When I post content on social media, I often add a link to my blog, email newsletter, and occasionally a product offer.
Recently, I wondered whether adding links makes the post seem too promotional and, therefore, diminishes its value. I went back and forth with this. On one hand, if I never put links to anything, then nothing will happen. People won’t find my blog, the newsletter, or any products. If I add links, some people might find it gimmicky or promotional. That is not the intention, but some people will still think it and be turned off.
My mentor, Dean Holland, did some training on this, which helped clear up the confusion in my mind. He said that it is best to put links into our content, and there is a way to do it in a ‘cool’ way so that it does not come across as promotional. This made sense to me.
Adding some context around the link, such as ‘for anyone interested in learning more, here is a link to my blog post where I write about this topic in more detail’ shows that I am adding resources for those who want more information.
In my career in sales and marketing, one concept I heard many times was ABC- always be closing. In sales, you always want to be asking people to buy (aka to close). This traditional sales concept comes across as gimmicky, which I never liked.
Education-based marketing, which is all about sharing information meant to educate people, is a better approach. I try to do this in my marketing. I want my content to be helpful and then share links to other valuable resources.
So, I will continue putting links in my content where appropriate and explain why I am adding them so those reading it can understand that I am coming from a place of value and not to sell or be promotional!