When a social media platform is in growth mode, it promotes features that help people discover new sites and does not downrate postings with links. A platform sending traffic around the web is making waves.
Once it reaches a substantial size, the platform no longer wants you to leave it. Links are bad.
Take, for example, LinkedIn.
When you click a link, it displays a message that has the design and wording of a warning: You Are Leaving LinkedIn.
Like many social media platforms, LinkedIn tends to deprioritize posts containing external links. To navigate this, here are some experts’ recommendations:
- Place the link in the first comment.
- Include the link immediately after a brief introductory phrase at the start of your post.
- Consider adding the link directly within the main post text wherever you want
- ….
The list goes on.
Let us evaluate a different scenario: A social media platform awarding you for exploring the web, gamified:
- You are visiting this domain for the first time. Congrats! 10pts
- This is for the 10th time today you visit a new domain. Explorer badge given. 100pts
- This month you posted links to 100 different sites. Senior explorer badge awarded
- …
That would be a feature I pay for. A social networking helping me discover uncharted territory.
