I know what you're thinking:
But hold on,
lets talk about Spam for a minute. What is Spam? Originally, its a rather disgusting canned meat. More recently, in the age of digital communication, spam has come to be known as unwanted and unsolicited messages, usually advertisements. You've seen them everywhere. They pop up in your browser, clog up your emails, and slither their way into your DMs. You've been kept waiting while trying to load a song or video and forced to watch an ad for who gives a damn... This type of spam even predates the internet, back to the days of landline phones and even snail mail... So why has this form of self (or paid-for) promotion stuck around so long?
Because it fucking works!
Thats why. Thats why your parents used to curse at the phone when it rang during dinner every night. Thats why you've been throwing away junk mail every day of your life. Its why you're always cleaning out your email. You probably even have a second, or third email account specifically for filtering SPAM. They keep sending that shit because it works. It might annoy the living fuck out of you, but it also gets your attention. There are probably a couple of particularly annoying offenders coming to your mind right now. The point is, you know who these companies are and what they do. Somebody is buying their shit. They are! Or these companies wouldn't remain in business, and WOULDN'T KEEP SENDING ME ALL THIS SHIT!
Nobody likes Spam!
But they sure do eat it up! They've been making that nasty stuff for damn near 100 years, and people keep buying it, and people keep eating it... Look, I'm not saying you should engage in spamming. My point is that advertising works, and if you truly believe the content you bring to Steemit adds value, why wouldn't you want to advertise it? And do so in a way THAT WORKS!
Like your content, your comments should be original and relevant.
Nobody is going to give a flying fuck about you or your content if all you do is post comment after comment saying "Nice post." The same goes for using pictures to make your pointless comments stand out. Doing so could at best cause you to develop a reputation for being annoying, or worse, get downvoted! That said, using a personalized "banner" that contains your username or logo at the end of a cohesive, thoughtful comment can really grab the attention of both the OP as well as the post's audience. The image should be relevant to your page or content, and let viewers know instantly what you're all about. It shouldn't be a puzzle that requires deciphering, and it shouldn't be anything offensive that will likely get your comments flagged. It should be straight, to-the-point, easily recognizable, and most importantly memorable.
Take mine for example:
Right away you see my username, @maxstacks, which is further reinforced by the image of a fat stack, and you can immediately assume my page is about maximizing your income. I probably didn't even need to explain that to you... Making money isn't all I post about, in fact, the majority of my posts aren't even about that. But, looking to maximize my money is what brought me here to Steemit, so its sort of the "theme" of my page. I'm definitely interested in gaining an audience of people who have, and are interested in money. Specifically, MAXIMIZING it.
Are you starting to get the picture?
This is a decentralized platform. Its run by soulless algorithms. Nobody gives a shit about you, or the shit you post! Why should they? Nobody even knows who you are... The few people who do see your content scroll right past, because you haven't given them a reason to stop and interact. You have to make a lasting impression.
You have to promote your content!
Even if your article is exquisitely written and filled with valuable information, nobody is going to bother reading it if they don't know it exists, if they don't know YOU exist. And can you blame them? Why should they? Nobody else is going to grab your content and slap it in everyones face. Thats your job! If you wan't people to see your content, MAKE THEM. Post and promote your content in such a way that it cannot be ignored. If someone hasn't heard of you and seen your profile, its YOUR FAULT!
Commenting on posts is one of the fastest ways to grow an organic interactive following.
Commenting lets other users know that you have not only read the post, but have something to add. Social media would be pointless if it weren't for interaction, so don't underestimate the importance of checking out other content besides your own. When you find something you like, or that relates to your own content, leave a comment of ideally several thoughtful sentences, and sign it with your banner image. I make mine using an app called Phonto, but if you want to get creative you could design something in Photoshop or Illustrator, Gimp, etc...
Take pride in what you post!
If you don't feel comfortable with a big ol' flashy advertisement for your page next to your comment, is that comment really worth leaving in the first place? Or do you not want people coming to your page and seeing your content? Are you here to have a nice, neat, cute little profile just like all the others, or are you here to gain a massive following and get paid for the content you produce? If you want to gain attention on social media, people need to know about you and the great content you produce, point blank... And if your comments are all uniform, black and white small boring ass text like everyone else', they are going to get scrolled right past, blending in to the hundreds or thousands of other comments. If you don't believe your contributions should stand out, if they aren't the very best goddamn thing this website has to offer, what are you doing posting here? Take your whack-ass conformist-ass back to facehook, or instaspam, snapthat, or wheverever the hell you came from!
The choice is yours.
Obviously discretion is advised, and if you have a 10 comment back and fourth discussion with someone in via comments, you should only use your image once in the first comment as a matter of etiquette. But if you have a thoughtful contribution to make on someones post, by all means, take the opportunity to advertise your brand. You want the reader to take away not only the words from your comment, but a retain a lasting idea of what you represent. Over time, readers will start to associate your username with a particular topic or lifestyle, and hopefully upvote, follow, and resteem your content. 'So what' if you annoy somebody along the way... Haters ain't payin the fuckin bills, ain't that right @yallapapi?
In case you somehow missed the memo:
Follow @MaxStacks
Image sources:
https:// 4.bp.blogspot.com/-AqCxfV4L3Lg/TbCbVuCf6HI/AAAAAAAAEpA/DCBBIrhKSVk/s1600/_MG_1849.jpg
https: //media.giphy.com/media/3o7aTvTXlhr9PuWg1i/giphy.gif