I really enjoy growing my various social media networks. I’ve written a few posts about how I’ve grown my specific networks. My latest post was about growing your Instagram following. In this post, I’m going to give my advice on how to build your social media presence generally speaking. So, here we go!
Find Balance
Social media is critical for bloggers for several reasons. It’s a great way to get your blog posts read. & your blog name out there. It’s also an amazing way to interact with fellow bloggers & your readers.
But, it’d be impossible to have your blog represented on every social media network. There are SO many & there are only so many bloggable hours in the day. There has to be time to write, reply to comments, emails, etc. But, there’s no point writing something new every day that no one reads.
There’s a balance to be found here & every blogger will have a different formula. For me, I publish 4 new posts per week & run two linkys. If you’d like, read more about my blogging schedule. I heavily promote each post across all of my social media networks & add them to linkys. The more attention a post gets, the better it will rank on a Google search.
Choose Wisely
Each network has its own importance & works in a different way. So which ones should you go for? There are a lot of great networks that are very useful to bloggers that I am not on. So, don’t take my list as being comprehensive. These are the networks Cuddle Fairy is on, listed in the order in which I grew them.
Twitter: I joined Twitter two weeks before Cuddle Fairy’s big launch. I choose to grow Twitter first because it is the most direct route to other bloggers & followers. It’s my favorite social media network (with Instagram a very close second). I really enjoy my interactions on Twitter!
Here are Twitter’s benefits to bloggers:
Follow & interact with fellow bloggers, brands & followers.
Join linkys.
Tweet blog posts & giveaways.
For help using Twitter check out my Beginners Guide & for tips on growing your account, read my Twitter Guide for Websites.
Facebook: By far the toughest network to grow unless you are willing to pay to promote your page. I have a love / hate relationship with Facebook. I love that people read posts via Facebook. I hate that Facebook doesn’t show my posts to anyone unless I pay to boost them. I do think Facebook is a good network for bloggers but it’s frustrating to grow. Read how I grew Cuddle Fairy’s Facebook Page here.
Instagram: At first, I wasn’t a fan of Instagram & didn’t really get the point. I focused on growing IG for several reasons – it’s a factor in the Tots 100 ranking, it’s a popular network for bloggers & there are paid opportunities for IG posts if you get enough followers. What I have learned from growing my Instagram account is – there is amazing interaction with my followers, my photos get seen for free (unlike Facebook) & I’m really enjoying taking & editing photos. I’ve fallen in love with Instagram! If you’d like to hear about how I grew my IG account, read How to Grow your Instagram Followers.
StumbleUpon: I have been pleasantly surprised by StumbleUpon!! I add every blog post to StumbleUpon. I’ve found it to be a great network & a top referrer for Cuddle Fairy last year. I was clueless about how to use it before I read this great post by Domesticated Momster – Using StumbleUpon.
Pinterest: I haven’t focused on growing Pinterest yet. I pin blog posts there but it’s not a good referrer for my blog. Part of me wonders if I should have grown Pinterest before Facebook. I have no advice on this network except that it can be excellent for getting your posts viewed if you put the work into it. Growing Pinterest is one of my goals for 2016 so stay tuned! 😉
Google Plus: Honestly, sometimes I wonder why I’m even on this network. I don’t get any views from it. I interact with a handful of bloggers there, by sharing their posts & they share mine. That’s it! The benefit I see from it is that sometimes a Google Plus post will show up in a Google search.
YouTube: My newest adventure. I have a couple of iPhone videos there & one subscriber (thank you Stevie Couch). I’m impressed with the bloggers videos I’ve seen on YouTube & I think that a YouTube channel would make a big addition to any blog. Here are some YouTube ideas to grow your channel.
SnapChat (cuddlefairy1): Also a new network for Cuddle Fairy & I’m still figuring out what the point of it is but a lot of bloggers are on there. I do enjoy peeking in at what people are up to. Be careful as it can be a time suck!
Cuddle Fairy’s Instagram Profile
Killer Profile
Your profile key! I can’t believe I forgot to mention this in some of my other social media posts. What a massive oversight! When people click on your profile they will judge you in a matter of seconds by looking at your profile photo, your description & your follower count.
Whichever networks you decide to join, have your profiles look similar. I think it’s best to use the same profile photo for each network. I have slightly different descriptions on each network. But, my Cuddle Fairy logo is the same on all of my networks so people know that it’s me.
Include a link to your blog, your email address & links to some or all of your other social networks.
It might sound shallow but people will look at your follower count as part of their decision to follow you or not. A new blogger won’t have a lot of followers but that’s fine. You are new! I used to have “new blog” written in my description.
Also, your follower ratio is important – I mean the difference between the amount you follow versus the amount who follow you. Accounts who are following way more people than follow them don’t look ask appealing. So when you grow your networks, go through & unfollow anyone who doesn’t follow back. And, anyone who unfollows you so your following count doesn’t sky rocket. I use the crowdfire app to do this. Of course, keep accounts you enjoy following & find interesting.
Connect Your Networks
The best way to advertise one of your social media networks is through your other networks. Here are some of the ways to interconnect your networks:
MOST IMPORTANT: Have your social media follow buttons & share buttons easy to access on your blog AND be sure all of the links work.
Share the occasional IG photo on Facebook and / or Twitter.
Send a tweet about what you are doing on Snapchat with your username included.
Advertise your Snapchat handle and / or your Twitter handle in your Instagram description.
Promote a Facebook giveaway on all of your networks, including your blog with a link to the Facebook post.
If you have something fun coming up that you write about, add a little blurb at the bottom of your post about following your day on Twitter, Instagram, etc with links to your networks.
Final Thoughts
Whichever networks you choose to grow, I recommend focusing on one at a time & set a goal for yourself. Achieve that goal before moving onto the next network. I highly recommend starting with Twitter. Put yourself out there on all of your channels & interact with fellow bloggers & followers. Don’t just post your blog posts, share other people’s content too.
Be yourself & enjoy! x
I’m sharing with: #ShareWithMe | #WAYWOW | #BloggerClubUK | #MomsterLink | #CoolMumClub
