joined and so I pass it forward but after reading this I can see that I can do better and will try to do that.
You are a wise and much needed member of this community @thecryptofiend and I for one appreciate the positive energy to bring to it.
Thanks mate. You are very kind.
Excellent post and some great ideas there, all of which I know you do exceptionally well. Thank you @thecryptofiend
Below is a link to the Facebook page which I help run with @samstonehill. We have whales and we have newbies. We number just over 100 and there is always someone around, 24/7 as we have members right around the globe.
I am familiar with the dedication of @pfunk for which he merits our recognition and thanks. He cannot do it all and would suggest that people are referred to us because one answer often leads to another question or several. We have the capacity and the environment to assist and help people get their steemit experience off to a more confident and inclusive start.
My twitter address is @edward_bryans
Come and join us at:Aspiring Steemit Whales and Dolphins - You will be most welcome.
Thanks I may already be a member but Facebook seems to show and hide groups at random for me! Will go and take a look when I have a moment:) Am going to listen to Steemit Talk Podcast now:)
I have felt wanted and needed from day 1. Thanks for holding my hand while I learned the basics and to those who encourage others with kind actions. Have fun and be safe! Ciao!
Resteem
Thank you, hopefully we can work together to make more people feel that way:)
You forgot one of the best ones: recommend signing up to a friend or three.
Good point. I was thinking about creating some kind of standardised way of presenting this to other people. When I have tried explaining this to people their first response is that it must be a scam and we need some simple way to explain to non-crypto people why it is not.
This post is a good example of how people who aren't into crypto respond:
https://steemit.com/steemit/@xtrodinarypilot/wtf-is-steemit-make-it-make-sense-says-ufc-heavy-weight-derrick-the-beast-lewis-sms-screenshots
I'm working on a little walk through course thing about what I've experienced with steem so far so your messaging is working! - more brand advocates is what is needed. looking forward to doing my part.
Cool let me know how you get on:)
Some good suggestions, here! I decided to give myself a month here to learn the ropes before recommending and promoting Steemit elsewhere... and that month will be up in a few days. Hopefully more people from the general blogging and content creation world will come us.
Cool thank you - that is a sensible policy.
bravo.. :) and yes.. and.. https://twitter.com/brandonlovejoy happy to retweet other great steemit content.
Cool will add you now:) Just realised am already following you!
good，thank
You're welcome:)
Hi @thecryptofiend, I just stopped back to let you know your post was one of my favourite reads today and I included it in my Steemit Ramble. You can read what I wrote about your post here.
Thank you:)
Thank you. It is good to read a constructive minded posting in these days. And you are quite right in every point. Upvote and resteem guaranteed. Im so sorry, 27 people have read it only. At the moment 161 bots voted this posting. This is good for you and the bot-owners, but very poor for Steemit.
Hopefully more people will read it.
Great tips, Didn't know twitter can make a big difference, gonna be active on twitter again
thank you
Glad you like it:)
Yeah! Great Post, will make similar guide like this to spread the word
Cool the more people we can get doing it the better. Are you on twitter? I can't remember if I'm already following you on there or not.
Great work as always. I'll tweet it for you to both of my followers ;-)
Thanks mate:)
Great post, I didn't know about the help channel on chat. I will defo try and frequent that a little each day!
Thanks yes just take a look when you are around :)
great post with small tips than anyone can accomplish and if i may add
comment to people's posts, everyone wanna know what are you thinking and it also makes them feel better cause someone has read or checked what they post and spend their time to make instead of just an upvote without even see it
Thanks :)
@bogdangaitan on Twitter. We don't use it that much in my country, but give me some love so tweets can get some traction. Nice work on the article!
I agree, but we don't use Steemit so much too, but still here we are. I think you are from Romania. I follow you now! Twitter it also great and I start to like it!
@the-future What is your Twitter? - I'm sure have seen your posts on Twitter but I can't remember if it was from the Steemit account retweeting or me following. If you let me know I will follow you.
I followed yesterday and I think you have followed me back. My Twitter is @2the_future!
You can check it out. Thanks.
Cool thanks I will double check! Yes I followed you yesterday.
Thank you, glad to hear that! I appreciate it!
NP:)
Cheers man! I know I didn't make so many comments on your posts, but it took me a while until I learned how a social media works, and I had to learn FB, Twitter, and Steemit at the same time. I didn't have any of those!
It's all about creating engagement:)
Yes, I realized that! Thanks!
Cluj, maybe? :D
:)) in the middle of Transilvania! yes, Cluj! you?
Same! Add me on Twitter or Facebook /Bogdan.ge on fb
I added you on Twitter! I don't really spend too much time on Facebook!
I have made FB only for Steemit!
Sure. Will do:)