Blogging And Social Media

Blogging And Social Media

Before I became a blogger, I wasn’t particularly active on social media sites. I had a Facebook site for keeping in-touch with friends, a Twitter account for work, and that was about my limit. However, I soon came to realise I could use these platforms to promote my posts and my blog. Bloggers need social media, so I’ve put together a post designed to explain the link between blogging and social media.

Blogging and Social Media

Blogging and social media go hand in hand. When I started blogging, I was told that 20% of blogging is creating content and 80% is promoting your posts. I have come to realise that this is not far from the truth! Without realising it, I have clocked hundreds of hours on social media sites, not mindlessly scrolling, but promoting my own content and connecting with other bloggers.

Social media sites are great for bloggers because they are free to use and with hard work, a blogger can build a following on these various sites. This means that everytime you publish a post, potentially thousands of people can be informed.

I would advise you to download social media apps to your phone so you can be working while you’re on the go!

The Best Social Media Sites to Promote Your Blog

I personally have my 4 favourite social media sites. There are other sites which other bloggers have been able to effectively utilise, such as Tumblr and SnapChat, however, I haven’t grasped these sites yet!

Instagram          https://www.instagram.com/lellaleeblog

I love taking pictures so I was naturally drawn to Instagram (once I figured out how to use it). It was extremely easy to set up and I quickly developed a following. To increase my followers, I simply connected with others, especially bloggers. By using the #blogger, I was able to find thousands of fellow bloggers. I followed them (most of them followed me back) and I started to connect with them by commenting on their Instagram posts. I have also been added to a number of blogger groups or ‘conversations’. The way this works is that everytime a blogger adds a picture/post to their Instagram account, they also send that post into the group chat. This way we ensure that our fellow bloggers see our latest activities.

Twitter      https://twitter.com/lellaleeblog 

Twitter is a social media site I had little engagement with before blogging. It is important to spend time on Twitter developing a following. I found other bloggers on Twitter and then interacted with them. For instance, I regularly retweet other bloggers posts. I also participate in ‘Blogger Follow Trains’ in order to develop my twitter following. The rules of the follow train are straightforwrd, usually, follow the person tweeting, retweet the tweet and then follow all others who retweet. This was a recent follow train I created:

I also asked for other bloggers to comment on posts in this tweet. By using plenty of hashtags in my tweets (all blogging related) I get the most exposure as possible.

I use various hashtags and tag a number of different accounts on most of my tweets – many of these accounts will Retweet every post thus increasing my exposure. My favourite hashtags at the moment are:

I also tag the following accounts for a retweet too!

@BBlogRT

@FemaleBloggerRT

@thebloggercrowd

@UKBloggers1

@QualityBlogRT

 

Facebook       https://www.facebook.com/lellaleeblog/ 

 

Using Facebook as an advertising platform (rather than an app I simply scrolled through when I was bored) took some adjustment! I have to discipline myself and make sure that when I’m working on Facebook, I’m not tempted to read about what my friends had for dinner! Setting up my Facebook page, I then asked people to like my page. Then everytime I publish a post, I include the link to the post on my Facebook page. This is then seen by my followers (who quite often share it on their Facebook accounts).

I also subscribe to various Facebook pages exclusively for bloggers. I am then able to share my posts with them and ask for feedback or comments. My favourite page is Bloggers Promotion.  I also use hashtags in my Facebook posts to increase my exposure, such as #blogger #blogging #blogs as well as hashtags relevant to the topic of the post.

Pinterest           https://www.pinterest.co.uk/lellaleeblog/

I am completely new to Pinterest! I had the whole concept explained to me when I started blogging. It did take me a while to understand the notion of Pinterest, however now I’ve educated myself further, I think it is perhaps the easiest of all the social media apps I use.

Pinterest works by saving ‘pins’ or images to your boards (you can name these whatever you like). I have one board for my blog, but also other boards for things that I find of interest, e.g .weight loss and recipes. I save the images I use on my blog posts to my Pinterest board. This is again another way of advertising my posts via social media. Yet like all other social media platforms, it takes time to develop a following so be prepared to put in some hard work.                                                                                                                                                                

Timing is Key

This is the advise I was given regarding social media and blogging – you have to post on social media at the right time of day. I have read a whole host of articles, all with differing opinions on this matter. however, this is my advise:

Instagram – I always try to post on Instagram at around 6-7 pm. I have found this to be the time when my followers are the most active and I receive the most likes and comments on my post.

Twitter  – Generally, I find my Tweets get the most attention during the evening (from 6pm onwards). However, some bloggers advocate tweeting during the day – around 1pm – 2pm.

Facebook – I rarely use Facebook over the weekend because I receive the least attention. Instead I post on Facebook  during the week at lunch time (12 noon -2 pm) as well as in the evening (from 9pm onwards).

Pinterest – I have found the best time to use Pinterest is at the weekend. This is when my account receives the most attention. The app is so easy to use, I’ll often pin images while I have a few spare minutes.

If you’re new to blogging, see my post A Year of Blogging for some more tips of the trade!

 

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12 Comments

  1. amelia
    October 23, 2018 / 8:18 pm

    I like this wrap up. I had to have a quick giggle about twitter though in that I was just having a convo yesterday with some PhD students about “omg academics looooove twitter!”

    • October 23, 2018 / 8:34 pm

      Thank you! Yes us academics do seem to take to twitter quite often 😉

  2. October 23, 2018 / 8:22 pm

    lovely post! great information for new bloggers, it took me a little while to make each of these accounts for my blog and still the only one i don’t gabe is facebook simply because I hardly use it, I do share my posts on my personal facebook however so I kind of have that one covered. it’s amazing how much social media helps with gaining views x

    mich / simplymich.com

    • October 23, 2018 / 8:33 pm

      It really is amazing how much social media helps 🙂

  3. sullialice
    October 23, 2018 / 8:33 pm

    This post is really informative. I haven’t really used Pinterest as much as I should, but it’s a work in progress!

    • October 23, 2018 / 8:35 pm

      Thank you! It took me a while to get to grips with Pinterest but I love it now 🙂

  4. Kylie
    November 14, 2018 / 11:34 pm

    Great social media insights. I’ve started to use them actively myself, and am still figuring out a strategy on a few like Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook; so reading your insights and tips here in this concise guide I’ve found quite helpful and will definitely save for future reference. Thanks again for sharing such useful thoughts.

    • November 15, 2018 / 11:13 pm

      Thank you Kylie – it’s great to know that this post has helped someone 🙂

      • Kylie
        November 15, 2018 / 11:15 pm

        You’re welcome. For sure it’s helpful- especially to a newbie like me still figuring these platforms out for herself.

  5. April 4, 2019 / 10:50 pm

    What a great post! And your Blog is beautiful! I am still trying to figure out Instagram so this was super helpful.

    • Lellalee
      Author
      April 9, 2019 / 11:38 am

      Thank you lovely xxx

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