OurCityToday - A Case Study

Around this time last summer I create an Instagram account for a college assignment. The goals were simple:

• Achieve 250 followers by the end of the summer
• Create a hashtag that would "catch on" within the user base

The account was fairly niche (about the city of Toronto), and goals were achieved within one month! I attribute my success with this account to 4 steps, and I believe that these steps can be used to similar success here on Steemit.

Step 1: Find Something Meaningful To Post About

I chose to curate images of my home city of Toronto, Canada. My first photo did surprisingly well and this motivated me to keep posting. I'm sure you've all at some point or another, run into trouble with finding something to post - an easy way around this is to write about something that has meaning to you, your content will be stronger, and you'll be a lot happier writing about it.

Step 2: Post Good Content

This isn't something that I find to be a problem on Steemit as people are generally providing value with their posts, but it is something that could absolutely derail your account if you're not careful.

You really want to be putting your best foot forward here; It's how you'll make a name for yourself, what people will think when they're deciding whether or not to click you post, and most importantly (to some of us) it will determine whether or not you'll find monetary success on this platform.

Writing good content can be tricky, but if you always start from Step 1 above you'll find that even if your writing abilities aren't the strongest, you'll always be able to find the motivation it takes to refine your craft.

Step 3: USE TAGS

I can't stress the importance of this enough. Tags allow people to find your content - people can't like/support your content if they cant find it.  Here are a few simple tips to help you get started:

• Be as specific as possible - have a photo of a band? Tag it with music, entertainment,PHOTOGRAPHY
• Create your own tag, like #aggroed it'll help you to create a community (See step 4 for more)
• Try to avoid using tags that don't relate to your content simply because they are popular tags. You aren't providing value to that tag, it adds clutter to the tag, and it can come across as spammy - things you want to avoid

I created the tag #ourcitytoday as a way to get the people of Toronto involved with my account. It was a win-win situation. I had pictures being sent to me which helped with the posting on my account (ALWAYS GIVE CREDIT), the people felt as if they were contributing to something meaningful. That was probably the best part of this whole case study, I was creating value; for me and for those who contributed to the account. It was a true community, which leads me into my next step....

Step 4: Interact With Other Users 

This may come as a no brainer to some, but can be difficult to truly understand for others. Interaction with others in a meaningful way creates a relationship, and people who know you are more likely to support your content. Respond to comments on your post, thank them for taking time to read your content, it goes a long way!

More than just that, It's called social media for a reason!!!

I recently joined the Hive account@minnowsupport discord channel and have had some create experiences over there. People are helpful, they genuinely care and are always willing to have a conversation. 

Hive account@procyon21 and I had a conversation about our home country of Canada, Hive account@theblindsquirl helped me get started by sending me some SBD in order for me to get registered with the support group, and Hive account@gmuxx has been an amazing support over the last 24 hours as I try to find my legs on this platform (although he will tease about your bedtime..I'm half his age).  While all three of these users are fairly new to the platform, they helped me out with whatever they could, and this sort of comradery goes along way in gaining followers. 

As of right now, this is my "most valuable" post on this site. While it might not look like much (I mean, its less than $1 :P) the context here means A LOT to a newbie like me. Hive account@sirwinchester created a fantastic post about hiccups. I responded because the content genuinely interested me, and to my complete surprise got a response. I also recieved an upvote from both Hive account@sirwinchester and Hive account@pharesim 

Now both of these users are MILES ahead of me on this platform, and really did not need to even acknowledge my post, but they did and it inspired me (I'm currently the top comment on a post worth over $200). The point here is that regardless of your success on steemit, acknowledge those who are producing what you see as good content, your input can mean the world to people who are just starting out ..I recieved an upvote and comment from Hive account@aggroed on a post of his in my first day, and it kick started my motivation to post here. 

The point is be active on this site. Post comments, upvote, resteem things you find valuable. Have genuine conversations with people and they'll reciprocate. Steemit is an amazing platform and should be used to its full potential.  I truly do hope that this posts helps some of you get started here.

I'd really like to thank the users mentioned above, you all in one way or another have really motivated me to continue on Steemit, and I like to thank everyone in the Hive account@minnowsupport discord, anyone who has followed me or has support my content, I will absolutely be producing more.

If you've found this content useful, please Upvote, Resteem and Follow me! Lets build something here :)