By this point, you should have already claimed your preferred name on each social channel. Depending on your niche, certain social media channels can be invaluable. Never forget, though, that social media (aside from paid advertising) is a place to connect with others, be helpful to them and display your expertise. Don’t hop in with a megaphone and act like a barker at a circus. Rather, treat social media like a huge cocktail party—a place where you can meet others, trade ideas and network to form alliances. Treat everyone you meet with respect. Your aim is to be of value and engage with your current or future blog readers.
The main social networks you should work towards building connections upon are listed below. Each social media platform should be utilized and approached differently. Chose the one (or ones) that best fit your needs and become an expert at leveraging them to help reach your goals.
Twitter - There are more than 200 million users on Twitter. Some say it is a one-way conversation, with 140-character (maximum) messages getting fired out constantly with a lot of people talking, but not a lot of people listening. Others have managed to build a strong, engaged following to promote their content towards.
LinkedIn - LinkedIn is the leading social network for professionals. With more than 100 million users, it’s a great place to connect with other bloggers and business owners in your niche. The network has a lot to offer when it comes to business-related information for. The downside to this network is that unlike Twitter, you have to know a person already (or know their email address) to connect with them.
Pinterest - While it is still predominantly used by women, the number of men on Pinterest is increasing. With more than one hundred million active monthly users, the statistics on Pinterest are impressive.
Facebook - With over a billion active monthly users, Facebook is the number one social media network. Chances are, many of your potential readers and future customers already have an account there.
One thing to remember is that Facebook tends to be reserved for true “social” interaction. You can launch your blog’s Facebook page and start interacting with the community that is already established, but be careful about mixing business with pleasure on this platform. Facebook rewards the engagement with your followers, thus the goal is not the quantity but quality of relevant posts and updates that engage your fans, which can be measured by the number of likes, comments, and shares you receive.
Also remember that Facebook is a great place to promote your posts. You can start by doing so using their paid advertising platform as you grow your own organic audience and reach.
YouTube - Now owned by Google, the videos you launch on YouTube can get indexed on the world’s largest search engine quickly. Don’t forget to apply search engine optimization (SEO) strategies on your YouTube channel and launches - most especially by optimizing your titles and video descriptions with a target keyword phrase.
It is not wise to host your videos on your own blog due to the size of video files will lag you down way too much. YouTube is an excellent help in this regard. You can host videos there for free, gain the SEO advantage, and then embed them on your own blog.
Instagram - This site allows you to share photographs via your mobile device. It is similar to Pinterest, in that you can create boards that focus on specific topics.
Here again, remember how important it is to stay centered. Make sure your photographs are what your audience wants to see. This is not to say you shouldn’t post items of general interest, but your profile as a whole should draw your desired audience and provide value to them.
