Welcome to Part 1 of One Year of Blogging, Staying Connected Socially. This week I will be sharing some insights I’ve gathered over my first year as a full time blogger. I felt it was necessary to share my thoughts with others because its information I wish I had from day one. I hope you can gain something from what I have to say or relate to my journey in some way. //
One of the most important insights I gained from one year of blogging may seem like a no brainer, but never occurred to me until I was knee deep in blogging. IT WILL BE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO HAVE A SUCCESSFUL BLOG WITHOUT HAVING A SOCIAL NETWORK TO BACK IT UP! You say….duh, but really it’s not that simple. You would think that having a profile page on Facebook and a Twitter account sets you up for gold, but it’s how you interact with those platforms that makes all the difference. When I first started blogging I already had a Facebook page and thought a twitter page would be a nice addition. On Facebook I would occasionally mention something newly featured on the blog and Twitter was used mainly to hear what others were saying. It took me several months to catch onto the benefits of having social media outlets and how both could greatly increase my readership, blog growth, and quality of relationship with my readers.
I’ve realized that it’s not just about posting an instagram photo on Twitter and seeing how many people like it, or posting a link to some shoes you’d like to own, but posting VALUABLE content that is engaging enough to encourage people to click and read more. Twitter is a perfect place for a blogger to share blog updates with readers, but its a great place to just connect with your readers outside of your blog space. Use twitter to supplement your blog content and don’t just copy and paste content. Your readers will want to gain more information about you, your blog, and what you like. For example… Instead of only tweeting a link to your most recent blog post (which I am guilty of doing), try tweeting a link to that Etsy shop you mentioned within your blog post, or better yet…. a link to a different etsy shop with similar content. Use twitter to content with your readers on multiple levels. I’ve also used Twitter as my main resource for networking and getting to know other bloggers. By following others you are able to see who they interact with and its just a jolly ole snow ball from there. Without twitter and the relationships I’ve gained in that space, my blog would still be itty bitty and I wouldn’t have gained the friendships I have gained. All the above also applies to Facebook, instagram, or Flickr.. It’s just a matter of which platform you prefer to use.
Insights from Liz of SRSLY LIZ
“In our generation, social media is everywhere & so easily accessible. You can check into a restaurant, tag friends you’re with and post a photo of what you ordered for dessert, to Twitter. Which is why it’s important to remember to unplug every now and then & just enjoy living life instead of documenting it. It’s great to be part of a network & community but I personally need to balance that out by stopping and smelling the roses–without posting them to Instagram.”
Read INRO to week-long series.
*All photos in this series are from Marco Suarez Art Shop on Etsy and all type was typeset by myself.