Photo from GetStencil, CC0 licence
"Go to where your audience is, or likely to be." That's a piece of conventional wisdom I come across quite a lot. Indeed, I have subscribed to it myself.
But isn't it a circular argument?
In my case, I receive no referrals from Instagram, so I don't post anything to do with my work on Instagram. For that reason, I receive no referrals from Instagram. Therefore....
I am thinking of undertaking an experiment, of posting photos on Instagram that have some connection with my work (writing, training, speaking in the field of education technology), and then seeing if the amount of traffic from that source increases.
Although I guess it could be a monumental waste of time because I receive hardly any traffic from Instagram.
Erm...
Where is your traffic coming from?
To find out the answer to this question, I'd suggest three approaches, which are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
For general information about which social media platforms people are using, look at The top social media sites people are using. Note that this article does not contain evergreen content -- in other words, it will almost certainly become outdated over time. Nevertheless, it's not a bad starting point.
You can also take a common sense approach, which I have done to some extent. For example, if you are writing for teachers and principals, they are probably going to be on Twitter, Facebook and perhaps Linked-in, rather than on Instagram (in a professional capacity). However, the trouble with this approach is that (a) it's a self-fulfilling prophecy, as discussed above, and (b) it's not based on evidence, just assumptions.
Using your web analytics provides a surer foundation. You may have a stats package as part of your website/blog set-up, but the best tool I've found is Google Analytics. Makes sense, if you think about it, given the amount of data Google has about each of us.
Is it worth trying new social media platforms?
In a word, yes. However, I'd recommend doing it in a systematic way. For example, set aside some time to start a few boards in Pinterest, update them regularly, and see if you get more traffic from that source.
You can also use this approach to see if any guest blogging you've done has paid off in terms of traffic.
I have to say, though, that this is a counsel of perfection: I find I don't have enough time to experiment in such ways as much as I'd like to, so I tend to focus on the places where I know my traffic is coming from.
Which is all a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy really.
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The 2nd edition of this seminal work is out now, and it is still only £0.99, $0.99 or the equivalent in your currency.
At the moment it is also The American TESOL Institute's 'featured book': http://americantesol.com/blogger/terryfreedman/
Stop press!
The book is also available on Payhip, in the form of a personalised version with your email address on each page. See the link below for details.
For more information about the book, which contains over 350 tips, and all the places you can buy it online, please go to the Education Conferences book page.
13 ideas for protecting yourself from being ripped off
Someone posted in a Facebook group recently that he thinks he's been ripped off. He was pretty sure that someone who had attended a training course of his had taken his materials and then run the training in their school. So, what can you do to lessen the chance of something like this happening to you?
Here are my thoughts on the matter. Please bear in mind these are my personal opinions, and I'm not giving advice, legal or otherwise. But I hope you find the points worth thinking about.
The full article was originally published in my newsletter, Digital Education. If you don't wish to wait for this full series to to run, sign up using the form below or, if it does not appear (it's a timed pop-up) click here. Answer the email to confirm your wish to subscribe, and read the edition of 20th July 2017.
Set up a Google alert or two
Set up a Google alert for your name, and perhaps the name of your course: https://www.google.co.uk/alerts. I was once alerted to the fact that a Local Authority was, without permission, selling a resource I'd created. I contacted them and offered them the opportunity to take it down or share the proceeds with me. They chose the former.
Concluding remarks
To be honest, I think if someone really wants to steal your stuff there's not much you can do about it. However, it's worth trying to make it difficult, just in case a large company decides to do so.
I hope you have enjoyed this series, and found it useful.
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