7.1 Why the most successful bloggers often make use of social media
Successful blogs do not exist in a vacuum.
It is not realistic to set up a blog, publish some content and then hope that readers will stumble across it whilst searching for relevant topics via Google or another search engine. As you publish more content, your blog pages will be indexed by the major search engines, meaning that when someone types in relevant search terms, your page (amongst many others) will be returned in the results list.
The exact position of your blog in the search results depends on many factors, such as the number of high quality links to and from your blog, how much content your blog contains, its longevity, the speed at which your blog loads, how keywords are used in various parts of the webpage and numerous other variables.
Google do not release comprehensive information on the algorithms used to rank webpages, in order to minimise the chance that people will attempt to “game” the system. Even if you regularly update your blog with plenty of high quality content, it may take weeks or even months before it attracts visitors arriving via search engine results. You will need to use other means of attracting readers and a popular strategy to generate blog traffic is to utilise social media. By posting attractive content that signposts other members of a social network to your blog and by networking with others who share your interests, you can start to build your blog's reputation, before it ranks highly in search engine results.
7.2 The most popular social media platforms for bloggers
The following is an overview of the social media websites you should consider using to promote your blog, connect with potential readers and network with other bloggers:
Twitter (twitter.com)
When you sign up to Twitter, you create a page containing a brief biography and a list of short updates (280 characters or less) known as “Tweets”. Some people refer to Twitter as a microblogging platform, as a user's tweets can be likened to very short blog posts. Twitter currently has over 300 million users all around the world, giving you access to numerous target markets.
One of Twitter's best known features is its hashtag system. When you write a tweet, you can include hashtags that relate to its content. When other users search for a particular hashtag using the site's search function, any tweets you write making use of that hashtag will appear in the search results. This allows Twitter users to locate content that is of particular interest to them. As a blogger, you can make good use of this function to draw other peoples' attention to your content.
For example, if you wanted to promote your fitness blog and had recently written an article on how to begin a new weightlifting regimen, you could publish a tweet such as “Does weight lifting have to be so scary? No! [Link to article] #weightlifting”. To make your links shorter, you can use a free service such as TinyURL (tinyurl.com), which will save you some characters.
Twitter will also provide you with recommendations regarding who you should consider following, based on your interests. This is a great way to meet other bloggers. When you follow someone new, look in their profile box and follow any links to blogs or other websites listed. From the moment you follow them, their activity will appear on your Twitter feed. You can send and receive public tweets that will show up on your feed, or if you and another person are following one another, you can communicate via private messages.
When responding to someone else's tweets, you can use “@[theirusername]”, to ensure that their attention is drawn to your message. You can quickly and easily indicate your appreciation of someone else's content and pass on it on to your followers (a practice known as “retweeting”), which can improve your reputation and encourage others to share your content in return.
Facebook is the best known of the social networks. As of the first quarter of 2018, Facebook had 2.19 billion monthly active users. In the third quarter of 2012, the number of active Facebook users had surpassed one billion, making it the first social network ever to do so. When you join Facebook, you will be able to set up a page to promote your blog. You can post updates that keep your “fans” (other users who have chosen to “Like” your page) notified of your recent activity, such as new blog posts.
You can search for other people and organisations with similar interests and make new connections. If you want to set up a page for your blog or business, it is to note that you will also need to create a personal account if you do not have one already. Although you can use Facebook to highlight other peoples' content, it is generally less acceptable to do so than it is on Twitter. Those who have chosen to follow your page will be hoping to see content that you have written, so focus on your own material at least 80% of the time.
LinkedIn (linkedin.com)
LinkedIn is a good option, if your blog targets or will appeal to a more commercially minded audience. For example, if you write about leadership, productivity, time management or career related subjects, then consider setting up a LinkedIn profile for yourself and your brand. To create a professional first impression, upload a banner relevant to your blog that fits with your site's overall design and colour scheme. You can have these made for just a few pounds, via a freelancing platform such as Fiverr (fiverr.com) or Upwork (upwork.com). Be sure to keep both your personal and blog related profiles active.
You can use LinkedIn to connect with people you have met or worked with in a professional capacity or educational setting. Look up your old college acquaintances, your colleagues past and present and any bloggers or business owners you have been in contact with since setting up your website. Whenever you make friends with a fellow blogger, look them up and invite them to connect with you.
The more often you post status updates on LinkedIn, the more often your profile will come up in your contacts' content feed. You can provide direct links to your blog articles, signpost your contacts to other pieces of content that you have found to be valuable and build your reputation by growing your contact list.
An extremely useful means of finding other bloggers and business owners within your niche is via LinkedIn Groups. As recorded in March 2018 there were 2.1 million groups on the site; the majority of users sign up to (or are invited to join) at least one of them. This facility offers excellent networking opportunities and the chance to make your name more widely known. When you log in to your LinkedIn profile, you can identify groups to join by clicking on the “Interests” tab followed by “Groups”. You can search for groups or use the suggestions presented to you by the site's algorithms. If you can't find a group that βits with your interests, create your own.
Another useful networking strategy to employ on LinkedIn is to follow “Influencers” - those who have many contacts and are considered key players in their industries - and engage with them and their communities. You can do this by paying close attention to their updates and posting thoughtful questions in response to their content.
Google+ (plus.google.com)
Google+ is a relatively new social network, with a format somewhat similar to Facebook and LinkedIn. You need to create a personal account first, before you can set up a page for your website or business. Take advantage of the option to customise your page's appearance, by uploading banners and graphics as appropriate.
When you share a piece of content with your followers on Google+, you can choose to make it available to some of your “circles” (segmented follower lists) and not others. This allows you to better target your content to the most appropriate audience. Google+ Communities, much like those available on LinkedIn, give you the opportunity to network with people who share your interests.
Joining these communities allows you to promote your posts and even products to members who may become loyal readers and customers. Google+ users can also employ hashtags, to label their content for easier sharing. Make sure they are specific and relevant to a particular piece of writing, or else other users may resent you for wasting their time when they discover that they are reading an article that has little to hold their interest.
Instagram is an image based social media platform. Users post photos and other images with captions which can then be shared by others. It is especially popular with bloggers whose content lends itself to visual communication. For example, bloggers writing about fashion and beauty often post photos of new outfits or makeup products. Artists, photographers and designers can also make good use of Instagram to promote their products. When undertaking a large project, producers can engage with their audience by posting “teaser” photographs showing various stages.
Instagram can also be an effective means of providing your audience with a personal insight into your everyday life. It takes only seconds to photograph a place or object that illustrates a project, an idea, or your workspace. This can help create a rapport between you and your readers. Instagram is a fast moving platform and to maintain engagement with your audience, it is best to post several times per day.
Rather than posting text excerpts from blog posts, Instagram images are best used as advertisements for and gateways to blog posts. Instagram also allows its users to employ hashtags, in order to mark content and find other posts and users of interest.
Pinterest encourages users to create collections of content that centre around one or more themes. When you sign up for an account, you will be asked to create your first “Board”, which is a collection of image based pieces of content around a theme of your choice. You can browse other peoples' content, follow those with interests related to your blog and then save (or “pin”) posts that you would like in your own collections. Bloggers can use Pinterest to engage with potential readers and to network with others who may be interested in their content.
For example, if you have a blog that focuses on wedding décor ideas, you could use Pinterest to create a number of wedding related boards that include links to your own content in the captions. This will capture the interest of people looking for wedding related ideas and they may then decide to look at your blog for further information and ideas. You could compile a new board whenever you release a new blog post, although this may not be an efficient use of your time until you have a significant number of followers.
An alternative approach that may be more time effective is to create boards based around the major themes or common threads that run through your blog posts. To continue with the wedding blog example above, you might decide to create boards around the themes of vintage wedding décor, contemporary wedding décor, budget décor ideas and so on.
FACT
UK demographics January 2018 by highest users: Facebook 80% aged 23 - 37. Twitter 43% aged 16-22. Instagram 31% aged 18 - 24.LinkedIn 20% aged 23 - 37.
Source: Rose McGregory Social Media Ltd
7.3 How to choose the most appropriate social media platform to promote your blog
Unless you are ready and willing to outsource the work to someone else, do not attempt to maintain a presence across all of the platforms outlined above. It is better to invest your time and effort into one or two platforms or profiles, rather than trying to grab the interest of as many people as possible by using every network in operation.
Here are some questions that can help you focus on the most appropriate social media platform:
What is my target demographic?
Consider where your target audience are most likely to spend time online and choose your platform accordingly, otherwise you will waste time promoting content to and engaging with the wrong people. For example, if your blog is based around business software or another “corporate” related topic, LinkedIn would probably be a better choice than Instagram or Twitter. On the other hand, if your blog focuses on popular culture and makes use of brief visual based content, Instagram or Pinterest would be appropriate channels in which to invest your energy. Bear in mind that social media trends change rapidly, so spend a few minutes undertaking research using Google, before making any firm commitments as to where you will divert the majority of your efforts.
How frequently will I post on social media?
Some social media platforms are considered faster moving, than others. If you do not plan to update your social media more than once or twice a week, then Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Google+ are likely to be better options than Twitter or Instagram. If you are not sure where to begin with your social media strategy, look at what other bloggers in your niche do. Which platforms do they use, how often do they post and how do they interact with their followers or fans? Learn from their approach and apply the lessons to your own content promotion activities.
What format will my updates take?
If you would like to use images as the basis of your social media updates, start with an image based platform such as Instagram. If however you are looking to share text based updates with your followers, Facebook and Google+ may be more appropriate platforms.
Activity: Which Social Media Platform Will You Use First?
Time: 5-15 Minutes
Now that you have read about the most popular social media platforms for bloggers, which do youthink will suit your blog the best?
If you are still unsure, why not spend a few minutes on each platform to see for yourself how others use each service?
Once you have chosen the most appropriate site for you, set up a profile and publish your first post, update, or tweet.
7.4 Etiquette and best practice to get the most out of social media
Choose your username and handle with care
Try to post under the same name, across all social media platforms. This may mean that you have to check a name's availability, before signing up. There are free, easy to use websites that will notify you whether your chosen handle or username is available on the most popular social media platforms. Namechk (namechk.com) is one such service, which can run checks on every major platform within a few seconds.
Make your social media username and handles as easy to remember as possible and choose something that is simple to spell. If you cannot use your blog's name or title as a handle, use an abbreviated version, or the name you blog under. Try to avoid using hyphens or special characters. If you are short on time and simply want to alert people to your latest blog posts when they are published, consider using a suitable plugin to automatically post links to your latest blog posts
Plugins such as Hootsuite (hootsuite.com) and Tweetdeck (tweetdeck.com) allow you to automatically notify your social media followers whenever you publish a new post. Hootsuite offers a free version, which will have adequate functionality for most new bloggers. However, its premium product grants you the ability to automatically retweet or promote other peoples' work, plus manage more than five social media accounts at the same time.
Do not focus solely on your own content
Although you will have joined social media platforms with the intention of building your reputation and driving more readers to your blog, you should also promote other peoples' work on a regular basis. For example, you can retweet or repost other peoples' statuses or updates, to share valuable content with your target audience. This will earn you the goodwill of other bloggers and is also a good way of starting a professional relationship. However, this should be done in moderation, otherwise your audience will become uncertain as to whether your profile represents your work or is designed to curate content created by other people.
Make your profile pages look aesthetically pleasing
To create a professional first impression, invest some time and a small amount of money into high quality banners, photographs, illustrations and wallpapers for your social media profile pages. This will signal to your blog readers and social media contacts that you are taking your online presence seriously and will provide you with a good foundation upon which to build your reputation.
Set time limits for your daily social media use
It is easy to become sucked into social media. With many users updating their feeds multiple times every day, it is possible to spend hours looking through Twitter and Facebook feeds, before realising that a whole morning or afternoon has gone by. Ten minutes each day should be sufficient time in which to post a couple of updates related to your blog, to network with one or two of your contacts and to repost or retweet any outstanding content that grabs your attention.
Never post negative comments or criticism publicly
Even if you feel as though you have a valid point to make, refrain from posting any public comments which could be interpreted as criticism of another blogger or individual on social media. Doing so will only encourage other people to think of you as a negative person who would rather express their dissatisfaction publicly than use their online presence to share useful and entertaining information. If someone else has wronged you or behaved in a manner you feel needs to be reported to moderators on a social media platform, handle the matter in private.
You should also be aware that some styles of humour do not translate well to internet based communication. If you are using text or images, tone of voice is lost and what you may have intended as a light hearted comment may instead be interpreted as sarcastic or even aggressive. If in doubt as to how well some writing or another piece of media may come across to your audience, do not publish it. This advice applies both to your blog content and whatever you choose to post on social media platforms.
Always point the reader back to the original source, where applicable
When you see a great quote, image, or other piece of content on social media, it is usually acceptable to pass it on to your own followers by using whatever sharing functions are available on your social platform of choice. However, it is good practice to make sure that others can see the original author or creator, wherever possible.
The best way to obtain more followers is to engage with others
You may feel frustrated in the first few weeks, as you try to boost your follower numbers. The simplest and most effective ways of widening your network is to follow others and post quality content. When you follow someone or show an interest in their work, they will often feel compelled to reciprocate in kind. Bear in mind that if you are networking with thought leaders or famous individuals in your niche, they may not be able to respond in kind to everyone who shows them attention. However, it is still worth making the effort to connect with them, as every once in a while they may decide to reply, if you make a particularly insightful comment.
Pay more attention to the quality of your followers, not the quantity
A high number of followers on social media is often seen as a hallmark of popularity, but the quality of your followers is more important than their number. It is possible to accumulate hundreds or even thousands of followers in a relatively short space of time, if you are diligent in following as many people as reasonably possible and post interesting content to your feed. However, your goal should be to network with influential people in your niche and those who share valuable information that will help you as you build a blog full of high quality articles.
7.5 How to use social media posts, statuses and updates to drive visitors to your blog
Once you have set up your accounts on social media, you can start producing posts that drive visitors to your blog. Follow these guidelines to entice viewers to go beyond simply reading your posts and actively choose to click through to your full length articles:
Post intriguing titles, together with a link to your full content
Never publish a post with a boring title. Make your headlines as concise and interesting as possible. The most effective titles promise to entertain the reader, to let them in on an important piece of information, to tell them a secret, or give them the steps required to solve a problem.
For example, suppose you had written a post about choosing the best possible pension option on your personal finance blog and wanted to promote a link to the piece on your Twitter feed. Rather than tweeting “Read my new blog post on choosing a pension”, you may have better results by appealing to peoples' curiosity, or even desperation. A tweet such as “Will you ever be able to afford retirement?” or “Vital stuff you must know about pensions” are more emotive and will therefore earn you more page views.
Activity: Make Every Post Sound Exciting
Time: 10-15 Minutes
Review the content you have written for your blog so far, or look at your list of titles for future blog posts. How could you make each post sound exciting in a social media update?
Don't be afraid to use dramatic language, images, or both in combination, to pique the interest of your readers.
Use images in conjunction with engaging quotes, to encourage readers to view the full article
It takes significantly less time for a viewer to process an image than a paragraph or even a short sentence. Use an attention grabbing photo, illustration, graph, or cartoon, along with a meaningful caption to communicate your message in just a couple of seconds. We will take a closer look at visual media in the next module. If you are writing about content that has been covered by many other people, do your best to make it seem fresh and exciting
If possible, create blog posts that invite viewers to consider an issue or problem from a new perspective. However, if you are writing about a topic that has already been covered by numerous other bloggers in your niche, use your creativity to stimulate your readers' curiosity. For example, if you were to publish a blog post about the basic science of calorie counting - as many others before you have done - you could promote your content by describing it as “the timeless secret to lasting weight loss you need to know!”
7.6 Make it easy for blog readers to share your content
Your readers are your allies in spreading links to your blog and thereby raising your public profile. Make sure that your blog readers always have the option of posting a link to your content on their social media network of choice. This is easy to do with tools and plugins that come with most blogging platforms and services.
For example, there are multiple WordPress plugins available at little or no cost, which allow you to insert a brief caption or instruction such as “Share this!” or “Post this to your social networks” next to clickable buttons. When a reader clicks on these icons, they can share a link to your blog post in just a few seconds.
There is some debate in the blogosphere as to whether you should ask your readers to share their favourite articles via social media. On one hand, some argue that when readers come across an outstanding piece of content, they are likely to share it with little prompting. Moreover, readers may be annoyed if you frequently implore them to share links. At the same time, a simple request such as “If you liked this, please pass it on!” written next to social media buttons at the end of an article can encourage readers who would not have otherwise bothered. Try both approaches on your blog to see which works best, as results may vary according to your audience's characteristics and the style in which your blog is written.
Module Summary
If you simply post content to a blog and hope that this strategy will be sufficient to attract visitors, you will have to wait a long time for your blog to attract a wide readership. You must be proactive, if you want to build a following - and one of the best ways of engaging with potential readers is to join one or more social media platforms and network with other users. You can use text, images and other visual media, together with links to your blog content, to attract users' attention and send them to your website.
Common strategies for improving click through rate include intriguing headlines and describing content in such a way that potential readers visit a blog in the hope that they will learn how to solve a problem or obtain answers to their most pressing questions. When using social media, you should aim to promote other users' content as well as your own. This way, you will build a network of useful contacts and a positive reputation. Take care to respect the views of others and take time to learn the conventions associated with your platform of choice. Finally, ensure that you do not accidentally spend too much time on social media sites at the expense of your blog.
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