Social Media for Bloggers: The Ultimate Guide

One of the best ways to promote your blog and drive more traffic to your website is through social media. But when it comes to social media for bloggers, there are so many options available, it’s hard to know where to start and how to get the best results.

I’ve been a blogger for nearly a decade and have been consulting and coaching others on blogging, marketing, and business growth for nearly two decades. I’ve seen what a smart social marketing strategy can do; I’ve also seen bloggers totally waste their time with social media. The truth is, social media can be a big time-suck or an essential path for blogging success, depending on your social strategy.

We’re going to focus on the ultimate path to achieving phenomenal blogging results using effective social media strategies. If you’re ready to make money blogging, the lessons you’re about to learn are absolutely key to your success.

1. Driving More Blog Traffic via Social Media

The number of social network users in the US is expected to reach 257 million people by 2023. That makes social media one of the best ways to reach more people and drive stronger blog results.

You already know that having more visitors to your site can help you make more money blogging. You don’t want just any visitors, though, you want high-quality traffic comprised of your ideal audience in your blogging niche.

There are several things you can do to ensure your social media efforts produce the traffic-boosting (and sales-boosting!) results you want. It all begins with creating amazing content.

Create Great Content That’s Shareworthy

Blogs with so-so content seldom achieve sensational results. That’s why it’s wise to develop a strong blog content strategy that outlines a clear path for developing on-target blog content that offers true value to your ideal audience.

Shareworthy content is engaging, unique, and is presented in a way that “wows” its readers. It may be educational, instructional, or entertaining. Amazing content can be seasonal or well-timed with trending topics, or it can be evergreen content that stands the test of time.

When you produce blog articles and content that are better than anything else available, you could achieve the ultimate in social success: going viral. Viral content is shared by some and then more and more until the number of people who see it grows exponentially.

The best way to get a handle on what makes share-worthy content is to study what’s already been shared on the web. BuzzSumo is a great tool for finding what’s being shared on various social channels on any subject.

Make Your Content Easy for Your Site Visitors to Share

People are more likely to post about your blog content on their various social profiles if you make it easy for them to share your blog content. That’s why it’s important to add social share buttons to your blog. Plugins like Easy Social Share Buttons, Sumo, and Social Warfare can help you with this and they can each be easily installed in just a few minutes.

Actively Engage With Your Social Fans & Followers

Many bloggers make the mistake of posting on various social media channels and then never following up with their fans and followers. Getting people to like your blog’s social media pages and follow you on social channels is just the first step. One of the keys to social media success is engaging with your audience so they’ll get to know you and what you have to offer. This is when your fans start actively sharing more of your posts, thus helping you build an even bigger following.

Join Social Forums & Groups That Align With Your Ideal Blog Audience

Successful bloggers find and join online forums and groups where their ideal audience hangouts. You don’t do this to blatantly promote your offerings, but rather to participate in conversations, be helpful, and, when appropriate and if allowed, share relevant blog content with fellow participants.

Think about your ideal audience before joining forums. For example, if your primary audience is female entrepreneurs, you might want to join The Feminine Affluent Entrepreneur Facebook group. If you’re a travel blogger, you might want to join the Travel Bucket List or The Solo Female Traveler Network groups on Facebook.

Use Your Time on Social Media Wisely

If you want to be successful at using social media marketing to promote your blog and your offerings, you need to budget your time wisely. It’s so easy to inadvertently spend hours creating pretty graphics or visiting your social channels and getting distracted by other posts. Decide how much time you plan to devote to social media promotion and stick to that time schedule.

One of the ways you can maximize the return on your social media investment is by selecting productivity-boosting tools that make your life a lot easier, and help you get more done in less time.

2. Top Social Media Tools & Apps

Managing content on multiple social platforms can take a lot of time and effort. Done manually, it’s difficult to consistently schedule new posts, keep track of all the different social channels you’re using, and keep your post quality high. That’s why I strongly recommend getting the right tools to help you with every aspect of social media management.

Social Media Management Tools

There are a number of social media management resources and apps that can make your life a lot easier and help you be more productive. Tools like Buffer, Hootsuite, Social Pilot, and Social Sprout all help you organize your content, schedule it, post it, and analyze performance.

It’s a true time-saver to have all or most of your social offerings visible in one place so you can readily see the big picture of your social media activity. My favorite feature on these social management tools is that rescheduling content is a breeze.

If you’re looking for the best social media management tool for Pinterest, hands-down it’s Tailwind. While other scheduling tools may say they work with Pinterest, none offer the robust features that Tailwind offers.

Pinterest pinning schedules can get complicated very quickly. On top of that, a key marketing strategy with Pinterest is to join others’ group boards and join Tailwind Tribes so you can extend your reach on this search-based channel. Tailwind simply offers more features that help you connect with more group boards and more Pinterest influencers than any other social management tool.

Tailwind also helps ensure you stay in alignment with Pinterest’s best pinning practices by alerting you when you may be pinning too frequently or pinning to the same board too often. When you follow Pinterest’s suggested pinning practices, your posts are likely to be more visible in your followers’ Pinterest feeds.

Social Media Image Editing & Creation Tools

To capture attention on social media, you need to create eye-catching visuals that grab your audience’s attention. Otherwise, your social followers will scroll on by your posts as they skim their packed social feeds.

Here are a few image editing and creation tools you’ll want to check out:

• PicMonkey (my favorite): This image editing tool lets you create visuals for every social channel. PicMonkey offers hundreds of ready-made templates to get you off to a great start and the pro plan will even automatically resize the same image for multiple social channels.
• Canva: This is another popular image-editing and creation tool among bloggers that offers many of the same features PicMonkey offers.
• Venngage: An easy-to-use tool for creating infographics, Venngage comes with dozens of templates that will ensure your graphics always look professional.
• Pixlr: This free online editing tool is perfect for non designers looking for an alternative to the much more difficult-to-use (and pricey) Photoshop. An advanced Pixlr plan with more features is available for $3.99 a month.

All of these tools come with great support and information about how to design attention-getting graphics for social media.

 

3. Top Social Media Channels for Promoting Your Blog

The best social channels for promoting your blog and your brand might not be what you think. While Facebook is in the lead by a large margin in terms of share of visits in the US, other channels like Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest are better choices for some bloggers.

The smartest blogging business strategy is to understand what each social channel does best, and focus your attention on the channels that are likely to work well for your audience. For example, some social channels appeal more to certain age groups—you wouldn’t want to focus on Snapchat if your goal is to reach a middle-age or older audience.

Promote Your Blog on Facebook

*Source: Statista

Facebook is one of the most important social platforms for bloggers serious about building their businesses. With 190 million total users, Facebook is second only to YouTube in terms of total social traffic in the US.

Facebook’s base has slightly more women on the platform than men. The 25-to-34-year-old audience represents the biggest share of Facebook users, but the channel also has a decent following in most other age categories except for the youngest social media users.

Because of its popularity, it’s oftentimes difficult to get your posts seen on Facebook. In fact, don’t be surprised if less than 10% of your followers see any one post. However, thankfully there’s another option for bloggers to make a bigger splash on the platform without paying for Facebook ads: Facebook groups.

Many bloggers start their own Facebook groups or join groups related to their niche to extend their reach on this social media network. It’s a smart way to engage with others on the platform and create business-building relationships.

Use Pinterest to Drive More Blog Traffic

Source: Statista

With 86 million total users, Pinterest isn’t even close to the largest social network on the block. However, it’s not really like all the other platforms, either, and it has advantages that other social channels don’t have.

Pinterest is a visual social search engine. That means that rather than functioning as a high-engagement, conversation-prompting social channel, Pinterest works more like Google.

People of all ages visit Pinterest and search for topics they’re interested in, just like people use Google to search the internet for various subjects. That means your Pinterest keyword strategy has to be spot-on if you’re going to succeed on this channel—because those keywords will have a lot to do with whether people find you on Pinterest or not.

Another way to make sure you’re visible on Pinterest is to create your own boards and encourage people to follow you on Pinterest. Once someone follows you, your posts will show up in their Pinterest feeds. As with other social channels, not all your posts make it to your followers’ feeds.

Your Pinterest pins that are most popular—meaning they’re pinned or repinned a lot—have the greatest chance of getting more views. That’s why pin quality matters so much with Pinterest.

For many bloggers, Pinterest is an ideal platform for getting more attention for blog posts and driving more blog traffic. Some bloggers see as much as 50% to 70% of their blog traffic coming from Pinterest.

I’d heard about these success stories, but at first, I didn’t really believe in the power of Pinterest myself. Then I started using the social channel and my blog’s traffic jumped over 30% in just a couple of months from Pinterest alone. That convinced me that the buzz about Pinterest for bloggers is real.

One more thing about Pinterest: Users love the platform. In fact, it has a higher user satisfaction rate than any other social platform. While Facebook has more than double the users of Pinterest, it just doesn’t compete in terms of user satisfaction the way Pinterest does.

Use Instagram to Promote Your Blog, Your Brand & Your Business

Source: Statista

With 112 million users, Instagram is a popular channel worth a closer look, especially if you’re targeting 18-to-34-year-olds, which account for nearly 57% of Instagram’s base. The secret to success on Instagram is to create high-quality visual content and master the art of finding the best Instagram hashtags for your audience.

According to Statista, 77% of Instagram users come to the channel to view pictures, 51% come to watch videos, and 45% come to share content with others. Around 38% of Instagram users visit the platform at least once a day, which means it’s a highly-engaged audience. Around 44% of Instagram users report making a purchase because of an influencer on Instagram; this is good news for anyone looking to monetize their Instagram account.

While often known for its celebrity influencer accounts, Instagram is a helpful platform for bloggers, too. Celebrities like Kylie Jenner and Ariana Grande command followers in the hundreds of millions; you don’t need anywhere near that kind of reach on Instagram to make an impact. You’ll probably do best on Instagram, though, if you create a strong brand identity to help you stand out in a near-endless sea of Instagram stories and posts.

Is Instagram still hot? Yes and no. Instagram users grew by a whopping 10.1% in 2018 and by 6.7% in 2019. Year-over-year growth for Instagram through 2023 is expected to be closer to 2% or less annually. Instagram is likely to be a strong channel for promoting your business for years to come, but its days of explosive growth seem to be behind it as new social channels come on the scene and user social habits change over time.

Use Twitter to Promote Your Blog

Source: Statista

Twitter has been on the scene since 2006, making it one of the oldest social networks around. It’s still a viable solution for promoting blog content, but really doesn’t have the reach that networks like Facebook and Instagram have, nor the search potential that Pinterest offers.

Twitter users scroll through their Twitter feeds lightning quick, which means you’ve must do something exceptional that makes you stand out if you want to make an impact on the platform. Tweets that include quotes, intriguing questions, and mention others who are in the news or are key influencers are all solid content strategies for Twitter. Strong images can also help you capture more interest on Twitter.

You’ll also want to include relevant, frequently-searched hashtags on your tweets so more people will discover you on Twitter. Another strategy for getting more people to notice you on Twitter and visit your Twitter profile is to retweet others’ content, adding a special message to those retweets that grabs the original poster’s attention.

Finally, you don’t want to post on Twitter and then walk away. Engage with others. Comment on others’ tweets and add value to showcase what you bring to the table. This will help you gain more Twitter followers and more exposure for your blog.

LinkedIn: The Best Social Network for Business-Focused Bloggers

Source: Statista

If your blog targets a business audience or offers career-related topics, you need to create a professional presence on LinkedIn. This means you should share posts from your blog frequently on your professional profile and on your LinkedIn business page. You may also want to write posts directly on LinkedIn.

Make sure your professional profiles for yourself and your business are keyword-rich so that your ideal audience can find you on LinkedIn.

YouTube for Bloggers

Source: Statista

*This number is forecast to hit more than 201 million in 2020.

As video continues to soar in popularity, bloggers simply can’t ignore the medium. YouTube is the No. 1 place to post your videos to get the most exposure for them and for your blog. YouTube recently passed Facebook as the social channel with the biggest audience, and there’s every indication that YouTube’s audience will continue to grow even more in the coming years.

There are three big benefits to posting your blog’s videos on YouTube:

1. Audience size: YouTube is the largest social network in the world—it just makes sense to get your content in front of this vast audience on this mega-social channel.
2. Search advantage: YouTube is a robust search engine that’s only second to Google in total search volume. That means you can reach an audience that is searching for the content you’re creating, provided you do a good job of adding relevant keywords to your video titles and descriptions.
3. Site speed advantage: Video file sizes are often big and could slow down your site. Hosting your videos on YouTube and embedding them on your blog prevents your site from getting bogged down.

According to a Wistia, videos that are two minutes or less in length get higher engagement than long videos—which means you don’t have to produce long, complicated videos. Short and to-the-point videos often work best.

Another reason to post videos on YouTube is that you can create another stream of income, as you can monetize your YouTube channel with Google AdSense ads.

Other Social Channels to Consider

While the social channels we’ve just discussed are the most popular platforms, they’re not your only options. There are a few others worth mentioning here. You may find these particularly helpful if your goal is to reach a younger audience.

Here are some additional social media channels:

• Snapchat: This app allows users to post videos and pictures for 24 hours. Popular with younger crowds, 53% of Snapchat users are between 15 and 25, while 24% are between 26 and 35. There are roughly 80 million Snapchat users in the US.
• TikTok: This video-sharing network is exploding in popularity. There were 37 million TikTok users in 2019 and the platform is projected to reach 60 million users by 2024.
• WhatsApp: This popular mobile messenger app that’s now owned by Facebook is less popular in the US than it is in other countries, but it still boasts 68.1 million US users and that number is expected to reach over 85 million in 2023.
• Tumblr: With 29 million users in the US, Tumblr is a social networking platform and a microblogging site worth a closer look. Roughly 43% of Tumblr users are between 18 and 24 while 34% are between 25 and 34. Many bloggers with their own sites also blog on Tumblr.

4. Should You Buy Social Media Ads to Promote Your Blog?

Most social media platforms offer both free and paid posting or advertising opportunities. So, is it ever wise to buy ads on social media channels? Yes, but not always. Perhaps I can best explain this answer through my own experiences—also known as mistakes I made—as a new blogger.

When I was first starting out blogging, I spent thousands of dollars on Facebook ads to grow my Facebook follower count. At the time, I thought that if I spent money to grow my Facebook base, I’d always be able to reach them. That was stinkin’ thinkin’ on my part.

Over time, the Facebook feed has gotten more and more crowded, so I’m now lucky if three to 6% of my followers see a post—some bloggers do a little better, others do worse. My initial investment to grow my follower base was a waste of money and time. The fatal flaw was I was building an audience on someone else’s platform where that platform controlled the rules of who sees what. More disheartening, the rules can and do change all the time.

I don’t recommend spending much if anything on social platforms to grow your followers counts. Instead, I suggest investing in social media advertisements and promotions that will help you land sales or capture leads. This way, you retain control of when and how you reach those leads going forward.

Social media advertising can be highly effective in growing your email base, selling products and services, and in gaining more exposure for your brand. What I like most about social media ads is that you can precisely target your audience based on demographics and specific interests. Few other advertising options give you this kind of pinpoint targeting capabilities.

5. Best Social Media Marketing Strategies

Knowing the size and demographics of various social platforms helps you decide where you should spend your time and effort. Yet, generating the best results through those channels requires strategic maneuvers on your part. Let’s take a look at top strategies for turning your social media channels into true business-building vehicles for your blog.

Measure Social Media Results, Not Just Follower Counts

Many bloggers make the mistake of thinking that follower or fan counts on various social channels mean more than they do. Yes, if you’re planning on entering into sponsored post agreements, those counts might help you land better deals.

What matters more—a lot more—is how your social channels help you generate more traffic for your blog and make more money. That means you need to track and analyze your results.

Repurpose Blog Content

Too many bloggers waste time trying to come up with compelling social media content when they already have so much fantastic content on their sites just waiting to be mined. Every blog post on your site probably has a half dozen or so content nuggets that would be well-received on your social channels. Be sure to look at content you’ve already created on your blog and find ways to repurpose those gems for your social followers.

Share Consistently

Consistency breeds familiarity; inconsistency makes your followers forget about you. If you want to develop a highly engaged following—the kind that boosts overall blog profitability—then you need to communicate with your social followers regularly.

Don’t Overextend Yourself

If you’re just starting out, choose one or two channels to pursue before moving on to other social channels. Trying to handle too many channels at once will wear you out, and worse, you’ll be ineffective. It’s better to have an exceptional online presence with an active audience on one or two social channels than to cover all channels with little-to-no success on any of them.

Consider Outsourcing Some Social Media Tasks

If your budget allows, hire a virtual assistant or social media manager to help you with your social media marketing. Get someone who is an expert so you can focus on other priorities on your blog business plan. Fiverr is a terrific place to find help with all your social media needs, from channel management to image creation to video editing.

Visit Fiverr

Bottom Line

Social media marketing is one of the best ways to increase traffic for your blog and make more money. Using the right social channels for your audience, making use of the right tools, and embracing results-producing social media strategies will help you achieve the success you want.