How to Effectively Promote Your Blog with Social Media

This is a guest post by Mandy Kilinskis.

promotion For me, the most frustrating part about the entire blog writing process is after you press the publish button and your post goes live. After spending so much energy on creating a great, interesting post, you want other people to read it! And yet, your social shares aren’t going anywhere. This is when you have to take matters into your own hands, head to popular social networks, and try these tips for gaining new readers.


Facebook

What you already do: Post your blog on your personal wall and on your Facebook brand page.

What you should also do: If you have a friend that would be interested in the blog but is notorious for not looking anywhere but his own page, post it directly to his wall. If your blog mentions any other brands, tag them when you post to your personal wall or brand page.

Take it a step further: ‘Like’ Facebook pages that are either mentioned in your blog or would be interested in it. Take some time to research: Do they let users post links on their wall or do they delete them? If they allow it, post your blog on the brand’s wall. If they don’t, go into the discussion board and either add to a current discussion or start a new topic. Leave a well-constructed comment and a link to your blog.


Twitter

What you already do: Tweet out the title and link to your blog to all your followers.

What you should also do: Add in one or two relevant hashtags. Whether you toss a # in front of a keyword in your title or just place one at the end, this will bring up your post when other Twitter users search for information.

Take it a step further: Once you tweet out your blog, do a quick search to see who else is talking about your topic. If they have asked a question or you can relate with something they’ve tweeted, reply to them! People will want to see who found their conversation interesting, and they will go check out your Twitter feed. They’ll be intrigued when they find that you’ve written a relevant blog.


Google+

What you already do: Post it to your Google+ stream.

What you should also do: Google+ supports hashtags now! Just like Twitter, add in one or two relevant hashtags when you post. Make sure that your post has public visibility!

Take it a step further: If you’ve linked to other blogs, many of those authors have Google+ accounts. Put them in your circle and tag them with something like “Thanks, +Author A, for some inspiration for my latest blog post!” Also add the post to the “Recommended links” section on your profile for added traffic and a slight bump in search engine rankings.


LinkedIn

What you already do: Post your blog as an update on your LinkedIn account.

What you should also do: If you are especially proud of your blog, add it into the publication tab on your Linkedin profile. Not only will this generate another link, but prospective employers will be able to see your work.

Take it a step further: If you aren’t already in some of the many blogging groups on LinkedIn, join a few! You will be connecting with new readers – other bloggers who will be more likely to share and/or comment on your blogs – and many of the groups post weekly threads where you can share links to your blog. Also be sure to install the BlogLink application on your profile. 

Above all: Never, ever act like a spammer when you reach out to new people on social networks. You’re reaching out to them because you believe that your blog is something they will find interesting. But if you simply @ or +mention them with your link saying “plz read,” I guarantee that nobody will click on it. Take the extra minute to formulate a complete tweet or sentence and engage your potential audience. The higher the quality of your networking, the more likely it is that someone will take the time to read your blog.

About the author
Mandy Kilinskis spends her days crafting content for Quality Logo Products. In addition to making their product pages sparkle, she’s a frequent contributor to their promotional products blog.

49 comments to "How to Effectively Promote Your Blog with Social Media"

amy swanson October 26, 2011 at 10:12 PM    

Great tips, Mandy! I had no idea that Google+ lets you include hashtags in posts. That's a great way to make sure the masses can see your latest blog :)

J.Po,  October 26, 2011 at 10:37 PM    

How is google+ doing these days? I'd be worried sinking a lot of resources into it if it's not going to be around for long.

Jill Tooley October 26, 2011 at 10:58 PM    

What great tips, Mandy! We can't just publish posts and sit on our hands anymore - we have to promote them however we can. I'm really glad you mentioned LinkedIn as a broadcasting/sharing platform! Even though it's growing rapidly, people still overlook it and I'm not sure why. LI comes with a higher level of trust than networks like Twitter or Facebook, so posting there will sometimes increase its shares even more. :)

zulkbo October 26, 2011 at 11:11 PM    

ermm..
dont forget Digg and
Stumbleupon :)

Joseph G. October 26, 2011 at 11:21 PM    

Great tips on promoting via LinkedIn, Mandy! People tend to forget how important that network is. Engaging with the professional blogging community is very beneficial, and can easily help beginning bloggers find the resources and advice they need.

And thanks for the heads-up about the BlogLink app. I haven't heard of that, but I'll have to look into it.

Mandy Kilinskis October 26, 2011 at 11:22 PM    

@Amy They just added the feature a week or so ago (my guess to compete a little more with Twitter)! So it makes searching for relevant content a lot easier.

@J.Po G+ saw an influx of visitors once it opened to the public. It's quieted down, but last time I read, it's still going strong. It's going to be integrated into the Google Music service, so I expect that will help keep Google+ alive.

Mandy Kilinskis October 27, 2011 at 12:11 AM    

@Jill My best guess is that people have more filters about the content that gets posted on their LinkedIn. You only want to post the cream of the crop, whereas you can share everything on Facebook without even thinking about.

@Zulkbo I would never forget Digg or StumbleUpon. The only reason that I didn't include them in this post is because I have yet to have great sharing success on those networks, so I didn't have anything to offer the BloggerSentral readers. But I'm open to any tips you might have!

@Joseph LinkedIn seems to be the redheaded stepchild of social networks...but it's the redheaded stepchild that's also a serial entrepreneur. The professional blogging communities are great for not only sharing content, but starting to build great blogging relationships, too.

Bret B.,  October 27, 2011 at 8:38 AM    

Great post.

I like the formatting of it... we all know, more often than not, our social efforts often fall short, but with a little effort - great things can and WILL become of your post.

It makes you really wonder, is content REALLY king in the eyes of the search engines and/or is good content ENOUGH to drive quality traffic to your website?!?!?

neo October 27, 2011 at 10:31 AM    

Nice head up Mandy

I think the best way to promote blog using social media is by participating and take the first action by promoting other blog first. For me blogger that actively promoting other works will get the benefits.

For best result do networking and add same interest users as your friend.

BTW thanks for your tips mandy.

Mandy Kilinskis October 27, 2011 at 9:30 PM    

@Bret I couldn't say. I love to think that content is king for networking and the search engines, but it's just not likely. You can write the best darn article on the web, but unless you actually do some work promoting it, I don't think that it will be seen. Even if it's optimized like mad for Google/Bing/etc.

@Neo You're absolutely right. Networking definitely yields the best results. Not only will promoting someone else's work make them more likely to read yours, but starting a networking relationship is the perfect way to build long-time readers. These are the people we want: the ones that subscribe and comment and draw other readers to our blog.

Cat October 28, 2011 at 12:07 PM    

Great tips. I'll definitely start doing more of those.

Geek Revealed October 29, 2011 at 5:22 PM    

That was a nice article. Between I would like to ask you how have you added that subscription message box on your blog.

Greenlava October 30, 2011 at 11:04 AM    

@Geek Revealed
You mean the popup? I'm working on it. Subscribe and you'll be notified when I publish the tutorial.

Website Designer November 1, 2011 at 8:05 PM    

People tend to forget how important that network is. Engaging with the professional blogging community is very beneficial. The professional blogging communities are great for not only sharing content.

Trueinternet November 2, 2011 at 4:09 AM    

Thanks for this amazing ideals, hope to start implementing them soon

Anonymous,  November 7, 2011 at 5:50 AM    

Nice and helpful post, thanks

Jack November 9, 2011 at 2:39 AM    

I must try to promote my blog on Goolge plus, many thanks for those helpful tips.

Peter November 9, 2011 at 4:43 PM    

Lets just accept the truth, google+ is not that famous right now. Facebook is still the dominating one and facebook is still the king of social media.

Kate Belle Townsend November 10, 2011 at 5:55 PM    

Thanks for the brilliant information.

Kate Belle Townsend November 14, 2011 at 3:12 PM    

Thanks for the very good tips.

Mohd Isa November 20, 2011 at 9:40 PM    

Thanks for this tips, I will share it in my blog as Malay language. This very good tips, thanks again. :)

Greenlava November 25, 2011 at 8:05 AM    

@Asif Icbal
I've explained it here: Automatically add hashtags to your tweets.

Innovative Business Solutions November 28, 2011 at 4:07 PM    

Social media marketing has more influence than other form of marketing technique. So every marketer move towards the social media marketing to generate more traffic and convert these targeted traffic into sales.

syais December 3, 2011 at 4:52 PM    

Great tips! Thank you!

Jeriea December 23, 2011 at 7:08 PM    

I've just started a blog on my website. I've never been very good a writing other than a personal letter but I always seem to get "mental block" when its time to write something in the blog, what do I write about, how long should it be, how often should I blog, how to get others to read what I've written and hope they find it interesting enough to come back. This artical has anwsered a couple of those questions; I suppose the old sayin holds true "Practice Make Perfect"....or I'll get better at it as I write more.

Greenlava December 23, 2011 at 9:08 PM    

@Jeriea
When you feel everything is aginst your writing, write anyway. Action motivates.

moneypro,  January 5, 2012 at 2:19 AM    

Hi Mandy,
Thanks for your tips. Actually it is now very common to promote blog via social media. But I am here to get help. I want to start a revenue sharing blog. Where users will earn 100% revenue and can show any advertisement network (I think many people will like this feature). Now plz tell me how can I promote my blog to get quality writer and make authority blog. plz

website design perth January 9, 2012 at 6:45 PM    

nice tips..thanks for sharing....

Anonymous,  January 24, 2012 at 1:48 PM    

for Indians
once can promote his or her blog here its free check this link http://bloggersworld.forumotion.in/f7-promote-your-blogs

mike January 28, 2012 at 12:25 AM    

This post was very useful, liked 'what you do now' and 'what you can do next', made me have a few 'ah-ha' moments. I am seeing the power of social media networks, new blog is getting like 70 % traffic from social - i only used to focus on search.

Candra January 29, 2012 at 11:51 AM    

Great linkedin tips! I will try them all! Thank you!

Myrna Ganda February 1, 2012 at 4:06 PM    

Good post for some tips on blog promotion. I definitely agree with creating that emotional bond. I would suggest that one try to be as personal as possible when promoting their blog as well. If you can tell a personal story or talk about your own emotions, people will feel that emotional connection with you.

Think Positive February 24, 2012 at 10:47 PM    

Thank you so much for your tips, very helpful, just what I need it to know.

waqas March 2, 2012 at 10:39 PM    

Please share a post about cross posting form blogger on Google+, Twitter and Facebook Pages at the same time, i have lot of thing but failed to post on Google+, Facebook and Twitter at the same time.

corporate gifts March 10, 2012 at 3:11 PM    

For me, Promoting your media is you need to have great content and short one. It must be controversial that even when you haven't write it yet people are already scavenging a newspaper because of a certain issues they want to read and fathom deeper

Onwaweb May 9, 2012 at 5:14 AM    

Have not used Google+ hashtags before. Will try it out. Cheers!

Suhas Naik May 10, 2012 at 7:04 PM    

This is a real helpful post, social media sites have a lot of content and getting attention is difficult but these strategies will help us get more exposure.

SEO Singapore May 17, 2012 at 6:08 PM    

thanks for sharing it with people. I really appreciate with what you have written on this blog.

Full Time SEO Experts July 25, 2012 at 5:21 PM    

Promoting blogs through adding them on social media sites, sending to friends is something I learns post this blog.

Santosh Mishra August 28, 2012 at 1:55 PM    

There are various tools available for promoting a blog. One can do that in easy ways.

Obat Wasir dan Ambeien Manjur di Obatwasir.biz November 21, 2012 at 12:47 PM    

share tachnorati. :D

berkas askep March 18, 2013 at 3:36 AM    

really usefully

maxbizweb April 25, 2013 at 9:18 AM    

Thanks for sharing

Aftab @weblogs May 5, 2013 at 7:50 PM    

This is true that after spending a lot of time in creating a new post, you still have miles to travel before reaching your goal. I mean, you have to promote your blog post through 8-10 ways plus you have to generate backlinks and make off-page SEO strategies in order to rank well ! Thanks for the great post, sure we are gonna remember the suggested pointers.

OST to PST July 12, 2013 at 1:34 PM    

I am grateful to see this post really amazing.......

Ghulam - Blitarian4rt July 12, 2013 at 4:55 PM    

WOW ! This is a good post, i really need this for my blog ! Thanks, thank you so much brother !

ECDL Advanced August 11, 2013 at 5:48 AM    

Great advice, I had already done the basic sections (creating profiles) but didn’t know about the additional link building opportunities. Thanks.

Andrean Perdana December 23, 2013 at 9:21 AM    

.
Thanks For Sharing..
.

Emma Taylor August 26, 2014 at 2:54 PM    

Its good. Thanks for sharing

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