The secret to social media is being social. Everything that earns rewards on Steemit is a social interaction. It’s easy to get confused because there is money involved, but forget about the money and just interact with people as people.
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about how to approach building a fanbase on the Steemit platform. The answer is simple, just not easy. In the end, this article about rewarding engagement from @cryptoctopus really brought things together for me.
Create a 'Positive Feedback Loop' By Engaging Your Followers
While everyone is looking for a trick or an exploit to bleed the reward pool dry, all you have to do to win on Steemit is be yourself and treat other people right. Ultimately talking and listening to people on Steemit – building true human relationships – builds a more solid platform and earns you more rewards than any short-term trick ever could.
Engaging and rewarding the Steemians who comment on your posts does three important things:
- It rewards your fans – The people who read and comment on your posts are not just followers; they are fans.
- It builds your fanbase – Appreciated fans stick around, and maybe even say good things about you to their friends.
- It builds your rewards – Your loyal fans have more Steem Power thanks in part to you, so when they upvote you it’s worth even more.
Rewarding Commenters Turns Them Into Fans
People are happy to get replies to the things they post on social media. All people love attention, not just narcissists. They want to hear back! Something you wrote moved them enough to write something themselves – a message to you about your post.
Read it, reply, acknowledge them.
This is the advice you will hear about building a fanbase on any social media platform – ENGAGE.
Comment back to them. Give them a thumbs-up. Maybe comment on something you like that they posted; maybe even follow their account. No matter whether you do one or all of these actions,
Rewarding Your Fans Keeps Them Coming Back
Here on Steemit, we can offer an upvote that is worth money, and that is a big advantage. Other social media triggers a small psychological reward, tied to the human need for social acceptance. Upvotes on Steemit provide that boost, too.
But unlike other social media, upvotes on Steemit also carry a monetary value. We are talking about hitting multiple levels of Maslow’s pyramid at the same time. That is the sort of thing that can really keep people coming back.
Rewarding Your Fans Builds the Value of the Upvotes They Give You
Yes, it’s nice to reward others on the platform. It’s easy to feel very generous when you are handing out upvotes, even when they cost you nothing. But engaging your comment section is not an act of pure altruism. You have a lot to gain by building a fanbase.
Your fanbase is made up of the people who engage with you and your posts. Some of that engagement comes in the form of upvotes that directly benefit you. You have a lot more to gain when your fanbase holds more Steem.
The more you upvote your fans, the more their upvote is worth. Treat them right and keep them as fans, and you will have a growing pool of Steem Power aimed at your posts. It all creates a cycle that rewards those who build and participate in an active community.
You may also like: Celebrating 600 Followers By Powering Up!
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