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Friday, January 16, 2015

A Blogger's Guide to Social Media Management



Social media can be a scary domain. It takes a lot of time and effort to stay current and relevant, and keeping up can be overwhelming. 

If you're trying to build readership and eventually, sponsorship, then managing your social media profile can be just as much work as blogging...maybe more....especially if you're seeking engagement.



I do not have a formal social media plan. Nevertheless, here are some things that I consider when I use some of the more popular social media sites. 

Twitter

  • Twitter is the center of the social media universe. If you want to know anything that's happening in the world, check Twitter first. Hashtags make it easy to group tweets and find out what's trending in today's world, and you can make lists to help you stay organized.
  • Use a scheduler, like Hootsuite to post your tweets. You can batch and schedule tweets throughout the day. 
  • Who do you follow? Consider following leaders in your niche. Learn from those who have paved the way for you. 
  • NEVER participate in that follow for follow nonsense. If you're following people only because they followed you, then why bother? If they are within your niche or target demographic, by all means...follow. But do not send them a message about following; no one likes that. 
  • And don't follow up with a private message about following you Facebook page. If they're technically savvy enough to follow you on Twitter, they can find you on Facebook, especially if you have a link on your blog's main page. 
  • Tweet and retweet content from within your niche or in areas that interest your target demographic. 
  • Think about your hashtags. Look at what's trending within your niche and think about how your hashtags can generate traffic.
  • Tweet others' work and thank others for shares and retweets of your work. It's just nice. 
Facebook
  • There are so many rumors floating around about the Facebook algorithm and who sees what. Link your blog's page to Twitter and you get twice the exposure...in theory anyway. When you post something on Facebook, it will automatically post on Twitter. 
Instagram
  • Link your Instagram account to your Twitter account and your Facebook account. You increase your exposure potential. 
  • Have a clickable link to your blog in your profile, if you're using it for blog promotion as well. 
  • Post an image from your post with relevant hashtags so users can find your work.
  • Consider a re-gram type of app that will allow you to share others' work and link to the original poster's account. 
Pinterest
  • Follow boards and pinners within your niche.
  • Consider what content is relevant to your target demographic and create targeted topic boards. 
  • Create group boards where your audience can pin their work as well. 
  • If you can, get a Pinterest business account for the analytics and see what drives your traffic. 

Keeping up with the social media responsibility of blogging can be exhausting, but once you consider your reader and their wants and needs, you can tailor your ancillary media to meet those needs. 


How do you plan your social media presence? Do you have a formal plan? What tips can you share?


21 comments:

  1. My Pinterest has grown the most even though I don't even "go on" Pinterest ever! It's just for me to pin other's recipes, not even my own!

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  2. Good points, especially about Twitter. I'm still learning to use that, and appreciate the breakdown!

    Farin

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  3. I pretend to have a plan and then up just winging it depending on how much time I actually have that day. It is exhausting but I use Coschedule and I can schedule all my Social Media posts as I am writing my post in Wordpress. It saves me time and I can schedule as much or as little as I want to. These are some great tips! I hate that DM to like a Facebook page it is so tacky!

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  4. All good advice. But I don't see that my Facebook posts also go to Twitter. It IS true of my Linked In posts. ??

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  5. Social media completely gets overwhelming. My blog automatically posts to twitter and I use hootsuite to my facebook page.

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  6. Great article! I just recently added Google + to the mix and find it quite helpful. I have been getting some traffic from there, not much, but every little count. Facebook continues to be my biggest traffic source.

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  7. Another great post! And of course helpful for newbies like me.
    Amanda
    www.queenofthelandoftwigsnberries.com

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  8. I am so happy this is helpful. Thank you for the feedback, Amanda!

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  9. Thanks, Tami! I get a lot of traffic from Pinterest. I am still learning...so much to learn! Thank you for stopping by!

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  10. I need to figure out Hootsuite. I still do everything in real time. Exhausting and, at times, overwhelming...agreed. Have a great weekend, Kerry!

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  11. Great article. Thanks! Are you suggesting that ever IG image we take posts to Twitter & FB? You should speak at the March BAM conference. Good info update/refresher.

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  12. Ok that last quote?? Totally en pointe! Whenever I share something to my blog's Facebook, I click "share" to add it to my personal Facebook timeline, which doubles or triples the exposure! Super handy dandy little trick (:


    cominguprosestheblog.com

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  13. Thank you so much, Leisa! I am fairly new to this, and there are speakers who could do a much better job. :-) I would not link every IG photo to Twitter or FB...just the ones that make sense for your blog or brand.

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  14. I'm not sure about LinkedIn, Carol. But your blog's FB page can directly link to Twitter.

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  15. I wing it too and for now, it's okay, but it would be more efficient to have a plan. I am still planning a migration to WP and self hosting, but I'm just not ready yet.

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  16. Thanks, Farin. It gets easier, but then you start to realize how involved it is. Happy Sunday!

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  17. Pinterest drives a lot of traffic. Do you have a business account? Then you can get analytics for it.

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  18. Great tips. Social media can be so overwhelming.

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  19. I get overwhelmed too. Focusing on your top three or so may help. Baby steps. :-) Thank you for stopping by!

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  20. Thanks, Erica! Not everyone shares to their personal timeline. For me, it depends. Many of my family and friends don't "get" blogging, so sometimes, I just promote within my blogger networks. Thank you for stopping by!

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  21. Excellent post with lots of useful tips..Thanks for sharing..I am sure this will be very useful for every bloggers

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