Is Your Secret Fishing Hole Digital?
To give you an example, I want to describe a conversation I had with a peer recently. She’s an ambitious thinker and an up-and-coming thought leader in the field of social media. She was feeling a little perplexed one day though, because a post she wrote was getting an enormous number of views – but little in the way of shares or comments. In fact, despite the fact that her readers seem to be enjoying her article, few of them had even bothered to engage her on it. What in the world, she wondered, could possibly be going on? It only took me a moment to figure the problem out: she had created the digital marketing equivalent of a fishing hole. Having been raised in BC’s interior, I know plenty of people that go fishing. I don’t just mean people who enjoy the occasional afternoon out on the lake, but those who are out regardless of the weather, rain, snow, sun or hail. These folks tend to get a little bit competitive when it comes to describing their catches, and very secretive about where they caught the big one.
Are you hiding your favourite digital fishing holes?
Protecting someone’s content comes with ramifications, though. For one UAE Phone Number List thing, the thought leader isn’t encouraged when you don’t provide any shares or positive feedback, so they may stop sharing their awesome ideas in the future. That would be terrible. Furthermore, you should be building a marketing platform that relies on your own strengths. If you’re doing things the right way, it doesn’t really matter whether your competitors see the same advice that you do. You should be using it in your own way (perhaps in an even better way) than others do, anyway And finally, the whole notion behind keeping your fishing hole a secret is based on a mindset of scarcity. Growth comes from doing the opposite. So, why keep it all to yourself when you can provide an opportunity for everyone to grow?
The Bottom Line on Fishing Holes and Quality Content
I understand all too well the rationale behind keeping great ideas to yourself, but it’s not Aero Leads a strategy that works for very long and it diminishes all of us – both as marketers and human beings. So, if you come across something great on the internet, be sure to share it, and to give credit to the original creator.
If, on the other hand, you suspect others have been using your content as a fishing hole, take it as a compliment. Even if the first few readers are reluctant to spread the word on your behalf, sooner or later word will get out.
