What do all these Tabs Mean?

I get what New tab does, and mostly Trending, maybe Hot, but Promoted?!?!

I've recently been seeing a lot of questions about what the Promoted tab does and if they should pay to be on it. So this guide will take a look at what all the tabs do (New, Hot, Trending and Promoted), if it's worth promoting posts and how to promote it should you want to.

Q: What is the Promoted Tab?

The promoted tab lists posts depending on how many Steem Dollars have been paid to promote it. While there is a promoted list for the entire site, there are also lists for specific tags, for example Photography.

The posts with the most paid to promote it show up at the top, 2nd most is 2nd and so on.

Q: How would I promote my post if I wanted to?

[EDIT: Thanks to comments for reminding me of the easier way. Mine was old school! :P]

Easier Way

Click the "Promote" Button at the bottom of the post you want to promote.
Then simply enter the amount of Steem Dollars you want to spend towards the promotion. (These don't have to be in whole numbers.)
That's it!

#### Harder way The short answer is you send however much you want to pay to promote your post to the @null account and put the post link (starting with the @yourname part) in the memo field.

To give a quick walkthrough on this:

Find the post you want to promote and copy the link (i.e. Web Address or URL.)

Goto your wallet, click the little down arrow next to Steem Dollars (Steem doesn't work for this) and click transfer.

Fill out the transfer box with the TO field going to null, the amount you want to pay to promote your post going into the AMOUNT field and the link of the post you want to promote (starting with the @yourname/... part of the link...DON'T COPY THE EARILER PARTS OF THE LINK OR IT WON'T WORK..you'll just burn your money.)

[NOTE: Notice how I start my link in the memo field. If you just copy the whole link you'll spend the money but NOT get it promoted!]

Q: Should I pay for my posts to be promoted?

In the end, this is totally up you each individual. However myself...I've not promoted my posts (outside of when it first came out to try it) due to mostly lackluster results. I'm sure experiences have varied between people and the specific situation (like how much a post has already earned.)

But, let me put it to you this way. What was the last time YOU looked at the promoted tab? Yea...me either. While I know it's not quite the same, clicking on the promoted tab is like asking to be advertised to. The posts that get the greatest effect need to be at the top of the list...top 3...at least top 5.

Take a look at the cost to get into these positions either across all of Steemit or on the specific tag you want to focus on (these are usually cheaper than site wide.) To figure this out, simply goto the promoted page (site wide or tag specific) and click the little down arrow next to the payout amount. You'll see a line that says "Promotion Cost." These are the amounts you have to surpass to get higher on the list than them.

But personally, I find spending the 2 SBD on @randowhale to be a better return on your money since it really takes a lot of the unknown variables out of the equation AND is much cheaper.

Q: What do the other tabs (or filters do?)

New is just that. This is a list of the most recently created posts on Steemit or a specific tag. The newest is always at the top of the list.
Hot can be thought of as votes per minute. This is a part of why having early post traction (i.e. votes) is so important for those still building their following. Often this tab is what people look at to find more interesting posts or for better curation results.
Trending is essentially posts with the highest payouts (for the post AND comments.) This has been tweaked since moving to the 7 day payout with older posts naturally moving down the list so we don't see the same things all week.

Remember that ALL of my guide posts are eligible to be added as entries to the Steem Center Wiki or Operation Translation.

Click here to find out how these can earn you Steem!!

Feel free to ask me anything. I'm here to Help!

I've had slow response times lately, but I try to get a response to every question.

Are you new to Steemit and Looking for Answers? - Try https://www.steemithelp.net.

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❓Answering Common Questions: What's this Promoted tab? Should I use it? ⏫