Well, well, well… We’ve passed that 2/3 mark and we’re now on the downhill slope of this 31dbb challenge. So far, we’ve:
- created a list post
- promoted a blog post
- emailed a blog reader
- made our blog mobile-friendly
- come up with 10 post ideas
- developed an editorial calendar for our blog
- wrote a link post
- set up alerts to monitor what’s happening in your community
- created a sneeze page
- joined a forum and started participating
- taken a trip to the mall
- updated a key page
- left good comments on other blogs
- written an opinion post
- found a blog community (though if you’re here, you’ve already done that)
- solved a problem
And when I say “we’ve” that is me using the royal we as I’ve been largely MIA this month for a myriad of reasons, some of which you might know if you follow me on… dun, dun, dun! Social media.
Speed-dating for bloggers
Social media is the ADHD cousin of blogging — with a handful of characters, you, too, can engage with the online community at lightning speed! With a single-click thumbs up, you can voice your opinion on the endless, churning tide of social media. You can post pictures, promote blog posts, answer opinion polls, and make public all of the drunk texts your ex-girlfriend would have gotten if only she weren’t a man-hating she-devil who blocked your number.
A double-edged sword
OK, so we have likely all been lured by the tempting call of the social media siren, right? I know I have — you’ve all seen the trillion pictures I post of my kids on Instagram, right? Well, cultivating a robust social media presence is a great way to invite people to your blog, as long as you’re using an appropriate platform and aren’t bombarding your followers with spammy-type-overeager-love-me-love-me-love-me posts.
So, what’s an appropriate platform? Rowse teaches that “Some networks simply don’t suit some brands.” And gives the specific example that he doesn’t promote his Twitter tips blog using a facebook fanpage. You also have to be mindful of the social media platform you audience uses. My mom? On Facebook, not on twitter. So I post all of my raunchy through twitter and don’t have my accounts linked (anymore — don’t ask why).
I don’t see the problem yet
Psst… over here! Imma let you in on a secret: social media is instantly gratifying and totally addictive. Like Candy Crush addictive. And, with only so many hours in the day to use online, you’ve got to make some decisions about your interactions in social media. With the knowledge that there is always a next-best-thing lurking, design yourself a social media strategy around the media you do use and the media you anticipate using. Use your analytic tool (remember the one you installed way back on day 1?) and check your traffic sources. If you find that you’re spending hours and hours tweeting to your followers for three click-throughs, you may need to evaluate your plan a bit. I’m not saying that you need to stop the tweeting, but perhaps you should consider it a recreational activity instead of an oft-repeated step in promoting your post.
Objects in your rear view mirror
The down side to addiction? You forget your roots. You spend so much time tweeting and checking in and filtering photos that you have forgotten how to write in more than 140 characters. Don’t let social media bleed your blog dry, no one likes an underfed blog. Interact with your friends and followers and consider making a third or even a half of your posts pay-it-forward shout outs to your friends and your friendly competition. I dare you to give that a try this week — let me know what happens!
Social media and networking can get a bit crazy and take up an entire, well everyday, life. I can spend time playing candy crush and pet saga and let it take up a whole day. I am trying to space my time evenly. I started on Facebook and that was it. Then I got lead to Google+ at the end of 2012, which is where I first discovered Blogger and tried it out. Later opening a WordPress blog also. I found through the blogs, Twitter. I participate in a poetry group on Google+ that has been the best help in my writing. It has also brought me most followers to my blog on Blogger. Twitter has actually brought me more followers to WordPress. As for Facebook, I normally don’t promote either blog on there. It was opened up in 2010 from boredom, but I know in person a lot on my friends list. For some reason, I feel more comfortable with my writing being in the eyes of strangers than people I see everyday. So far, this has worked.
I love how you shared your progression through social media 🙂 It sounds like you’re strategy is bringing you the readers you want and the anonymity you crave.
This will be about the one hundredth time I’ve mentioned this, but I don’t plan on making a Facebook page for my blog. So, when I first read this post, I thought, “well, obviously I’ll focus on Twitter. And I already do that so I’m done with task.” But the more I thought about this, I began to wonder if I’m using Twitter in the way that best promotes my blog and my blog persona. I decided to revoke the access so that Twitter no longer feeds onto my personal Facebook page. This way, I don’t have to be worried that my friends and family think I tweet too much or that I tweet about blog related stuff too much. I think this will although me to use Twitter for networking and publicizing my blog more than I currently too.
Thanks for this post, Courtenay!
I’m so glad that the post helped you think about your strategy in a different light! Unlinking my Twitter/Facebook was a great decision for me, I hope that it enables you to reach readers in a more controlled way.
Social media can get overwhelming. I think I’m going to try to focus on Twitter for my new blog, at least for the time being. I’m brand new to Twitter so I’m still figuring it out, but my main reason to avoid Facebook is that I don’t necessarily want everyone I know in real life to read my new blog – at least not yet. Is that reasonable? I do have a blog facebook page but I’ve largely left my personal facebook page out of it… Confession time, more specifically, I’m afraid that if I let the family fan club in on the secret too soon, their uber-awkward comments could deter others from taking me seriously… Obviously it’s on the internet so it can’t stay a secret forever, but my other blog (about living/traveling/teaching in Japan) is tailored for them. That’s fair, right?
Janelle, I think that sounds totally reasonable — my family was among the last people I let know about my blogging, though I do have the policy that I won’t write anything that I wouldn’t say out loud. Focusing on a social media platform that a new target audience uses frequently is a great strategy and I hope that it works well for you!
Add my twitter handle and I’ll be sure to follow back — @IASoupMama