Three Ways to Combat Social (Media) Anxiety

How often have you posted some really great content and only gotten one or two comments, if any at all? This happens a lot because all too often, people hesitate to comment. Some are probably a little bit intimidated to add a comment, fearing what comments might be made about theirs. Some people might just be too busy to add anything of substance.

That's probably why the "Like" button on Facebook is so popular. Sometimes, it's too popular. I can't tell you how many times I've seen someone post an update about being sick, or a loved one who is sick, or worse, has died - and someone has simply clicked on the "Like" button and moved on.

If people are too busy or distracted to simply write something like "hope you feel better soon" or "sorry for your loss", what's the chance that they'll actually take the time to make a thoughtful comment about something you've written on your blog?

If you are looking for a cure for Social (Media) Anxiety, try one - or all three - of these blog add-ons that encourage readers to share your content with their friends and followers.

TweetMeme gives your readers a way to share your posts on their Twitter feed, all with a simple click. Now, you can track the number of people who comment on your tweets, even if they are on someone else's feed, and the best part is that it tracks them whether they click the button or not. You can put the TweetMeme badge anywhere on your blog - or other website - and it shows how many people have commented on, or shared your content. Of course, the higher the number displayed on the badge, the more importance you content has in the minds of readers. If several hundred people have re-tweeted what you've written, it must be good!

You know how the simplest things can turn out to be the most effective? The Twitter Follow Badge is one of those things. It's just a button that can be added anywhere on your blog that allows people to follow you on Twitter with a single click. You can customize its color to coordinate with the rest of your blog, and it floats in place as readers scroll down through your content.

Another simple, yet incredibly effective way to get your blog in front of as many eyes as possible is to use Sexy Bookmarks. This WordPress plug-in allows your readers to share your content on different social networks simultaneously. Sexy Bookmarks is simple for readers to use - basically just point and click - but it is also customizable. You choose which social networks readers can re-post your content. It is a very attractive interface for users because each icon animates when moused over, and you aren't bound to the "Sharing is sexy" text. Although the interface is very simple, Sexy Bookmarks is quite a sophisticated plug-in. If you enter your Bit.ly API code, it can create tracing URLs through your account.

Any one of these add-ons could drastically increase the number of people that read your content, and that's always a good thing. Better yet, they're all simple for you and your readers.