Knowing when and how to promote your blog is such a key part of being a blogger. Sooo, I thought for this weeks blog tips post I would talk about the ways you can use social media to build your blogs following.
How to build your blogs following using Social Media
Social media is a great free way of building up your blogs following. Most of my tips will probably make you go . .duh! But I’d say they ain’t all that obvious and unless you know, you don’t know. . you know?!
Tag brands and blogger groups in your tweet
Whenever I share my blog posts on twitter I always tag either the brand I’m talking about or/and blogger groups. Incase you didn’t know, there’s so many groups that will retweet you. . like they’re dedicated to retweeting blogs . . I know.
Some of the groups I regularly tag are below but I’m always finding new ones and there’s lots that are great for specific posts:
@femalebloggerRT
@fashbeautylife
@UKbloggers1
@lovingblogs
@lbloggerschat
@blogginggals (use #blogginggals)
@TheGirlGangHQ (make sure you also #thegirlgang)
@bloggingconnect
@BBlogRT
Join in on blogger chats
Blogger chats are another great way of building your following and getting people over to your blog. It’s also great for finding out new information and sharing tips with other bloggers. They usually have a topic such as working with brands or blog photography and the chat allows bloggers to swap experiences and share ideas.
Some of the chats I regularly join in with I’ve listed below but I’m sure if none of these are relevant to you, if you do your research there’ll be hundreds to join in with!
Monday
#BDIB – 7-8pm
#Fbloggers – 8-9pm
Tuesday
#fblchat – 8-9pm
#bloghour – 9-10pm
Wednesday
#lbloggers – 7-8pm
#bbloggers – 8-9pm
Friday
#BDIB – 8-9pm
Saturday
#fblchat – 3-4pm
Sunday
#lbloggers – 7-8pm
#bbloggers – 8-9pm
Keep Active
Twitter more than any other social media is one you need to stay active on. The more active you are, the more your following will grow. This is another reason why group chats are great, I try to join in at least 1 a week, regularly tweet my blog posts and try to post in between just general tweets like I love my dog . .you get the picture!
Tag brands and inspiration pages in your photos and use relevant hashtags
This is kind of similar to the Twitter one but obviously, as we all know Instagram is a tough nut to crack! I find that when I get reposted by a brand or inspirational page my blog views go way up. Once when ootdmagazine reposted me and I got way over 500 views in about an hour! Crazy.
Tagging inspirational pages, brands and using specific brand hashtags are amazing ways of getting noticed for that all important re post!
With OOTDmagazine you can also go to their website and submit images to give yourself more chances of being re posted!
Be interactive
I know that the more your following grows the harder this is, but it’s something that is so important. Replying to peoples comments, even directing them to your blog really helps to create loyal followers and people who are more likely to convert into blog readers.
Just generally commenting on other people’s posts and creating a little community is another good way of building interest in you and your blog which in turn will build your blogs following.
Use blogger groups to share your posts
There are so many groups on Facebook that you can join that allow you to join in on discussions, ask questions and share posts. Personally, this is the place that I have found least helpful in promoting my blog but I have heard a lot of people talking about how amazing it is for them. If it works, this is a great way to build your blogs following.
Groups that I’m part of and regularly share my content in are :
Fashion Bloggers
FBL : Fashion, Beauty and Lifestyle Bloggers
Fashion Bloggers & Co
#TheGirlGang
UK Bloggers
Fashion, Beauty, Lifestyle Bloggers. FBlogger, BBlogger, LBlogger blog
Fashion Style and Beauty Bloggers Group
Ask people to share your posts
This is something that I found utterly cringeworthy. . I mean, how embarrassing is asking people to share your posts?! After reading that it was something that could help, I embraced the cringe and just did it . . guess what? it worked. Turns out, if you don’t ask you don’t get!
You can find my Facebook page here! Make sure you hit like! – worth a try!
Don’t Spam People
Spamming people on social media is literally the perfect way of doing the absolute opposite of what you should do. This will make people un follow you and just generally find you down right annoying. No one like a spammer, so if you do’t have anything interesting to say then don’t say anything at all!
Twitter and Instagram work differently, tweets have a very short life compared to your insta pictures. I would say not to post more than 4 or 5 if you absolutely must a day on Instagram. Tweets are different, you can tweet to your hearts content, just make sure they aren’t a constant barrage of nonsense.
Post at Peak times
Posting at peak time’s is the most important thing when mastering social media and using it to build your blogs following. when people are the most active is when you will get the most views. . it’s pretty simple. For me, I post in the morning . . if I’m awake early enough . . at lunch time and after work.
I hope you found my tips on how to build your blogs following helpful! You can catch up with all of my blogging tips posts here!
Are you a fan of my Instagram? Did you know that you can now shop my photos? All you have to do is sign up to LiketoKnow.it once and you’ll get emails with direct links to the products I featured whenever you like my pictures! It’s almost too easy!
Make sure you follow me on Bloglovin’ to stay up to date with all of my latest posts! I would also love for you to subscribe to my Youtube channel!
These are all great tips 🙂
Paula | http://www.namelessgap.blogspot.com
Thanks hun! I hope you can put them to good use!
Some amazing tips, some of which I don’t do, so I think it’s time I notched it up a gear! Thank you so much.
Bee | QueenBeady.com
Definitely time to notch up a gear!
Very useful tips! Facebook is always a hard one so I’m glad I read this!
Sophiekate.co.uk
Facebook is such a hard one to crack, years ago it was so helpful but personally I really struggle with it!
Great tips! I don’t use Facebook for my blog as I want to keep that as one site I don’t have anything to do with my blog and just friends and family!
Oh really! I have a page for my blog so people can like and share it, but I keep my personal account personal! I totally understand what you mean though!
This was a great post! Thanks for sharing some of your secrets!
I love sharing my secrets! Let me know if theres any thing in particular you ever want to know!
I use mainly Twitter to share my posts but it can get a bit annoying some times! I need to start using Instagram a bit more and I really want to use Pinterest too as many people seem to really love it. That was a really helpful post, thank you for sharing! 🙂 x
I know some people use pinterest so well and it’s mad! I need to get a better understanding of it clearly!
Thanks so much for sharing – really informative post
Beauty Candy Loves
Ah glad you liked it!!!
Really helpful post – thanks 🙂 rubietuesday.com
Ah yay, I hope you can put it to good use!
This is going to be so helpful, I always miss blogger chats! Thanks x
Sinead | Subject Beauty
Glad you liked it hun!
Thanks for sharing twitter chat, I always miss them!! I’m glad they are almost every day, will jump into one soon 🙂
P.S. I’m struggling with twitter to be honest haha, but it seems very popular in the UK 🙂
Katya Jackson
OK But First Coffee – London, Coffee and Mobile Photography
Ah i have no idea in other countries lovely! It is much harder to build your following but I think the clickable links mean more posts transform to clicks on your blog!
Great blogging tips as always! Being active and joining in chats is great for getting yourself out there, as well as driving traffic towards you and your blog! But it is also great to socialise with others on social media and join in the chats xx
Lauren | itslaurenvictoria.blogspot.co.uk
Exactly! I hope you found the other tips helpful lovely!
No problem lovely, I hope you can put it to good use!
thanks for these tips! i need to work more on using social media to my advantage =o)
totally! It’s such a great way of directing people to your blog! I think it’s the best way to spread the word and build your following!
LOVE this, so helpful thank you … will be bookmarking this and referring back to it regularly. Thanks again, Kerry x
http://www.paperama.co.uk
Ah glad you liked it lovely! I do blog tips every Thursday so make sure you subscribe!
Wow, I almost skipped this post because I thought it would be the same generic type of post about social media, but this is so helpful! Definitely bookmarking these to try out!
Ah I’m glad you like it hun! I have new blog tips posts that go up every Thursday and I always try to do something a bit different!
As a newbie to blogging this has been so so helpful! I am so happy I came across this as I tend to feel quite shy and nervous about using my social media but I’m just going to put on my big girl pants and do it! haha!
You should! If you’re a new blogger I have so many blog tips posts and I do them every thursday so make sure you subscribe!!
Saving this to my bookmarks bar for future reference!
Ah thanks lovely! I hope you can put it to good use!
This is really helpful, thank you 🙂 x http://www.aimeeraindropwrites.co.uk x
I hope you can put it to good use!
No problem lovely I hope you can put them to good use!
Thank you so much for this post, it truly is so helpful! I think engaging with your followers is so important, even if it may be hard to keep track of things at times. I am definitely bookmarking this post because I find I forget these tips and need a nice reminder every once in a while 🙂
My Lovelier Days
Exactly I think as well no matter how big you get you should always bear your followers in mind as without them you’re nothing!
You are totally right Sinead, readers appreciate a lot when bloggers reply to comments. It makes a whole difference to me and makes me like the person behind the blog, rather than the blog itself. And that makes me want to interact, follow and keep up with the new posts. I’ve read all of your posts on blogging tips, you are doing a great job, I found them very useful 🙂
Have a good day!
xx
Silvia
http://www.theskincabinet.com
Thanks hun, glad you found them helpful and I hope you can put them to good use!
Author
Twitter is hard to crack I totally agree but honestly the amount of views you get from it to your blog in comparison to instagram is mad!!!
This is SO helpful! To be honest, I’m still figuring this whole blogging thing out, and I’ll definitely be trying out some of the hashtags and Facebook pages you’ve shared here! Such a great post, thank you so much!
http://www.earthtotalia.blogspot.co.uk
Author
No problem at all I’m so so glad you like it!!!
Author
Oh honestly so good! I never used to use it and my blog has grown 10 fold since I did! I know some people aren’t fans of it but honestly I think it’s worth investing the time in it!
Omgggg thanks for talking about FBL Bloggers. Also wanted to add we are only re-tweeting posts with the #fblchat hashtag now. But great tips!
http://www.lookwhatigot.co.uk
Author
Thanks lovely! So glad you liked it and OF COURSE love you guys!