As a blogger, you know that social media is an important part of your marketing strategy. However, many bloggers are unsure how to use social media to their advantage. So let’s talk about how to better utilize social media and my 5 social media marketing tips for bloggers to grow their audience.
PS – There’s also tips for product-based businesses and service-based businesses in separate posts.
First: Understand social media marketing benefits and risks for bloggers
Before we get started I want you to understand that social media marketing benefits and risks come with the territory. It won’t ever be a perfect system but the more you know what you’re up against, the better.
The Benefits of Social Media Marketing
1. Increased Exposure: Bloggers can use social media to increase their exposure by sharing their blog posts on popular social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn. This increased exposure can lead to more website traffic, which can result in more customers.
2. Increased Brand Awareness: When bloggers share their content on popular social media sites, they are also increasing brand awareness for their businesses and products. This increased awareness can lead to more leads and opportunities for business growth.
3. Increased Engagement with Customers: Bloggers who use social media to engage with their customers will often see an increase in customer loyalty and interaction. By being active on social media sites, bloggers are able to build relationships with their customers that can last long after the blog post has been published.
4. Improved Customer Retention: By engaging with their customers on social media, bloggers can improve customer retention rates. This means that customers who are engaged with the blogger will be more likely to return to the website or blog in the future.
5. Increased SEO Rankings: When bloggers use social media to share their content, they are also increasing their SEO rankings. This means that more people will be able to find and read your blog posts when they are searching for information about your industry or topic matter.
The Risks of Social Media Marketing
1. Increased Cyber-Security Risk: Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter can be used by hackers to gain access to personal information such as passwords and bank account numbers. If your business relies heavily on social media marketing, then it is important to take steps to increase your cyber-security risk.
2. Increased Reputation Risk: When bloggers share personal information such as their address or phone number, they are putting themselves at risk for identity theft and other scams. By using caution when sharing personal information online, bloggers can help to protect their reputations and avoid any negative consequences.
3. Decreased ROI: When businesses (and your blog should be thought of as a business!) invest in social media marketing, there is a chance that the return on investment (ROI) will be lower than expected. This is because it can be difficult to measure the success of social media marketing campaigns, which means that it may be difficult to justify the expense of engaging in this type of marketing activity.
4. Increased Time Commitment: Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter require a lot of time and effort to maintain, which can lead to decreased productivity on your blog. If you rely heavily on social media marketing, then it is important to ensure that you are able to devote the necessary time and resources to this type of marketing activity.
5. Losing Control of Your Message: When blogs engage in social media marketing, they tend to lose control of their message. This is because social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are designed for users to share their thoughts and feelings about the content that they see on these platforms. If a blog does not have a clear message or strategy, then it is likely that its content will be ignored by the public.
5 Social Media Marketing Tips for Bloggers
Okay, now that we’re all up to date with what’s going on, here are my favorite 5 social media marketing tips for bloggers like you.
1. Build a Strong Brand: One of the most important things that you can do when engaging in social media marketing is to build a strong brand. This means that you should focus on creating a consistent image for your blog and ensuring that your content is well-written and done in a way that connects with your audience.
2. Target Specific Audiences: When you are engaging in social media marketing, it is important to target specific audiences. This means that you should focus your efforts on targeting people who are likely to be interested in the content that you are publishing on your blog.
3. Use Social Media Platforms Effectively: Don’t try to game the algorithm or be “disruptive” just yet. When you’re just starting out gaining a following you need to play by the rules to gain the favor of the platform so your content will be spread faster. Don’t try to use Instagram keywords on a Twitter post or force the wrong size image. Once you get a bigger market share on the platform you can start to play fast and loose. But for now, use the low-hanging fruit you can and work within the rules of the “system” to gain favor.
4. Use Social Media Tools to Drive Traffic to Your Blog: Stop trying to do everything “live.” You’ve got too many other things to worry about. Social media schedulers are your friends and many are even official partners with the platforms like Tailwind or Plann. Here’s my guide to comparing the top 3 Instagram schedulers and a little video showing how I utilize Tailwind to save me tons of time.
5. Be Active and Engaging: When engaging in social media marketing, it is important to be active and engaging. This means that you should share useful and interesting content on a regular basis and make sure that your tweets and posts are interesting and relevant.
What to Do When Your Social Media Efforts Aren’t Paying Off
If you’re not seeing results with your social media marketing, it might be time to reevaluate your strategy.
Give it 3 months. Social media marketing can take time to see results. If you don’t see any changes after 3 months, it might be time to reassess your strategy. However, don’t give up on social media completely – it can play a very important role in your marketing mix!
Consider using different platforms and methods to reach your target audience. For example, if you have a blog but feel like Twitter isn’t gaining the traction you need, try using Facebook instead. The key is to experiment and find what works best for you!
Stick to only one or two platforms. Social media can be overwhelming if you try to do too many things at once. Stop using a “buckshot” method and focus heavily on only one (or two because I know it’s hard to gamble on only one!) platforms.
Spend more time on engagement and outreach. Engagement means interacting with your followers and letting them know about the posts you make. Outreach means trying to reach out to people who might be interested in what you have to say, even if they don’t follow you on social media.
Think about what your audience wants. A lot of bloggers make the mistake of thinking that their readers are only interested in their content. However, this isn’t always the case. If you can figure out what your audience wants and give it to them, they will appreciate it!
Be genuine and remember that social media is a two-way street. If you’re always posting things that are commercial or self-promotional, your followers will start to feel like they’re being spammed or marketed to without any input from you. Instead, be personal and let your followers know what you’re thinking and how your experiences are affecting your opinions.
Be active, but not too active. On so many platforms, it’s easy to get lost in the noise and start posting things that don’t actually mean anything to you or to your audience. Instead, try to keep a balance between being active and staying focused on what’s important.
Make sure your posts are interesting and engaging. If people aren’t interested in what you have to say, they’ll probably stop reading right away. Try to make each post interesting and catchy so that people will want to keep reading even if they don’t have anything specific that they’re interested in.
Final Thoughts
Social media can be a powerful tool for bloggers. By following these 5 social media marketing tips, you can maximize the benefits of social media and grow your blog audience.
