No doubt you will have used Digg, del.icio.us or StumbleUpon, which are three of the largest social news websites.  Or at least you’ll have heard of them.

These sites allow users to upload, tag and vote for interesting content.  If you make it to a ‘front page’ position on one of these sites, they could send thousands or even tens, hundreds of thousands of visitors to your website.

What should you publish on these sites?

Choose material which is pitched to appeal to the users.  Once you have registered with the sites, make sure that you understand what works and what doesn’t.  The main objective of the sites is to ensure that their users receive and have access to interesting, up-to-date content.  So, anything you publish there with a view to hitting a traffic spike, or building interest in your product or service, must be suitably tailored.

The way to achieve success is to become part of the community.  The people who use these sites are not ‘casual’ users of the Internet, usually.  They are typically competent, savvy web users who understand the difference between a useful piece of content and a ‘campaign’ designed to promote something.

Popularity and trust are two things which come from being a community member.  When you obtain these things, in your capacity as a marketer for your business, you can find yourself in a win-win situation where you deliver the right materials and information to the right audience. They will find what you publish worthwhile and valuable if you pitch it correctly and that will lead to success in that arena for you.

Be interesting, genuine and not heavy handed

Remember the key elements of marketing.  Put yourself in the shoes of your audience, which wants information, entertainment, real value from its web experience, not to be on the receiving end of self-interested campaigning from a business it doesn’t know or care to know.

People put up barriers when they think they are being played, and quite rightly.  Pulling the wool over the eyes of your potential customers is not where you want to be, either.  Your reputation is important.  Some say it’s all you have.

The title of your content is very important, followed by the content itself and both of these things are underpinned by presentation.  Your presentation has to be excellent:  it must be fantastically written (see copyrighting in this guide) and engaging in a variety of ways.  If you are packaging your self-interest into the bargain, by providing information about your product, that must be secondary to the goal of satisfying the reader.  Or it will not work.  Do not forget this, or you’ll waste time in this space.