Amsterdam, the Netherlands
I get it.
Every blogger uses social media for themselves on some level. You and I intend to drive traffic and income through social media so of course a little bit of it is for us.
Picking apart this title helps no one. I ask the question to get your priorities straight.
Do you use social media for your readers? Do you create content to draw highly targeted users from social media to your blog? Good job if you reach both goals because using social media with this intent allows you to eventually go full-time.
But most bloggers use social media for themselves. Look closely at their content. Pay particularly close attention to users these individuals engage with on a consistent basis. Notice how most interactions seem to be well outside of the preferred blogging niche.
Spotting these mistakes reveals how most bloggers use social media predominantly for themselves and not to attract a highly targeted reader to their blogs.
That’s not gonna work out too well. If you do not target a reader they will not visit your blog. Perhaps you enjoy distracting yourself for a long period of time but frustration eventually sets in. You may do the common thing of blaming social media but your strategy is the culprit.
I don’t mean to sound harsh but I do mean to be truthful. Observe my social media handles to see if I practice what I preach. Most of my updates are blogging tips. I drive social media users to my blog because all they see is blogging tips over there. I use social mainly for educating my readers; both new and old. My streams prove it. Follow my Twitter. Follow my Facebook. See what I mean?
I may use it a little bit to drive organic traffic and income for me but all of the content is for the perfect Blogging From Paradise reader. That’s when you’re cooking with gas. That’s when social media begins to pop for you. That’s when efficiency kicks in and frustration goes away.
Sometimes, bloggers tell you to publish off topic content on social media to appear to be human. Publishing off topic content doesn’t make you human. Being genuine does. People who lack authenticity publish social media content on a variety of topics. Authentic people publish social media content on a single topic.
Who do you trust?
Do you trust the one who lacks authenticity or the authentic mind?
Use Social Media to Publish Content for Your Singular Reader
I use Facebook and Twitter to publish a steady stream of blogging tips to pinpoint my targeted reader.
Bloggers gravitate to:
- my Twitter Stream and my Facebook stream
- Blogging From Paradise Dot Com
because I only give them blogging tips through my social media handles. Publishing content not related to blogging tips draws followers interested in content not related to blogging tips. Why would I want followers who do not want blogging tips? My core reader wants blogging tips. Attracting anyone outside of my core readership makes no sense. Perhaps my ego enjoys the follower count increase but the bottom line cares less.
Perceive Facebook and Twitter to be marketing channels for your blog. Never frame each site as a social media channel because doing so puts you in the wrong frame of mind. Bloggers mistakenly try to lasso social media strangers through manipulative methods to visit their blog. What you chase eventually runs away from you. What you stalk, flees.
See each site as a marketing channel for sending users from social to your blog. Create content for your targeted reader to achieve this end. Publish targeted content consistently through a variety of mediums. Write text-based content. Broadcast live. Create short form videos. Share blog post links. Share images. Mix things up as far as content types but target everything to only speak to your ideal reader.
Use social media for your readers who help you succeed.
How It Works
Publish social media content to solve reader problems.
Stay on topic. Establish your authority. Develop your expertise. Become a trusted specialist by covering a single topic inside-out. I intend to do this with the blogging tips niche. Facebook and Twitter send blogging tips hungry bloggers to my blog because I only feed my Facebook and Twitter streams practical blogging tips.
Happy readers who trust and benefit from your social media content:
- visit your blog
- buy your premium offerings
- increase referral business
after migrating from Twitter and Facebook to your blog.
Social media users migrate because you published social media content for them, to solve their problems, to meet their pressing needs.
Use these channels to help readers.
Readers will use these channels to increase your organic traffic and blogging income.
Conclusion
As with many Blogging From Paradise posts, prepare to do some mental gymnastics to follow through on the topic.
Look closely at your social media streams.
Take out the social media microscope.
Do you use these channels mainly for you or your readers?
Perceive each to be marketing channels for your highly targeted reader.
Create content for these individuals.
Drive organic traffic through Facebook and Twitter.
