Social media is a blogger’s best friend. Well, aside from her actual blog, of course. Social media is how you make connections, meet other bloggers (that can turn into wonder friends, mentors and advisers), grow your blog, develop your brand and more. I stay active on my social media, especially Twitter and Instagram.
But social media loses its charm and effectiveness if you don’t use it for all it’s worth. Staying active on your chosen social media channels is key to continued growth and reaching your goals, whatever those goals may be. You have to be social on social media, or your blog and brand won’t grow or develop like you want it to.
Here’s my best advice on how to be social on social media.
It’s called social media for a reason, of course.
Follow your favorites.
Follow people on your social media channels that make you happy and excited to follow them. Follow people that teach you something new. Follow people that inspire you. Follow people that make you ask yourself questions.
If you’re a blogger, think of your ideal audience or readers. Who do you want to read and share your content? If you’re a business owner or creativepreneur, think of your ideal client. Following those type of people will guide and inform your content and help shape your future work so you can attract the type of people you want reading your blog. If you’re a blogger AND a creativepreneur, or anything else, for that matter, follow your role models.
Here’s my rule of thumb: If someone’s posts start to annoy me more than I find them valuable, I unfollow them. It hasn’t failed me yet.
Share other bloggers’ content.
Don’t just promote your own content. Sure, you write and produce it for a reason, and that’s to get other people to see it. But the bloggers you follow also produce some pretty sweet stuff, so give them some love, too. I make it a goal to share content from 3-5 other blogs each week, at the least. It helps me to explore new blogs more often and to let other people know there’s something new for them to check out, too.
It’s the reciprocal thing. If another blogger shares my posts, I’m more likely to check out their blog (if I don’t already follow it) and share some of their awesome content. And not to mention, it feels awesome when someone else shares your post.
How can YOU be more social on #socialmedia? Click To TweetInteract with others.
Talk to people! That’s the point of social media. Why have a Twitter account if you don’t tweet with other people? Why have an Instagram account if you don’t like or comment on other photos? You can switch “Twitter” and “Instagram” with pretty much any social network and ask yourself the same question. Keep the conversation going beyond just what you say in your post, tweet or photo caption.
For example, when someone shares your content, don’t just retweet or like their tweet. Say “thank you.” Taking the extra 10 seconds (or less) to write a reply means a lot to the person who shared it.
Comment on other blogs and social media posts.
This is one thing I wish I had figured out earlier in my blogging ventures. Commenting on other blogs is so important. It’s great engagement with the blogger and their followers and readers. Bloggers love hearing from readers, too (at least I do). It helps us figure out what types of content work best, and a lot of times, comments from readers inspire future content.
In a similar vein, replying to comments on your own posts is just as important. Readers comment because they liked something you said and would like to add on to it. Don’t just let them go – again, keep the conversation going, or at the very least thank them for taking time to read your post. I always strive to at least reply “thank you” to each comment I receive. It’s just good blogger etiquette!
Being social on #socialmedia is easy. Here are 4 #tips for being more social online! Click To TweetSocial media is my best friend. It’s key to my blog, my brand and my job. The more active I am on my channels, the more I can develop my blog and brand. All of this goes toward building your faithful audience and your community.
How do you stay active on social media? What tips do you have for being social online?
Oh, and while we’re on the subject… if you’re snap-happy, add me on Snapchat: thekrobertson!
