5 Things: Blogging & Social Media

Social media is one of the most important things when it comes to blogging - unless you don't care about getting yourself & your blog 'out there'. Over the past few weeks I've been really trying and testing some of the social media tips that I've read about and although some haven't worked, some have contributed to the spike in my stats and following. By no means am I saying that blogging is all about followers, but it can be reassuring that you're putting all of the time and effort into your blog for people to read!

1 .  C R E A T E   Y O U R   A C C O U N T S 
It's likely that the people who read your blog have social media accounts all over the internet. From Twitter and Facebook to Pinterest and Tumblr, your followers are everywhere! By creating accounts and being active on there, people are always in the know when it comes to checking up on your blog. I would say the key accounts to have are Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Bloglovin' and most importantly, Twitter. About 80% of my traffic comes from Twitter!

2 .  U S E R N A M E S 
If your blog name is I Love Makeup, I'd suggest keeping your social media handles along the same lines. For example, my blog name is Elise Dopson, my Twitter is EliseDopson and my Instagram is Elise_Dopson. By keeping them as similar as possible it will be easier for new readers to find you elsewhere, thus meaning they can keep up to date with you and your blog.

3 .  S H A R E   Y O U R   P O S T S
Spent over an hour writing, photographing and editing a post? Don't let it go to waste - share it! If you don't share it, how will people see it? If you don't have the time to publish a tweet every time you publish a post, schedule them.

4 . S C H E D U L E 
You have to remember that there's a chance that your readers are from all over the world and we're not all in the same time zone. Using scheduling apps like Hootsuite and Buffer can queue your posts and they get an even amount of coverage throughout the day. This one comes with a warning to not overshare! I personally schedule tweets with a link to a blog post 3 times a day - 6am, 5pm and 11pm as these are the times when people usually check Twitter.

5 .  T A L K   T O   P E O P L E ! 
See someone asking a question? Try and answer it. See someone mentioning a product that you love? Tell them! By interacting with other bloggers you make friendships and relationships and you can promote & help each other along the way in the forms of shoutouts and collaborations. Twitter chats are also a huge source of traffic for my blog and I always see a spike in stats everytime I engage in one. There's a Twitter chat for everyone, from fashion & beauty to teens & parents. To see times & dates for these chats, head over to Elaine's Twitter Chat Timetable.

What's your ultimate blogging tip?