Social Magic

No . . . it’s not a new form of government . . .

No . . . it’s not a political ideology . . .

No . . . it’s not a bird, plane or superman . . .

It’s Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs and Youtube.

That’s right folks . . . Social Media.

This is likely nothing new to you, but are you using them to their maximum potential. First, I’m going to assume that everyone knows what these sites are. I will make no attempt to explain them if you are unfamiliar. So assuming you know what these social media sites are, let’s continue:

I’m by no means an expert, however, I’m an avid student, and I’ve been studying a ton about these media lately and have implemented some of my own strategies to a fair degree of success. The basic point of all of these is to gain a following and have “evangelists” preach your cause. Mainly, my cause is my magic DVDs and Books. It used to be getting gigs, but I’ve slowed that way down . . . too freakin’ busy building websites, writing books, and filming DVDs.  🙂

Again, in simple terms, how do you get followers? Three major things (assuming you already have an account):

  1. Post content
  2. Follow others
  3. Comment on others’ content

Post Content

On Facebook and LinkedIn you can make status updates . . . things to let folks know what you’re doing or how you’re doing. On Twitter, you can post mini blog entries (144 words max), and of course on blogs, you post entire entries . . . an online journal of sorts, and finally, YouTube is the home of all of your videos. Some basic rules to follow to get a following in these areas:

  • Post a blog entry daily
  • Post a twitter feed (called a “Tweet”) 3 or more times per day
  • Update your Facebook and LinkedIn Status daily
  • Post videos on youtube at least twice a month (preferable more)

Follow Others

Once you’ve got a rhythm of posting going, next start “following” people on Twitter, “friending” people on Facebook and Youtube. Also, subscribe to other Youtube channels that are similar to your interests. Often, when doing this, those you follow and friend will follow and friend you. As you post more and more content and follow more and more people, you’ll quickly find that your social network will grow.

The whole point is to grow a network of people who are interested in you and what you say and do. You’re a freakin’ magician . . . that’s about one of the most interesting things out there. Think about that . . . I’m being serious. What job is more interesting than “magician?” Astronaut maybe? There aren’t too many . . .

So don’t just post lame boring and meaningless videos, tweets or updates . . . take some time to come up with a strategy to get noticed. If you perform on a regular basis, write blog posts about your gigs. Of course, don’t bash your clients, because theoretically, other clients will be reading it.

Comment on Others

Search for other blogs online and post comments. Find a magic blog (like this magazine site, for example) and post comments on it. Of course with most blogs, you can set up your signature to be a link back to your website. For example, I’ve made, as of this writing, 1,399 posts on The Magic Cafe. My signature has a link back to this site and Stone Cold Magic. That’s nearly 1400 links back to my site! I get a lot of traffic from the Cafe.

Often, the blogger and his/her readers will click on your link and check out your site/blog, and post comments. Set up your blog so that it will notify you when you get a comment. Make sure you immediately respond to the comment. Another great trick (which you’ll find I use on this very site) is to have a check box that allows the user to subscribe to the comments. This immediately notifies him/her when anyone makes a comment and brings that person back to the site.

Thus whenever you comment on someone’s comment, you’re driving traffic to your site.

Putting it all Together

Again, I’m no expert, but I’ve had enough success to feel somewhat qualified to write this article. If you have regular clips of you performing live or even just for the camera posted to Youtube, plus frequent blogs, updates and tweets, you’ll be well on your way to building a decent network. If you post a Youtube video, blog about it; tweet about it; write on your Facebook wall about it. Use all of these tools to drive people to one ultimate location . . . whatever that is for you will be different for the next guy.

My place for driving traffic is Stone Cold Magic. Even this magazine site is about driving traffic to Stone Cold Magic. Did you notice how many times I linked off to that site in this post? Also, the News Section of the Magazine is generally about products and other events which often lead to my main commerce site. Remember, folks, this Magazine is free, so I’ve gotta pay for it somehow . . . So I drive traffic to Stone Cold Magic.

For you, it might be your site where people can hire you to perform. Next year, that likely will be where I redirect my activities as well. I’m working on a brand new show that I will likely start performing late this year or early next year.

Resources

Finally, if you want some excellent reading material on these subjects, here’s a list of excellent books:

YouTube For Business By Michael Miller

I’m on Facebook, Now What? By Jason Alba and Jesse Stay

I’m on LinkedIn, Now What? By Jason Alba

One final excellent technique for capitalizing on social media is the “link” feature. Most social network sites can be linked together. For example, my twitter feed automatically updates when I give a Youtube video a “thumbs up.” When I post a tweet on Twitter, my LinkedIn status changes. Ultimately, you can have all of these sites linked and your entire online activity can be linked together and become a very powerful force for marketing Y-O-U!

Until Next Time . . .

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