Promoting your blog with social media

Once you publish a new post, it is important to share this information on social media sites to help others find it. I know myself that I only get a chance to go through my reading list once a week, so if you post regularly I may miss your great posts. Sharing them on Facebook & Twitter means that there is a greater chance of people seeing it and therefore reading it. Great content will be easily shared, especially these days. Sharing on social media sites also helps with Search Engine Optimisation as it makes it easier for search engines to find. Here are some of my tips for promoting your blog with social media sites.

Share posts on major social media sites

Social Media sites are amazing at spreading something like wildfire. It is the quickest way to make your content popular. Share your favourite sites relating to your blog topic (in other words, what you’re readers/followers have an interest in), explain why you like them and ask for opinions or other peoples favourite. When sharing other content make sure to properly link back to the site and give credit. Don’t push or ask for followers, let it happen naturally and you’ll see the best results.

• Facebook – Share on Personal/Blog Pages, Groups, Ads
• Twitter – Schedule 3 tweets (Morning, Afternoon, Evening) to catch different time zones.
• Pinterest – Create a board for your blog & pin each post (images are important here!)
• LinkedIn – If it is relevant, share on LinkedIn & groups.
• Google+ – Gives extra SEO benefits because of Google Search. Here’s a post on why you should be on Google Plus as a Blogger.
• Share images on Tumblr, Lookbook and other sites relevant to post topic.
• Share posts on groups & forums related to your topic.
• Try to use many different techniques for different sites. Be creative!
• Be interactive and engage with your readers. Create relationships
• Add a category or hashtag so users searching for a certain topic can find it. Hashtags now work on Pinterest, Facebook and Google+ as well as Instagram, Tumblr and Twitter.
• Include video or images to grab attention, keep text short and to the point.
• Track your results. What worked? What got the most response? What could you do differently? Would that technique work better elsewhere?

Share on Bookmarking Sites

The more you can hit, the better really. These kind of sites allow content to be randomly found, searched and shared by a much wider audience.

• StumbleUpon.com
• Digg.com
• Reddit.com
• Delicious.com
• Technorati.com
• Pinterest.com

Create a summary video

Turn your blog post into a summary video, add watermark and share on video sites. Video content will reach a new market and drive people back to your site for more information or more content. Create a preview with Vine or Instagram Video to spark interest, you could even ask for video responses.

• Youtube
• Vimeo
• Dailymotion
• Videojug
• Podcasts

Optimise each blog post for specific keywords

Make your blog posts easy for users and search engines to find. By making your posts search engine friendly and targeting a certain audience you are increasing the chances of it being found which means more traffic.

• Learn how to optimise your blog posts for SEO to increase traffic.
• Include keywords 5 times for 500 word posts.
• Don’t over do keywords.
• More SEO Tips: Bloggers guide to Search Engines, SEO & Keywords, Steps to Keyword Research for SEO and more SEO tips.

Update your Newsletter

Newsletter contacts signed up because they want to be updated. Choose a weekly or monthly schedule and send a little friendly update to your subscribers, include something special like an extra tip, discount or giveaway.

• Include a couple of latest posts or even some old posts.
• Create an RSS Feed to be automatically updated.

Comments & Community

• Leave thoughtful comments on relevant blog posts.
• Chat to people in a similar niche.
• Participate in the community. Find groups, chats, forums and sites related to your topic.
• Take part in chats on Google+, Twitter, Facebook.
• If the opportunity comes up, guest blog to reach a wider audience.
• Look for link-ups with a similar topic. They are great ways to introduce your blog to others and find some cool new blogs to follow.

Pick a couple of syndication sites to help spread content.

Don’t overdo it, use 4 sites max and share to most relevant places!

• IFTTT.com
• BlogCatalog.com
• Bloggers.com
• HelloCotton.com
• DemandStudios.com
• NetworkedBlogs.com
• Alltop.com
• Scribnia.com
• Syndic8.com
• EvanCarmichael.com
• Outbrain.com

Don’t forget!

Remember it’s quality not quantity, engagement not followers. If you create great content, people will find it and share it. Growing your blog readers and views takes time and hard work.

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