There are so many different social media platforms you can use to promote your blog. From Facebook to Instagram to Snapchat to Twitter the list seems to be endless. Many of these platforms are adding in videos too. So which do you use and how do you use them?
Below is my guide to each of the main social media platforms – How I believe you can use them to grow, promote and gain exposure for yourself and your blog.
Facebook for me is the original platform, the one which I first joined not long after it began. It was my first experiment with social media and I loved it as a way to connect with my friends, see what everyone was up to and send messages. Since those early days, it’s almost unrecognisable! There are pages, groups, you can follow people, create ads – The choice is limitless. Due to this, it’s no longer my favourite although recently I have begun to like it again as I interact more within groups and even have my own group for bloggers. For your own blog there are lots of ways you can make Facebook work for you. A good starting point is to create a page which relates to your blog and inviting your friends to like it. Although it can take time to grow your page there is a high chance your potential audience is on Facebook – Let’s face it most people are. So you want to share your blog posts. I’d also recommend sharing other people’s posts, quotes and images to try and increase your engagement. If you really want to ensure exposure you can pay for Facebook Ads but unless you have something to offer and really know what you’re doing I wouldn’t start with them.
Twitter is another social media platform which goes up and down to how much I like it. From a personal promotion point of view, you can share your blog post multiple times to gain exposure. It’s also a great way to connect and chat with people. It can often feel like there is a lot of ‘noise’ on there but it’s a great place to find brands and potential collaborators. Remember to use 1 or 2 hashtags on your posts to help people who are interested in your topic find you.
Linked In
Linked In is an interesting platform. Originally, it was set up as a job recruitment site and people still use it for this. This is great if you want to use your blogging skills to get a new job. I do a lot of networking so I find it a great place to connect with people I’ve met face to face. For your blog, you can share your new blog posts as a status to help gain some exposure. It’s more of a professional network than some of the other platforms so I’d recommend keeping your business profile up to date.
Google Plus
Google Plus is a tricky one and a platform which I’ve not really embraced. However, it is a good idea to share your blog posts and link your videos to Google Plus – Afterall, it’s part of Google the largest search engine, so it can help to get your blog posts seen.
Snapchat
The newer kid on the block and the one which is the hardest to be found on is Snapchat! I love watching other people’s snaps but must admit I don’t use it as much as I could. For your blog, it’s a great tool to show the behind the scenes of your life allowing your audience to get to know you better. The best way to grow your Snapchat following is to cross-promote it on all the other platforms you use. It can create a really loyal following for your blog.
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I’ve saved my current favourite for last! Oh, Instagram, how I love you…
As a user Instagram is great, you get pretty images and can easily find people using hashtags. You can interact with people by liking and commenting on photos, it’s visually pleasing and you can write captions to allow your audience to get to know you better, direct them to your blog. If you do a good job, they will keep checking back for more. I know Instagram updated its algorithm so you might not show up on everyone’s feed like you did originally but by being clever with your hashtags and engaging with other people you can do your best to get around this. Plus, with the introduction of Instagram Stories, like Snapchat, you can let your audience into the behind the scenes of your world, promote your blog and allow people to see more of your personality.
The Extras
I’ve purposefully left off two huge platforms which are a great way to grow your blog and your audience. These are Pinterest and YouTube. Officially they are search engines rather than social media platforms, however as a blogger these can also be great tools to add to your blogging kit.
Personally, I’ve recently started using my Pinterest account more and been more consistent and strategic about how I use it. It’s only been a couple of months but already I have seen an increase in my traffic to my blog. I’ll share more in a few more months but for now my tips for your Pinterest account would be to keep it on point with your niche when it comes to your boards, share both your own pins and other peoples (sharing much more of others than your own) and have a board dedicated to your own blog posts. I also discovered Tailwind and Board Booster, these have both been a huge game-changers for my Pinterest life! I’ll be sharing more on Pinterest in the future.
YouTube is also a favourite of mine and I’ll be returning to making my own videos again soon. I took a break from everything over the Christmas period and had a think about where I want to take my YouTube channel. It is one of my favourite platforms to watch other people on. I want to help others more along their blogging journey by creating my own videos. It’s a place where I’ve found many of my favourite bloggers as you can feel a much more instant connection with them. If you haven’t done videos before you might want to consider a YouTube channel or if the editing scares you, start your videos on Facebook Live, Instagram Stories or Snapchat to see how you get on!
Get Social!
Social media is a fantastic tool for your blog. I believe it is integral for marketing and something you should dedicate your time to do. However, remember you don’t own your followers on social media so if they ever went away or algorithms get changed you have no control over this. So, although it’s great to have lots of followers you also want to add in a mailing list and encourage people to sign up for this using a free opt-in or incentive. Some great ideas are worksheets, e-books or videos which you send in exchange for their email address. You can then keep in touch with your blog readers on a regular basis. This way if anything happens on social media you can still contact your audience! To set up your mailing list I recommend Mailchimp or ConvertKit (which I personally use).
Comment below
Do you use social media for your blog? Do you have a favourite or what has your experience been like when it comes to showcasing your blog on these platforms? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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These are great tips! I love IG too 🙂
Thank you!
I love Instagram, some days it just helps you escape your day to day life!
So true! 🙂