Blog marketing is a great tool for your website and your company. It helps with search engine ranking, and you can use it for everything from discussing industry trends to answering frequently asked questions about your products. It can also seem like a waste of time, especially if your blog isn't reaching as many people as you'd like. Fortunately, there are some easy ways to fix that problem.
One of the best ways reach a broader audience is to share your blog is through social media. Be careful, though- there's more technique to sharing your posts than you might think. Here are some great things to think about before clicking "Share":
You should already know who you want to read your blog, but reaching them doesn't mean automatically sharing on Facebook and Twitter. While onboarding one of our clients, we planned on creating a Twitter account to share their posts. After conducting a buyer persona survey, we quickly learned that our energy was better focused elsewhere- not a single person in our sample group reported using Twitter! Don't forget to think outside the social media box, too- if you're trying to reach a highly specialized audience, you'll likely find them in a highly specialized place.
Let's face it, most people don't get on Facebook to check in with their favorite companies. (Tears all around, I know.) So unless you'd like that "Hide Posts" option clicked, it's best to create content that doesn't look like a giant advertisement. Don't just copy and paste across each platform – cater to the style of each one differently. You can be a little goofy on Facebook, but be sure to keep it professional on LinkedIn. And don't forget those hashtags on Twitter!
How do you feel about that one person in your Instagram or Facebook feed who shares nothing but selfies? You're not going to take the time to scroll through their page because all you're going to find is more selfies. Sharing nothing but product-related content is the business equivalent of this – don't be that company. Use your social media accounts to share your blog posts as well as to share valuable, relevant content from others. This way, you will be seen as a great resource instead of just an advertisement. You can keep yourself in check by following the 80/20 rule – 80% of your content should be non-promotional.
When someone takes the time to reach out to you over social media, respond! Direct a customer complaint to the right place, thank them for loving your service or product, or answer their question. This is not only fantastic customer service, but it also helps you build trust, and adds to the value of your social media presence.
According to research, a picture means a 35% increase in retweets, and up to 83% more Facebook interaction. You can't argue with those numbers!