How you can leverage social networking sites to kickstart your blog’s promotion efforts

No matter how engaging the content, you won’t build a following if no one knows about your blog. If you’re like many new bloggers, you don’t have a marketing budget to speak of. Luckily, social media is a completely free means of promoting your blog.

Today’s most popular social networking platforms each have hundreds of millions of active users. Those users troll the social web to connect with others, seek and share information, express opinions, and be entertained. Get in on the action and show them what you’ve got with these simple steps.

1 — Set up Social Accounts

If you don’t have them already, set up accounts on the most popular social media platforms. You need Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn profiles. If you’re already well established on these sites, you might also consider adding Tumblr, Pinterest, or Instagram. When creating your profiles on these sites, be sure to link back to and reference your blog. The goal is to ensure everyone you come in contact with on the social web is aware of and has easy access to your blog.

2 — Add Social Media Widgets & Links

Add social media widgets and/or links to those social media accounts to your blog and your email signature. Place a Facebook Like button, a Tweet button and a Google +1 button on all your blog posts. For example, see the ones we have at the top and bottom of our own posts. Include social media Share buttons like the ones on this blog post from Sumo so readers can share your blog posts with others.  You can also place social icons and your profile addresses on your business cards and any other literature you distribute. If you’re active on forums, web rings, and chat rooms, include them in your signature there, too. Ditto when you comment on others’ blogs (which you should do, as often as possible!)

3 — Use Automatic Sharing Features

Use automatic sharing features to post links to your blog on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+. Many social media platforms offer features that allow for automatic sharing. External, third-party applications such as Buffer and the WP to Buffer WordPress plug-in, Zapier, TweetDeck, and Dlvr.it are also great options that offer automation features to post across your online profiles to save time and simplify your social media marketing efforts.

Remember …

Remember that every time you participate in a conversation, post a comment, or tell the world what’s on your mind on Facebook or Twitter, those words and ideas should ultimately link back to your blog. When you’re online, you’re always representing your brand. (You’ll want to consider this carefully before posting anything.) And take some care to ensure that your comments are relevant, timely, and appropriate, especially when you’re adding a link to your blog as your signature. Otherwise, your post may be ignored as unwanted spam.

There are a variety of ways to enrich and enhance your readers’ experience with social media, and plenty of more advanced methods for driving traffic to your blog. But the steps above are among the first and most important you can take in order to leverage social media to boost your blog’s readership. By using applications that automate your social media activity and posting your blog’s web address on your social media profiles (and vice versa) you’ll ultimately create a system that consistently puts your blog and its content in front of hundreds of potential followers who want what you have to offer.

Let us know how you promote your blog in the comments below.

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