Using Poker Tactics to Improve Your Social Media Engagement

You might be aware that the World Series of Poker is going on at the moment in Las Vegas.

It is the premier poker event anywhere in the world and attracts thousands of players seeking their fortune. It runs for two months and culminates in the main event, attracting a prize pot of more than $7m. It is a globally recognized tournament that is the pinnacle of the poker world.

Why should you be concerned if you’re not a poker player? It’s a good question, but those of you wishing to raise your profile on social media or your blog should be paying attention. Poker is a game of strategy, skill and luck, and players employ a range of skills to become a success. Some of those skills will win one lucky player $7m, and top poker players have won twice that amount without winning the main event. Those same skills, the ones that earn the likes of Dan Negreanu millions of dollars, can also be applied to your blog or social media account to increase likes and engagement.

How I hear you ask? Using these tips and techniques from the world of poker, you can seriously impact your own engagement.

Understand Your Hand

One of the key elements of poker is understanding the poker hand rankings and wagering accordingly. If you have a pair of twos, you’re unlikely to go deep into a game, but three aces might just win you a hand. You calculate the odds of winning and use your chips as you see fit; the better the hand, the more chips you place on it. Content is much the same, and as you develop your blog or social media account, you must see each piece of content like a hand. If you take selfies for Instagram, and they get 1,000 likes, but you enjoy pet photos more, but they get less engagement, then use your time accordingly. Look at your content creation time as a chip; put more into the content you know will do well, even if it isn’t exactly what you enjoy the most. Sometimes, poker is a grind, and building your social media profile can be just as tough.

Vary Your Style

The worst poker players are the predictable ones. If they only ever bet when they have a full house, and people know this, it is easy to avoid losing too much. If you know their hand, you’re never going to take a risk and maybe lose out. While varying your style as a player makes you less predictable and harder to beat, it makes you a more attractive prospect for followers on social media or a blog. Let’s say you have a tech blog; if you’re only ever writing about new apps, then people won’t drop by to see what you think of the latest Apple Watch. However, if you shake things up and have gadgets, tech and maybe a handful of videos as well, people are more likely to visit just to see what you’re doing or because you’ve covered their niche, albeit once or twice.

Learn All The Time

In poker, players learn every time they sit down at the table. They study their opponent, looking for their tells, but also learning how they play their hands. They’ll watch games back and understand where they could do better, how they could have won a hand they lost. The same should go for you on your social media accounts. Watch those with accounts like you and see what they’re doing; they might have a wildly popular post that gives you an idea and increases your engagement. Look back at your numbers, too; what has been popular? What should you do more of?

Conclusion

There are many other examples of poker helping you with your social media strategy, but these are certainly the ones worth following in the first instance. If you think they’re useful, why not watch some of the WSOP and see if you can spot others that might help you?