The strange thing about blogging is it isn’t just about writing posts; running social media accounts are equally important. While you could be a blogger without social media accounts, I doubt it would work out very well. Social media is just as important for blogging as creating the actual posts. Don’t believe me? Well today I’m going to address why it matters for bloggers as well as how to grow your social media.
Why Social Media Matters for Bloggers
Promote your blog posts – Social media is a really huge way to get blog traffic, and you can’t just assume that people will share your posts and that will bring traffic. You need to get out there and share your posts yourself. Unless your post is something that people will definitely be searching for, you won’t get traffic for just publishing your blog posts. Social media will get people to actually read it. Here is how I promote my blog posts on all the various social media networks out there.
Build relationships – Social media is a wonderful way to build relationships with other bloggers as well as your readers. People like to read interesting and informative posts, but they also like to get to know the person behind the posts. It’s a human reaction; we’re all a little bit nosy. Show your personality, share things you like, interact with other people, etc. Feel free to draw a line with what you’re comfortable sharing! For me, I keep my personal Facebook page private and I don’t accept most friend requests. I also don’t share details of my life that involve other people, like friends and family. Because in that case, it’s not just me who is affected by the sharing.
Build your brand – Blogging is as much about the posts you write as it is about your brand. You build a following through building your brand, even if it doesn’t seem that way. When I say brand, I’m talking about a consistent theme throughout your blog and social media. It includes looks (like website design) as well as content. Here are some sites to help you: How To Turn Your Blog into a Brand that People Recognize, How To Brand Yourself without Spending Money, Why Branding Your Social Media Graphics Matter & How It Can Bring You More Business, and 15 DIY Brand Design Tips To Totally Uplevel Your Website.
How To Grow Your Social Media
Tips that apply to all networks:
Post regularly – Every network does things a little differently, but all require regular posting in order to gain traction. On Twitter, the problem is each tweet has such a short lifespan that if you don’t post often it’s very likely that many people won’t see your tweets if you don’t tweet regularly. On most other networks, if you don’t post often and your posts don’t get much interaction (such as a like or a comment), they won’t show your posts to many people. What does often or not often mean? It will depend on the network.
Don’t only post promotions – If your posts are only ever promotions for your blog posts or ads, people won’t like that and they are less likely to follow you and are more likely to unfollow you. Besides, like I mentioned, social media is a great way to show your personality. You don’t have to talk about the specific things going on in your life; I’m all for not sharing every single moment of your life with your followers. But you can discuss your favorite TV show or what you’re reading or something else that demonstrates what you’re like without sharing details of your life.
Interact with others – This is how you build relationships, but it’s also how you get people to follow you. Respond to other people’s posts, ask questions so people can interact with you, etc. Other bloggers will follow you for networking, but unless your target audience is other bloggers, you want everyday people to follow you, to. And how do you do that? By interacting with others and not just expecting people to follow you for the heck of it.
Tips for specific networks:
Twitter – How To Use Twitter as a Blogger + Free List of Things To Post and 8 Tips To Get More Twitter Followers
Instagram – 12 Instagram Growth Strategies, 13 Ways To Significantly Boost Engagement on Instagram Photos, Making an Instagram Plan
Pinterest – 9 Reasons Why Tailwind Is Worth the Money, How To Use Pinterest To Grow Your Blog, How I Turned a Viral Pin into 600+ Email Subscribers in One Week
About social media content calendars – Why You Need a Social Media Content Calendar, How To Create a Social Media Content Calendar for Your Business, Creating an Effective Social Media Content Calendar
How do you use your social media for blogging?
Like this post? Check out:
How I Promote My Blog Posts, 8 Ways To Lower Your Bounce Rate, 8 Tips To Get More Twitter Followers, 10 Things Every Blog Needs
Kate Mitchell is a blogger, chronic illness patient, and advocate who helps people understand chronic illness and helps chronic illness patients live their best lives.
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