I first realized the power of social media when I reached the first 1,000 followers on Twitter. It was a few years ago, back when Twitter wasn’t as mainstream as it is today. I realized that a lot of my blog’s visitors came from Twitter. I also received a lot of questions; all of a sudden, I have a way to interact with my viewers in real-time.

Since then, social media has changed a lot, but one thing remains the same: it is a powerful way of promoting your blog and connecting with visitors. Social media can be used for a lot of purposes, for promoting new posts to reaching new market segments and connecting with fellow bloggers.

Every blog has its own style and sets of challenges when it comes to social media, but there are a few basic tips that will help you get started with promoting your blog on social media. We are going to talk about them in this part.

Be Social

Social media is, well, a media for socializing; there is no other word for it. It can be quite difficult to get started on social media, but remember one thing: socialize and you’ll be okay.

When you are relatively new to social media and you don’t have a lot of followers to engage, focus on interacting with the people you follow. It’s not how many followers you have that matters, but who those followers are.
Follow established people in the industry, or niche you are in and start interacting with them. Provide meaningful, valuable responses to their social media posts and a lot of them will quickly notice you.

At the same time, share valuable content from your blog too. Avoid spamming other people by mentioning or tagging them whenever you post something new. Instead, weave those contents into conversations naturally.

More importantly, respond to questions and other people’s social media posts. The more you interact, the more people will notice you and the more reach you will have in return. You’ll start seeing a growth in followers before you know it.

Tailor Your Social Media Posts

Every social media has its own advantages and disadvantages; this means certain types of content work better on certain social networks. The same goes for the people following your social media posts. By understanding the differences and the preferences of your readers or followers, you can tailor your social media posts accordingly.

For the longest of time, I posted random photos with little or no caption on Instagram. I had quite a bit of followers, but they did nothing but like my photos occasionally. A friend then suggested I posted a more relevant caption for my photos; something that can ignite discussion and help people understand the message I was trying to convey. It worked. I received more likes and my feed became more alive with comments and discussions all of a sudden.

Find out what works for your audience on any particular social media platform and use the knowledge to your advantage. Twitter, for instance, allows you to post quick updates that everyone can follow casually. Facebook, on the other hand, offers a richer experience thanks to the recently added Facebook Video feature.

Handles, Hashtags and Links

Before you go ahead and venture into the world of social media, there are a few practical tips you can apply right away:

• Make sure you link your social media profiles to your blog or website, and vice versa. This will help users find you on social media, and help followers find your website quickly.
• If possible, use a handle that works well with the name of your website. For instance, using @yourdomain on Twitter will make it easier for you to associate the Twitter account with your site.
• It is also important to have a consistent handle on every social media. This is a bit more difficult to do now that all the good IDs and handles are taken, but you can always find ways to have a similar or recognizable social media handles on all platforms.
• Don’t worry about traffic or click-through rates. Build genuine connections with your followers to truly benefit from social media. Loyal and engaged followers will reshare your content and attract more visitors to your blog.
• Use your blog as the anchor of your social media activities. When you share something on Twitter, for example, the post is quickly buried under the noise of posts from other users. Whenever you share important information that relates well to your audience, post a link to a blog post about the subject as well.
• Regarding links, use a link shortener whenever possible. You can track clicks and performance easily with link shorteners, which in turn allows you to adjust what you share on social media for better overall performance.