The idea behind this post came from two simple questions:
How can I maximize the marketing power of each social media channel without wasting time and resources?
And
How to boost blog traffic without relying heavily on Google?
Both problems came to me with a certain urgency as I worked to improve my clients’ social media visibility as well my own websites’.
I came up with this strategy: use one channel’s boost factor to promote another channel, in a chain that leads to your blog and passes through each social medium before it returns to the blog itself.
It sounds like a difficult process, but it actually isn’t.
Look at the image above: I drew that diagram to show you exactly how to work with social media chains.
Let’s look at the diagram in more detail.
Use the Website field in the Bio box to link to your Facebook profile, not your blog. The reason is simple: through Twitter you can get your Facebook page known and use Facebook to promote your posts (remember, it’s a chain!).
It’s also a good idea to promote your Facebook posts in tweets, and to use Twitter to respond to users’ questions, in a Q&A platform fashion.
Each Facebook post will be promoted on Twitter, so you should keep the quality high and all post should contain an image for better click-through and conversion.
Use each Facebook post to review and explain one of your blog posts, opening discussion on the topics you tackled.
If you have comments open on your blog, also create Facebook posts around reader comments that are particularly good for sparking debate.
Facebook allows you to create Polls and Events from your Page, Profile and Groups. Leverage these free assets to built even more buzz around your blog posts.
If other Groups you’re a member of allow for it, cross promote your posts from your Facebook Page/Profile/Group.
Blog
When you respond to user questions on Twitter and spark discussion about your posts (and reader comments) on Facebook (which generate further discussion on Twitter, as you will be promoting Facebook posts there), you will see how your blog starts to grow in traffic.
You can further build upon your assets by using feedback from Facebook and Twitter to create blog posts your readers and followers want to read — use their comments, tweets and Likes/Favorites (now Hearts on Twitter) to make a list of blog posts to write to respond to their needs.
Use Pinterest to post images and infographics that complement your blog content, Facebook posts and (possibly) expand on concepts you introduced via tweets.
As you can see, I created a social media chain that takes the maximum advantage from all the functionalities each platform offers (including your own blog).
How do you leverage your social media assets? What role does your blog play in your ‘chain’?
Share your views in the comments.
