I’m a search engine marketer, so maybe you could understand why my approach was so aggressive. Once I would get a submitted story onto the front page, there was a great payoff for traffic. The only drawback was the bounce rate would suffer since the traffic was not as targeted as an organic search.

Eventually Digg started blocking me and even after various screen names, my IP was blocked even after I had toned down my routine. It was obvious they were on to me.  I gave it a rest, but vowed I would be back with a new game plan. Now, Digg has added Facebook Connect and using this feature will help you get good sharing capability for your submitted content.  If you already use Facebook to post random links that you like, why not submit them into Digg and then connect them to your Facebook Feed?

Digg used to allow you to shout your submissions, which would go within the Digg social network to your mutual friends and fans. Eventually the site put an end to this and added sharing available through Email, Facebook, and Twitter only. This reduces spam or over aggressive Diggers, like me, trying to share every submission.

First, connect your Facebook account to your Digg account. You will be able to choose an option to share your comments, Diggs and submissions on Facebook.  This will work best if you only plan to submit a few pieces of content per week. I would say to leave just the option for stories Digged and submissions checked on. You want to use this in moderation to keep your current followers from getting the urge to suddenly hide your feed. The biggest advantage here is the ability to sync your friends between sites and you can immediately ask your friends on Facebook to Digg your story.  This is one feature that you should not overlook.

Facebook connect is probably the most genius of Digg’s new features, but always look for new and efficient ways to sync your friends and share your submissions. Digg has also added a share option to post your submissions on Twitter, but you cannot sync your followers as of yet. Twitter is another viable option to share your submissions to gain visibility.

Good Luck and Happy Digging!

Twitter’s Trending Topic section is one of the sites most visible and collaborative tools. The goal is  to bring members together by showing users that other people, just like them, no matter where in the world, are talking about the same thing. This common ground is essential when socializing and trying to network with other people. To get the word out on Twitter, you need to have a significant number of followers. Some people figure if you follow a lot of people, eventually they will follow you back. This is true to an extent, but the quality of followers is questionable at best. In the past I have used this method and I feel it only gets you on Twitter’s spam radar and it results in a fluctuation of followers. These kinds of followers might have chosen to follow you as a courtesy and could decide later to un-follow you when you post tweets that are not in their interest.

Focus on building a quality stream of followers. Enter Trending Topics that sincerely interest you or have to do with your product or goal. You will find others that have ideas and opinions common to yours. You might be inclined to feel more comfortable to strike up a conversation and start a series of @replies and re-tweets. Once you have exchanged a few zingers and ideas, these members will remember you in the Twitter community and will be more loyal and willing to include you in future communications which leads to further exposure and more followers.

After you have the right followers, begin establishing your message on Twitter. One of my peeves on Twitter is spamming and using desperate marketing tactics. Do not use one or even all trending topics as a tweet if your main message or link is about something completely different.  I feel this lowers the quality of the user experience and damages the efforts of others trying to market their cause in a credible way. This tactic is very transparent and really a turn off for most everyone. Sure, this could be a shortcut to visibility, but it will not lead to real conversions. Chances are that members who click on these links will do so out of curiosity, but not anything else. If you use Google Analytics or monitor your referral traffic, this could skew your results for bounce rates and other decision making information. Be relevant at all times!

After being on Twitter for almost a year and then using it for internet marketing, a clear observation is that these topic forums are a credible measurement about what people are talking about. The sooner you realize what how cool the Trending Topics tool is, the better you will get at finding ways to use it as a tool to maximize your desired results. Twitter is now at the center of the Social Mediasphere and, as such, is central to Internet Marketers’ Social Media Optimization strategies.  You may well need to outsource these services; make sure you check out their experience and their success stories.