Social Media for Bloggers: The Ultimate Guide

Turning to social media to increase blog traffic may sound like a high risk strategy to many, but for those who stay up-to-date with latest Facebook and Twitter trends and who have a clear business marketing approach, it is a viable option to generate blog traffic.

Methodology behind the choice:

The method we have applied for this strategy could be varied in terms of the medium we choose to target our audience through. For this method, we would utilize my article’s social media coverage and follow as well as my personal Twitter account, in addition to my targeted twitter account(s) that we would be following to build upon.

For such method to work, it is essential to be consistent. One of the best ways to achieve this rout is by utilizing email marketing. Planning an email campaign that closely tracks your blog, blog post and its various updates will help keep your campaign targeted as well as relevant.

The method:

Benefits:

Social media is an essential marketing tool for bloggers. However we often see that bloggers hardly use all the social media platforms available, and the top two that are efficiently overlooked are Twitter and Pinterest.

Social media is hence essential for bloggers to gain traffic, hence the methodology of this strategy will incorporate these two platforms.

Given below are the key objectives I have defined for this strategy, along with different ways they could be performed:

Create Great Content That’s Shareworthy

Make Your Content Easy for Your Site Visitors to Share

One of the most effective social media share buttons for your blog is the one called the ”Share This” button. With this button, you give visitors the chance to share your content at no cost to you.

The share button allows the user to add a description of the content, or an image, and allows you to add a link to your site. However, you must also link back to the original content at your site. This is so that a share from your site adds credibility and visibility for your visitors.

The links that you share with your site visitors will appear in the social media tools as a social share for your content. Engagement and sharing will encourage more people to visit your site and read your blogs.

You can also use the share button to pin your content to a Pinterest board or create a Google+ business card.

Actively Engage With Your Social Fans & Followers

Don’t get caught up in simply gathering numbers, or ”in the game” for the sake of it. It’s important to stay engaged, because if the game is simply about just numbers, you won’t gain any more supporters, value customers or fans and your reputation will play a huge role in that game.

Why should you focus on engagement?

Engagement is a measurement of your audience‘s behaviour, and the main purpose of social media is to establish the relationships with your users, listeners or followers.

Engagement can be considered the most important metric to score or succeed on social media.

Engagement shows you exactly how your audience is responding to your brand and what the obstacles that could be present in your marketing plan.

Engagement shows you what content resonates with your audience and which content isn’t really engaging your target audience.

Engagement shows you where you should allocate your time and where you should allocate your resources.

Engagement shows you how you can improve your marketing plan by improving your marketing strategy.

Engagement shows you how to increase your community’s trust, and guarantee your company’s achievements in the future.

Join Social Forums & Groups That Align With Your Ideal Blog Audience

New blogs and blogs that are starting off have hiccups in discovering readers. So if you were one of those folks, then you might be looking to get your blog to those demographics that are interested in your niche. Well there’s a couple options to do that. You could start by joining social forums and groups that are dedicated to your given niches.

Many people also use social channels like Instagram because they are often more vocal than their counterparts. But this is the place where you would have to do most of the selling instead of the guest post.

The goal can be to get your niche readers to follow you or to become those persons who follow your blog. This of course is only possible if you become their follower and post your best interesting stories and content to them.

===> Be Active and Participate in the Community

Another way to become someone who is noticed by your targeted demographic is to be more active and participate in the community. Become a regular and people would notice that. They will come back to check what you have to post and, if it meets with their requirements, they will become a reader.

Use Your Time on Social Media Wisely

Setting up your social media accounts can be a tedious process because it requires an investment of time. However, investing time in the setup process is essential because it will ensure that you will be able to take advantage of the full potential of your social media accounts and they will not be as difficult to maintain as a result. Additionally, you’ll spend less time creating content and will experience less stress in your life as a result.

The best advice I can give you is to make initial setup a priority … after all, you want to reap the benefits of social media as soon as possible!

A few simple tips that will enable you to get the most out of your social media networks:

Be creative when posting content. You need to have a real passion for your blog. Start by creating content that you can really sink your teeth into. Once that is established, the rest will come more easily.
Use what you have to your advantage. The great thing about blogging is that you can use your personal know-how to ensure that you tend to make your experiences more enjoyable. You can use this knowledge to your advantage by creating more engaging content that will encourage you and your followers to stay with you for longer periods of time.

Social media is very important in today's society. It has brought people together in ways that would have seemed improbable a short time ago. Everyone from the political elite to the average woman uses social media to communicate, discuss and share ideas with millions of people around the world. This is the reason why there are so many social media tools available for us bloggers.

These social media tools and services can be tremendously helpful in expanding your blog's reach and improving your blog SEO. With these social media tools, you can gain both loyal readers and highly valuable search engine ranking.

Facebook: The Leader of the Pack

Facebook is currently the largest social media website in the world with over 1.25 billion monthly visitors. Facebook is also the most popular platform for social media influencers, brands, businesses and candidates. Facebook allows you to include not only your blog but also the Facebook profile of your author, the name and URL of your blog and the names of your other social media profiles including Twitter and Google+.

Facebook's popularity as the largest social media platform is due to its importance to people's lives and the fact that it is uniquely suited for sharing long typed content. It is also important to remember that it is essential for a good blog blog's Facebook presence.

Social Media Management Tools

Social media tools for bloggers come in different shapes and sizes, however none of them are as interesting & effective as the popular social media management tools for bloggers. These tools make it easier for bloggers to manage & control their social media accounts as well as their blogs. With these tools, you have better control over your social media efforts and can maximize the effectiveness with the least amount of time.

Here are the top 5 social media management tools bloggers use these days for their blogs.

Social Media Image Editing & Creation Tools

In a blogosphere where a well-written blog entry can spread like wildfire, social media plays a huge part. With most new bloggers aimlessly rattling off their articles without giving a second thought to how to promote them to the rest of the Internet, they are left wondering why their blog continues to stagnate in the social media spotlight.

Wellness and health blog writers are no different. With no special knowledge required to promote your blog, you are able to reap the return on your investment by simply making your content Social Media friendly. Promoting your blog doesn’t require any special skills and the secrets are out of the bag, so to speak. Instead of wasting time and money on the wrong advice and strategies, you can just jump right in and start promoting your blog wherever the social media world has made its way.

If you’re worried about being able to reach your audience through social media, don’t be. In the beginning, the process might seem like a tedious task that can take a long time but once you write the articles, you’ll realize that the work is already done for you. All you need to do is convert them into pins and shares.

To help you get started, we’ve curated a list of the top 10 social media outlets for your health and wellness blog.

Promote Your Blog on Facebook

Social media has become the most important tool for bloggers to gain publicity. With it, you can easily have your blog be visible to millions of people on a daily basis.

Social media involves interaction with others, so it’s the most effective way to get the word out about your blog if you’re not concentrating on promoting your blog solely on the internet.

But if you’re marketing a blog, you might be wondering how to acquire the most followers in the least amount of time. The only way to do this is to follow all the necessary steps to get your blog’s name properly out there.

One of the best ways to get more exposure for your blog is to promote it on Facebook. With over half of the US online population, Facebook is as good as one of the most extensive marketplaces for products and services in the world.

Millions of people use Facebook, and it’s nearly impossible to not have a profile there. And since it’s not a social media platform strictly for bloggers, it’s not being reached by thousands of people every day.

Use Pinterest to Drive More Blog Traffic

Use Instagram to Promote Your Blog, Your Brand & Your Business

Instagram has become one of the most popular social media sites of the internet. It’s a photo sharing social media platform on which users can post and view pictures and short videos that other users contribute to the site. Thus it’s not only a way for brands to market themselves, but it’s also an excellent avenue for bloggers and businesses to promote themselves, especially online.

Here are some of the main ways to use Instagram to promote your blog, brand and business:

Promote your blog: Be few followers before you are famous. The path to growing your online following is finding your niche and then remaining consistent and consistent about what you do. This is likely the most important step to making any kind of potential business online, so be sure to focus on this first before you consider any other promotional strategies with which you can use Instagram.

Use Twitter to Promote Your Blog

Have you been told by your webmaster or marketing manager that you need to start tweeting? You might be wondering: Can I do that?

Absolutely, you can! Twitter is designed to be user friendly. You don’t have to be a seasoned marketer or blogger to be able to wield Twitter’s marketing power. It’s a great way to get out your message without being fancy about it.

If you are walking into Twitter for the first time, here is what you need to know:

Twitter is –not just for the professional blogger!” Your tweets can provide valuable information to readers and people all around the world. They can link to your blog, introduce your business, and make you look like a pro.

Here are five easy ways to use Twitter for marketing purposes. If you’re ready to tweet, these are great places to start:

Engage In @replies

When your followers @reply to you they are engaging with you. They’re personalizing the conversation. Make it personal. Try something like @jchmarr Hello, my name is Jennifer and I’m a writer and blogger. Do you have any tips for writing books?

LinkedIn: The Best Social Network for Business-Focused Bloggers

After I managed to pull out of the grave the blogging industry during the depths of the 2009 recession, I knew I had to do all I could to stay on top of the world of blogging for business.

So I became the master at conducting online surveys, continuing to research the latest in social media, and interviewing CEOs of popular brands.

After all of these in the year 2010, I had a lot of time on my hands and quite frankly, wasn’t enjoying blogging as much as I used to. Every day my motivation was slipping away, although I was having fun running some of the most popular blogs in the industry.

I soon realized that there were a number of things that I could do to make blogging more enjoyable, and to help other bloggers as well.

In 2011, I decided to make this a full-time career. This is when I decided to create my own blog. I was one step closer to my dreams of creating a successful business, which would then allow me to quit the 9-5 job and make blogging a full-time career.

As a blogger myself, I am always on the lookout for the latest and greatest in social media, and on the lookout to help fellow bloggers in their endeavors.

I have discovered the best social media networks for bloggers and wanted to share my findings with you today. (All of the social networks discussed are free to use.)

YouTube for Bloggers

YouTube is the world’s leading video sharing site and is owned by Google. It has so many features to work with that one could never get bored of it. With the right video that is shareable and that suits your blog well, you can make some really large traffic gains.

Final Verdict

It’s easy to use, doesn’t eat up tons of bandwidth and is free. What’s not to like? Don’t worry though, the resources I’ve picked will prove of great help in your quest to master YouTube. So make sure you check them out and bookmark them for future reference.

Other Social Channels to Consider

Resources:

Summary:

Social media is a powerful marketing tool for bloggers who want to increase their readership. It’s a great way to build an online community, connect with people and share your publication, products, and services with readers around the world.

Like any other marketing and business tool, it’s important to know what works and what doesn’t. No one is better at this than a social media consultant who can educate you in how to use Twitter, Facebook, and other platforms to your advantage and increase your popularity as a blogger.

Readers, especially the younger generations, are constantly on their social media platforms and check for new updates often. These are the people who you can appeal to and take them with you from social media platforms to your blog. They want to get updates on what’s new on their favorite blogs and the platforms they use to stay updated.

Most bloggers who have built an audience on social media have had the same experience … publishing content that drives engagement are more successful and readers who check their blogs often, and are loyal to their publications.

Social media is the ultimate method for bloggers to reach larger audiences and form stronger relationships with their readers. The impact a social media campaign can have on your traffic is enormous!

However, many bloggers are wary about diving right into the deep end of social media. There are many newcomers that simply don’t understand the complete value of social media and how easy it is for you to get started with it and not spend a lot of money.

The following guide will cover everything from why you should be using social media marketing to how to get started with social media for bloggers. You’ll discover how to set up a social media campaign, how to build a social media following, and some common mistakes to avoid.

Running your own blog, you’ve probably asked yourself: ‘what are the best ways to spread the word about my blog to the world’? There are many methods to promote your blog: ‘business cards, popup ads, email blasts, banner ads, audio ads, etc.

However, some people like to drive traffic to their blogs by paying for social media marketing. For example, some bloggers use Facebook ads to drive targeted traffic to their website or simply enroll their website in Google AdWords to increase their website traffic.

The problem with this method is: ‘where do they get their ad budget from?’ Since bloggers are generally broke, they often resort to investing their own money to run their ad campaigns.

Depending on your goals, advertising on social media can be a good way to generate leads for your digital products. However, depending on the type of industry or product you're selling, some adverts might have negative effects on your blog. Thus, before you start spending a ton of money on social media ads, you should first consider the pros and cons of such promotion on your blog.

Below are some of the advantages and disadvantages of social media advertising.

Social Media is the next big thing for bloggers and marketers. It may not have the buzz that it did years ago but its popularity seems to be growing hand-over-fist!

Social Media is a catchy name but it’s a marketing tool which is not going away anytime soon and will continue to grow in popularity.

So why should you take special interest in it? There are several reasons for this. Firstly, not taking part doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be missed out on valuable traffic and, importantly, sales, that social media can bring.

Secondly, this is the first step of the marketing plan in almost all marketing plans. Social media is a key part of any successful marketing. Trying to work around it in your marketing plan and hoping new strategies help you reach your goals is not going to be successful. That means the better you understand the nuances, the more successful you’ll be with your social media marketing strategies.

Measure Social Media Results, Not Just Follower Counts

People are constantly counting their social media followers. It has become a trend among bloggers and you can follow suit. But be warned, do not just follow the crowd and only measure your follower counts.

No, count the right things …and those are results and the evolution of your followers. Learn what it takes to use your audience. It’s what really matters.

Repurpose Blog Content

I love repurposing blog content into social media or other forms of media. If you’d like to share some ideas, please send me a message!

Here are a few examples of possibilities:

{1}. Excerpts from the blog and share them via email, social media sites or even next to your blog content.
{2}. Share not only your blog content, but handy sidebar widgets that you’ve created or even simply a favicon.
{3}. Find and share a great video or photo from another site that you think would be applicable for your blog.
{4}. Draw a map from your blog post and share a visual of where you are located.
{5}. Try a weather widget or other little piece of content that will engage visitors.
{6}. Exclude the content from your blog and share it via social media. For example, you’ve blogged about your pets, share a picture of your pets or a video of them outside.

Share Consistently

And Regularly, But Manage Your Time Wisely.

Social media marketing for bloggers is all about creating content for your audience and sharing it out to social media platforms. In the past, this would take time and effort but today there are a number of tools that will let you automate your social media sharing.

This can both be a blessing and a curse. Throwing your content out on specific social media platforms with these tools are going to save you a lot of time and effort but make it difficult to keep up with consistently. In a sense, your natural pull into your social media accounts is preventing you from doing the right thing for your audience.

Thinking about automation options and even setting them up can lead to you thinking too much, which can slow you down. Don’t be a slave to technology!

You will also find that a lot of the options for social media automation are structured around increasing your social shares and reaching your social media goals. This can be a bonus if those are your goals too, but your main focus should always be to produce and share out content consistently that is valuable, quality, and relevant. If you aren’t already, then these tools can help, but only if used wisely and in moderation.

Don’t Overextend Yourself

Traffic to your blog and page will come from these sites but don’t expect them to generate too much traffic on their own. You’re the only one who can leverage these social media sources to help grow your traffic. If you try to take on more than one social media channel at a time, you’re likely to spread yourself too thin and not make the best use of your time or effort.

Consider Outsourcing Some Social Media Tasks

Many bloggers (or authors) have found it is worth it to hire people to help with social media tasks as they get overwhelmed with all the different updates. You may want to consider doing this as well.

Bloggers often jump into social media with the intention of efficiently sharing their content. To do this, they try to keep up with every social media site, but that is unrealistic. As bloggers, we need to decide which social media networks are worth the time and keep them up to date. Instead of trying to do it all ourselves, we can outsource to a reputable company who will handle the duties of all the social media sites for us so we can just focus on blogging. But before you hire others to do this for you, you want to make sure you dig deep to ensure you’re selecting the best company. We recommend you go through the complete process of finding the right company so you don’t have a sub-par experience.

Bottom Line

If you are looking to make a change in your life, here’s an amazing news: you don’t need to make a drastic one. You can just make a minor introduction to social media and that’s all. Blogging has changed my life and now it can change yours.

Nowadays, the internet is the most essential and important part of our life, as it has become our 24x7x365 work-mates. Social media has become our life partner and is always available for our need anytime, anywhere.

Now, I know you are thinking that how can social media help me in my life and how can I be successful with it. Well, you don’t need to worry because every social media platform has a different target audience. Apart from friends and family, you can also make an audience on the internet and even some money out of it.

If you are willing to try your luck, then you must select a social media platform suitable to your needs and requirements. I have selected the social media platforms that will give you the most success, audience and the most money too.

Now the ultimate question is how do you get started and how can this recipe turn out successful for you. Here I’ll try to help you to start your journey to success of blogging.