What I’ve learnt about social media for blogging this year
Social media could be one of those things that you just gloss over. However for any business especially for bloggers it is so important. This year I’ve learnt a lot about social media whilst doing the Digital Mums course, and I’ve put a lot into practice. Social Media comes in all forms from text posts, to images, to videos and stories. It can become all consuming and leave you hooked to your phone your day. However it really is vital, albeit it time consuming, the more you put into it, the more it pays off for you and your blog. To follow on from my post about what I’ve learnt about blogging this year, here are my 10 top tips of what I’ve learnt this year about how social media across the different channels can help improve and benefit your blog.
TikTok
One of the latest trends is getting yourself signed up to TikTok and watching videos on the platform. It certainly has a growing appeal among the younger audience and a platform that more and more brands are wanting to get involved with. To help grow your own TikTok you can simply start by trying it out by signing up and seeing what it’s all about. In addition to this TokMatik TikTok likes is a powerful tool to help you grow your platform even further, and engaging with others will all help to boost your presence on this powerful platform.
Instagram Stories
I used to hate doing these, I felt really uncomfortable and nervous, and hated watching it back. However the more you do, the more confident and comfortable you get used to it. Doing Instagram Stories is a great way to grow your Instagram followers, people love watching them, and it may encourage brands to work with you to help promote their products.
Be specific
When posting to Instagram use hashtags that are tailored and relevant for your post and your audience who you want to find you account. You could use a tool like Nitreo to help you do this. Nitreo will help you to tailor your content and help you make improvements over time, which should in turn help you to increase your Instagram following.
I am right at the beginning of my Pinterest journey, yet I know that when used correctly it’s a great way to generate traffic to your blog. Download the Tailwind App and start adding content. That’s content that is not just yours. When other people see that you are repinning their content, they will hopefully do the same for you. This means that your pins are then seen by a much wider audience compared to your own. It’s always a good idea to repin influencers and those who have a larger following than you. Since I’ve been doing this I’ve seen a slow increase in traffic to my blog from Pinterest.
Remember the 20/80 rule
This is a tip I learnt from Aby at You Baby Me Mummy that you should spend 20% of your time writing content and 80% of your time promoting it. This is promoting it across all your channels, so Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram. It is really important to work on the promotion of your content, as without it no one will find it, therefore no or little traffic. Try and schedule at least a few tweets a day to promote new blog posts, and continue to do that afterwards. I don’t always promote my blog posts on Instagram however I’ve just sharing on Instagram stories that a new blog post is now live. I’m not sure if it’s working yet, but it must be doing something.
Schedule
Scheduling is a lifesaver. You just need to find a tool that works for you, set it up for the week and away you go. I’ve found using Hootsuite for my Digital Mums course to be really useful, especially using the bulk upload tool. The tool is currently free for scheduling 30 tweets, however if you want to schedule more than that there is Social Oomph. I’ve found Buffer to be really useful, and got into the habit of scheduling 10 tweets a day to be published at the most popular times for my Twitter feed. The tools are not only using for scheduling Tweets you can also schedule Facebook posts too. It’s best to have a play around with them all, see what works for you, and then if you want to you can choose to pay monthly for more features and often more posts.
Use your Facebook personal page
When I first launched my blog I kept it quiet. However now my blog is effectively my business and source of income I needed to use all means I could to get traffic. Promoting my posts on my personal Facebook page created a huge increase in traffic. People are nosy and want to see what you’re writing about, or what is going on in your life. It may seem a bit over the top or over sharing, however if you want traffic use your personal profile page, as well as your business page.
Twitter lists
These are a valuable source of information to help you condense down what you see in your Twitter feed, and allows you to see relevant content. Do you really want to see a full list of tweets from all your 2000 followers, probably not. Instead set up a Twitter list of who you want to see. These could be influencers or people you idolise. It’s then a great way for you to quickly reply to their tweets, or retweet their content, and hopefully they will do the same for you. Twitter lists don’t have to be public, so you could set up a list of useful PR contacts as they are often tweeting blogging opportunities, and this list is a quick reference guide for you.
Use hashtags to find opportunities
So many blogging opportunities are shared on Twitter. Simply spend a couple of minutes each day searching the hashtags #BloggersWanted #BloggersRequired #PRRequest #JournoRequest. You will probably find opportunities for reviews and guest posts, or brands wanting Sponsored Posts. I’ve picked up a few opportunities in the last couple of months via Twitter, so this exercise is always worth doing.
It’s not just about your followers
You could have thousands of followers and be a micro-influencer, but it’s not just about the number of followers. Yes we all dream of reaching that milestone, but actually it’s about engagement. When you post on Facebook and Instagram how many people engage with it, more and more brands are now looking for engagement rate. So remember the more you engage with other bloggers, then they should hopefully return the favour and engage with your posts.
Use social to shout about you
Be brave, just go for it. Social media is a brilliant way to shout about yourself and show off what you can do. Once you’ve created an About Us or Work With Us page, share it across your channels, and use the hashtags listed above so that brands and PRs can find you. Also use Twitter to promote a link to your Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest accounts, so that you’re not solely relying on people getting to your blog to find these channels. Your blog and social channels are all one big ecosystem, so see these all working together, rather than in separate silos.
Algorithms
Lastly remember the algorithm which applies to Facebook and Instagram. The greater likes and comments a post has, the higher up it appears in the feed. So if you want likes and comments, remember to comment and like other peoples posts and hopefully they return the favour. Video is treated by Facebook with a greater preference, so if you’ve got video content use it, it’ll be seen by more people than a bog standard text and image post. For Instagram join comment pods, as these will also help to generate likes and comments on your posts, therefore boosting your post up the algorithm.
Those are my social media top tips that I’ve learnt this year that I’ve been and you can apply to your blog.
I hope you found this useful? What other top tips have you learnt this year about social media that you can apply to your blog. You can also read more social media tips from me that I learnt at #BML17 earlier this year.
Claire x
38 Comments
Sharon Smith
It can be frustrating when you feel that you’re doing everything right (posting good content on the appropriate platforms in the best way possible) and you’re still not getting many clicks. But console yourself by thinking about all of the links that you see throughout the day that you don’t click on.
Laura Oldfield, Power of Mum
A really useful article for a new blogger like me – thank you and Merry Christmas! x
Bridget
Oh you’ve done so well this year and I always love reading your posts as soon as I see them! Here’s to another good year in 2018 xxx
Tom
Great tips, thank you 🙂 I’m just starting out trying insta stories. I have put them off for too long because I too feel a bit weird doing them, however, I think I just need to jump in the deep end with it and go all in!
Andrea
Very useful reminders, thank you!
Five in the hive
Thank you for this. Im just starting out so this was a great read for me 🙂
Michelle | The Willow Tree
These are great tips! Im two months into my blog and there is so much to learn. I have instagram and this is my biggest following – when you say join comment pods, what do you mean? Thanks
#fortheloveofblog
Emma McCarthy
Really good tips, I’m still growing my social media following and trying to get to grips with Pinterest at the moment. I’m not brave enough to give Instagram stories a go. It’s all definitely a marathon and takes time. #fortheloveofblog
Sara @ Magical Mama Blog
The 20/80 rule is the hardest for me! I want to spend it the opposite way! I love the researching and writing and hate the promotion. This is such a great post for new bloggers! I’ll be sharing!
#fortheloveofblog
Kate
I’m still struggling with Instagram tbh – mainly because I loathe the whole follow-unfollow thing and don’t really have the momentum to do insta stories. Thanks for these tips – super useful for me not just for my blog but also for my business too xx #fortheloveofBLOG
Kayleigh
This is so helpful thank you… although I’m just trying to work out what comment pods are on IG? I thought I was getting somewhere with it all but there is so much to learn! #fortheloveofblog
Morgan Prince
Some great tips, thanks for sharing. 🙂
#fortheloveofblog
Mummy Nuthatch
As a new blogger, this has been such a good read. I only use Twitter at the moment but this has really made me realise the necessity of branching out.
Thanks.
#fortheloveofBLOG
Fancy
And we convinced ourselves we didn’t need to learn maths in school!! #fortheloveBLOG
The Rhyming Mum
So many good tips here! #fortheloveofblog
Hayley @ Mission: Mindfulness
I always find these posts of yours really helpful Claire – you give clear advice and it’s not just tips I’ve read before – always something new. I am rubbish at promotion – I just don’t seem to have time and I hate being on my phone too much. However, I also get frustrated that some posts don’t get the views as I haven’t even remember to share them on Facebook let alone schedule tweets etc. Must do better when I have more time! Hope all is well with potty training and the new house. xx #thesatsesh xx
Hayley @ Mission: Mindfulness
ooops I;m sooo sorry I put the wrong hashtag! #fortheloveofBLOG xx
Misadventures with Megan
So i’ve been trying to figure out instagram stories forever. I only just YESTERDAY figured out how to add more clips than one to your story. I need to get better about doing them more!
Tubbs
Really useful. I need to be better about promoting but I prefer the writing to the sharing!
This Scribbler Mum
Great tips! It is true though that you are using your phone so much in a day. Need to get those scheduling apps. #fortheloveofblog
Five in the hive
This is really helpful, thank you so much for sharing this. Currently I’m a little overwhelmed by it all and just muddling through. #fortheloveofBLOG
Whitney@confessionsofparenting
Hey! This is a ton of great information and advice. Thank you! (I am still trying to figure out Instagram and Twitter.)
Briony
Oh l don’t think i could use my personal Facebook page to promote my blog. I don’t know why but it feels too scary!
The Squirmy Popple
Ugh, I hate shouting about myself! It’s odd because I’m a social media expert at work, but when it comes to my blog I just can’t be bothered. I know all the right things to do but don’t feel like I have time to do them! And Pinterest is a complete mystery to me. #forhteloveofBLOG
Kate Holmes
Always so much to get our heads around and hats off to you for sharing your learning. I have an issue with the 20 80 thing as I love writing and that will always be my main driver in this mad blogging world of ours. #FortheLoveofBlog
Catherine
Such a brilliant post Claire! So useful to so many bloggers! Defiantly taking note of all of these things! #fortheloveofBLOG
Cheshire SEN Tutor
Genuinely a really useful post, thanks for sharing all your tips. I’m taking note!! #fortheloveofblog
The Aspiring Yummy Mummy
Super interesting post! I’m totally the same about my personal Facebook page but always see a huge spike whenever I post on there. 🙂
Laura Dove
I haven’t heard of the 20/80 rule but I naturally tend to do that too I guess. I really want to crack Pinterest, but I haven’t yet found the time! #fortheloveofblog
Noleen Miller
Need to really work on my Pinterest account – at the moment it is taking a huge backseat. Instastories is something I want to start. Thanks for some great tips.#fortheloveofBLOG
Ali Duke
These are great tips. I always feel weird promoting myself, but I need to get better at it if I want to grow as a blogger.
#fortheloveofBLOG
Mrs Mummy Harris
These are some really good tips. I also decided I wanted to use several schedulers rather sticking to one but i’ve just not had time to get round to it. I swear I said I’d take it easy before the twins come, but there just seems so much to get arranged and with Ben and appointments i’m struggling to find time…
BTW, I also am suffering with insomnia right now, but I have no energy to open my laptop which sucks as that would be the perfect time to do work!! #fortheloveofBLOG
Michaela - The Mummy Diaries
Some great tips that I will definitely be taking on board and incorporating in my blogging life #fortheloveofBLOG
Daydreams of a mum
Instagram stories is next on my ‘to conquer ‘ list….but it’s soooo scary!!!! I’m bad at Instagram…need to pull my socks up! #fortheloveofBLOG
Rachael
Such a useful post to read. I know that I should promote my posts more, and yet I just don’t! And I know that I should be sharing links to other social media channels, and I don’t do that either. Social Media is such a huge area of blogging and it’s something I definitely need to dedicate more time to. By the way, as soon as you said you were doing instagram stories, I jumped on my phone to find you and watch! I’m addicted! 😀 #fortheloveofblog
Nicola
Great tips! My full time job is in Social media so spending loads of my spare time promoting my blog on top can often feel like a busman’s holiday but I am still learning every day so the more I do the better I become! #fortheloveofblog
Lisa Pomerantz
Thank you so much for sharing these great tips with us all! I needed to see something like this so I can grow my audience! Kudos for all you have done, and Thank you! xoxo #fortheloveofBLOG xoxo
Emma: Ettie and Me
Such a great post! I think I’ve read it before but found it so useful reading it again with a little more experience under my belt xx