Social Media for Bloggers: Do You Count Brand Mentions and Social Signals? |

June 21, 2026 blogging tips 🕑 5 minutes read

Volcan Panama

Being only outcome focused ruins your social media strategy.

Let me give you the typical blogging plan.

Share as many blog post links as possible to X, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Drive users to your blog.

In theory this makes sense.

Dropping links pointing to your blog is the direct way to get people from social media sites to your real estate online.

But social media doesn’t work that way.

Successful site owners keep you on site.

This is one reason why social media site owners become billionaires or mushroom their net worth by purchasing these websites.

I visited Facebook headquarters a few months ago in Redwood City California. The scale stunned me. How could one company be that big? I felt like I was walking through a small town.

Why did Facebook take off?

Users stayed on site and did stuff on site. Some create content. Others drop comments. Some users do both. Billions being on site created a gold mine. Massive income was the obvious conclusion. Monetizing methods did not really matter. Possessing billions of users does.

My point is this; dropping links exclusively does not consistently send people from social media to your blog.

What Works on Social Media?

Dropping detailed, text-only content consistently does. Pepper in some blog post links to sweeten the pot for you.

Follow that strategy.

But make sure to count brand mentions and social signals as to powerful social media amplifiers.

Everyone believes migrating users to blogs directly is the only social media goal.

I’ve been guilty of making this mistake too.

Influencing people to mention your blog and finding like-minded users indirectly send people from social to blogs.

Stop seeing social media through the pinhole of traditional metrics.

Think outside of the social media box.

People who learn of your blog name know how to type or dictate the name. Indirect blog traffic counts just as much as direct blog traffic via a link.

Even better?

Billions of people use social media. You are bound to find a fair chunk who share your values. Some love who you are, seeing similarities between your personalities.

Indirect traffic is still traffic.

Let me give you an example.

My Outreach Example

I upgraded my blogger outreach campaign over the prior week. My intuition told me to do it. The intuition is never wrong. Trust it implicitly.

I noticed bloggers mentioning my name and Blogging From Paradise Dot Com. Some pointed links directly to my blog. Others did not. But people from new networks now know about Ryan Biddulph and Blogging From Paradise Dot Com. That’s a good thing.

Social media users who now know of your name and blog can Google both. People aware of your blog simply type in the name to visit directly.

All roads lead to Rome.

All brand mentions and social signals potentially lead to your blog.

Getting mentioned by influential bloggers positions you on the radar screen of your niche. Inquiring minds visit your blog. Each needs to know about this person mentioned on respected blogs.

Taking this approach requires mental discipline. Be patient. Good things take time. Brand mentions build organically into something powerful. Being seen by like-minded people does not necessarily send them to your blog in an instant. But members of this crowd click through to your blog eventually.

Social media is not really a direct traffic hub.

Sites like X, Facebook and BlueSky send users who learn about you to your blog indirectly on a consistent basis.

Think of it as referral marketing not link pushing.

Respected bloggers mention you. People who trust their word click through to your blog.

Someone comes across your content. People who resonate with your delivery click through to your blog based on your shared values.

See beyond blog post links.

Look beyond direct traffic.

By all means, promote blog post links freely. Be open to receiving direct traffic. But never force links to drive people directly to your blog as a prime strategy. Bloggers cannot afford to waste that much time.

Let’s chat a little about brand mentions and social signals.

Brand Mentions

Blogging buddies – or even folks currently outside of your established network – mention your blog on social media.

Is that a bad thing?

Not everything needs to be link-driven you know? Seize the power of brand referrals. People visit blogs after hearing about blogs. Brand mentions go a long way.

Social media algorithms put links in the dog house from time to time. Yet no shackles exist for brand mentions. The algorithm never demotes updates for a particular blog mention; the shout out is just words. Who does that hurt? Do you intentionally send users away from social by mentioning a brand? I think not.

Look beyond your blog link. Appreciate the leveraging potential of bloggers mentioning your brand on X, Facebook and BlueSky.

Social Signals

Who are you?

What do you value?

Social media transmits this message seamlessly.

Wise bloggers use X, Facebook and BlueSky to broadcast who they are, their values and overall message via targeted content. Resonant users find you through your updates.

Do links have anything do with this process?

Minus some link shares, not really.

Dropping links left and right becomes counter productive. Link blindness ensues. The algorithm and most users do not necessarily favor bloggers who *only* point links to their blog. Drop in text-based updates too. Gain organic reach. Appease the algorithm by keeping readers onsite sometimes.

Social media offers you access to billions. Some vibe with your values. Others resonate with your identity.

Organic traffic and blogging income originate among resonant parties. Folks who share similar values likely visit your blog.

Content set this process into motion.

The massive social media user base is your audience.