how to use social media to grow your blog

I was reading blogs the other day and came across one where, on their contact page, stated that they didn’t have time for social media and therefore did not have any accounts for their blog. Now I’m not one to pick apart blog strategy, I made a zillion and one mistakes myself and still learn something every single day when it comes to blogging. However, I DO think social media is one of the most important things to have when marketing your blog. It is free and all it takes is a little bit of time each day to keep it active and useful. Having a social media account that matches your blog name for ease of use is easy and fun, and also is a great place to get to know your readers outside of your blog. I use my various social media accounts for different things, I’ll outline them below!

Twitter (@becauseofjackie):

I’ll admit, Twitter took me awhile to figure out. I was used to Facebook and never even knew what on earth a hashtag was for until about a year ago. I like Twitter because I can put some pretty funny and random one liners about myself and they fit there. I like to read through my feed a couple of times a day and respond to things that strike me as fun and unique, and I also use Twitter to share blog posts I love (in a  non sponsored way.) I think sharing things for free is a great way to share the love so to speak, and to create good Karma. Often times folks reciprocate back and I have done a lot of collaborations through Twitter and blog post sharing. I do find that Twitter is one of my lower priority places to post content to, though. I prefer Instagram and Facebook for when I need to get the most impact out of my posts and time.

I also share my daily blog posts twice daily through Twitter via bit.ly.

Facebook (Because of Jackie):

I have two Facebook accounts, my blog page and my personal page. My personal one is for friends and family only, it’s my one social media account not attached to my blog and I like that separation if you will. My blog Facebook page is a lot of fun! I post my daily blog posts there, but also a lot of daily bits and pieces that don’t make it into Instagram. You’ll see a lot of behind the scenes stuff from my life that I don’t post anywhere else, as well as promo codes and such for my sponsor program. I really like interacting with my readers here. I think a lot of folks think Facebook is “dead”, yet most of us check ours multiple times a day. I’ve also learned that paying to boost your post is pretty useful as well, sometimes as many as 4,000 people can see a particular post you’ve written that you wish to share, which costs as little as $5. I used to sponsor other blogs as a way to get my blog out there, now I just boost my posts on my Facebook page for maximum exposure. You can target a certain demographic with key words for different posts, and I get a lot of pageviews and clicks doing this.

Instagram (@becauseofjackie):

Instagram is my favorite to look through daily, but the hardest for me to personally post. I say this because in the last six months or so Instagram has become very curated and commercial. If you look at popular blog accounts you will see that each photo is staged and professional looking. Rarely do you see a blurry, candid moment on there anymore. I find I am a lot more choosy about the photos and moments I share via Instagram because I want my account to radiate a certain message, so my account can be a lot slower there than say, on my Facebook page. That being said, I like pushing myself to create beautiful photos and moments there that show bits and pieces of my life. I find that posting regularly to Instagram is a priority of mine, and is where I will work to post most often. You do need to have a strategy when using Instagram. Look at what is popular (creating scenes on a  white board, etc), while also offering original content. Unfortunately, when it comes to Instagram you need to go with what works. For me, that means colorful and bright images that are most often staged and set up. Instagram takes a certain aesthetic that includes a learning curve to conquer. I love Gal Meets Glam, Dean Street Society, Dallas Shaw, Peubird, and The Daybook on Insta…(to name a few;)

Pinterest (meagan_rigney):

It just dawned on me that this account is in my personal name, so there goes my theory on keeping things in blog name only! I do think Pinterest is pretty personal though, and find folks can find me by my name or blog name anyway. I LOVE Pinterest! I get inspiration daily via my style board, and look on it multiple times a day. I post my blog photos on there daily as well, in several different place, and create tags and key words to help folks find the photos easily. I get a lot of hits from Pinterest, too! Folks are pretty visually oriented nowadays, which is why Instagram and Pinterest are so popular. We like quick little bites that intrigue us, but we don’t want to spend a lot of time on it. I think creating photos with labels is a great way to drive traffic to your site (like this!), and anything that does that for free is amazing.

In the end, I really can’t stress enough how important social media can be when it comes to growing your blog organically. It doesn’t take that much time per day to share yourself via social media, I typically do it while my kids are getting dressed in the morning, and then update during various moments in the day. I don’t do any of it in a calculated way, either. If I have something to share I will, and if I don’t, I just don’t. I think folks can tell if you only put up sponsored stuff, too, it’s really important to be natural and be yourself. Creating a conversation between yourself and your readers takes time, and is built one follower at a time. Before you know it you will have created an audience that is there for YOU, and that is the fun of social media.

Tell me, how do YOU use social media for your blog? (and yourself!)