5 Effective Ways to Use Social Media to Drive Traffic to Your Blog
Whether you started your blog as a money-making venture, or just to scratch a personal itch, there are benefits to more people seeing your work. And while traditional forms of advertising are effective, they can also be expensive. Social media makes it possible to reach endless eyes, and in many cases, for free! Using social media allows you to start a conversation with your followers, learn about them, and drive traffic to your blog.
But using social media for your blog is a little different than the way most of us use our personal accounts. And you want to start small, so you can focus on doing it right. Here are 5 simple steps to help you get started.
1. Pick the Right Platform for Your Blog’s Voice
Not every social media platform is going to make sense for your brand. Of course, Facebook is still the big blue bully on the block with 2.9 billion users. You know Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, and there are countless other platforms you’ve never heard of.
Spending some time figuring out which platforms fit your site will save you lots of valuable time. Start with one platform. Spend some time watching how it works, how to post your content, etc. Once you’ve got that down, pick another platform and do the same process there.
2. Create an Account for Your Blog
You can use your personal accounts to share, support, and promote your content, but an account with the same name lends consistency and credibility to the blog. Another advantage of an account of this nature is that it allows you to post in “third-person.” In some cases you can use more flattering language about the content, that might come across as cocky or boastful coming from your personal accounts.
Have a logo created, or create one yourself that you can use to tie in your blog to your social media accounts so that you become more recognizable when people come across your posts. Be sure to use the same phrases and taglines on both as well. The easier it is for the reader to make the connection back to you, the better.
3. Be Consistent
Just like regular blogging is important, so is regular sharing of your content. The algorithms and inner workings of social media sites reward consistency. The more you post, the more your posts will be prioritized across the site.
Also, being consistent will also help your accounts gain more regular followers. When you drive traffic to your blog, then you create more regular followers. They lead to more likes, and shares, which leads to more people seeing your content, which leads to more regular followers, and here we go again!
4. Make the Posts Shareable
Every social media platform makes sharing easy, but there are things you can do to help. Be sure to make your post about the reader/customer, and not about you/the content itself. Ask yourself “what will reading this post do for the reader?” Then use some colorful language to say that in the opening line of your post.
Using video is a great way to stand out and get people to share your post. Instagram says that video gets 38% more engagement than its picture-only posts. And the quality of video on the smartphone you carry has come a long way, so there’s no need to purchase costly video shooting and editing equipment.
5. Engage with People Who Engage with Your Posts
It’s easy to fall into the habit of just posting something on social media and moving on to the next thing. But it’s called “social” media. Nobody likes being part of a one-way conversation. And if you’re not responding back to those who are reaching out to you, it defeats the purpose of posting in the first place. And the more people are interacted with, the more they will be back for more.
It’s important to “like” comments left on your posts, answer questions that are asked, and respond to criticisms or complaints. Especially respond to criticisms and complaints! Plus, the more you engage with your followers, the more you can learn about them. Understanding what kinds of content they are coming to you for will give you ideas for future blogs or social media posts.
Eventually, you may even be able to create “community groups” of your followers. Start discussions in the groups, and they become your pitch-people, sharing your content with others.
Final Thoughts
These are some simple steps that you can start taking today to spread the word about your content. Eventually, it may make sense to invest in someone that specializes in these matters to grow your blog even more.
A professional will also be able to help you learn from and use the analytics of a social media site to drive traffic to your blog. This helps you learn who, what, when, where, and why people are consuming your content. It’s invaluable information that all sites track, and with the right knowledge can be used to your benefit.