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!)