Publishing your content on platforms such as Blogger, Posterous, Tumblr, or WordPress is not a guarantee that many users will read it. You need to let them find you first in order for this to happen.
But the question is; how do you get your blog posts noticed?
You can take advantage of various tools to increase your online presence. And one of the best platforms is Twitter. If you are not convinced of its merits, check out these statistics:
- Around 55% of users tweet through mobile devices.
- There are 750 tweets posted every second.
- An estimated 36% of users tweet at least once in a day.
- It has 140 million active users.
Given these statistics, it is easy to see how this tool can help boost your blogging reputation. In fact, its use is a key factor in search engine optimisation (SEO) efforts as it is a source of valuable social signals, which play a significant role in ranking high in Google, Bing, or Yahoo.
Having mentioned that; now is the time to look at the things you can do to achieve greater visibility using the popular social networking and micro-blogging site.
On your blog
Add a “Follow Me” button
How do you let your readers know that you are on Twitter? One of the best ways is to include a button that links to your profile on the social media site. Doing this provides them with an easier way to follow you.
Integrate a “Share this” or “Tweet this” button
If you want plenty of users to help you spread the word about your content, you should consider adding social share buttons at the end of your blog posts. Doing this provides your readers with a more convenient way to share what you have written.
Include a Twitter widget on your sidebar
How do you tell your audience that you have new tweets? You can do that by adding a widget to your blog that shows the most recent updates from your Twitter feed.
On Twitter
Use it to share your blog posts
If you want to encourage others to read what you have written, then you can compose a tweet telling them about it. Doing this informs those who follow you of fresh content that you have up on your blog.
Furthermore, if you need assistance, you can always ask for help from those who are experienced with social media and SEO services.
Make good use of hashtags
Do you want to reach an audience other than your followers? One of the ways to do this is through hashtags. What are these though?
These are words, which have a number sign (#) before them, used to categorise tweets. So if the users want to browse a particular topic, they can type the term into the search bar. And if your entry is among the results, the chances of leading new readers to your blog are greatly increased.
Engage with your followers
One of the best ways to interact with those who follow you is simply to thank them. You can do this by mentioning their name in a tweet or sending them a direct message.
Another thing you can do is ask a question. When your followers respond to it, their responses will appear in the feeds of their own contacts. If they have a significant amount of followers, then your hopes of gaining more visibility will increase.
In addition to that, it helps you build a reputation in your niche. It also serves as an avenue for you to learn new things, which you can use as ideas for your next blog post.
Reply to a tweet
If you follow a number of people on Twitter, it pays to respond to their posts. Doing so encourages the start of a conversation, which leads to building relationships.
In fact, it also prompts others to follow you. As mentioned above, appearing on someone else’s feed is a vital step in building a presence on the social networking website.
Share the content of others
If you happen to stumble upon an article that you found interesting, do not hesitate to let others know about it. In fact, it also helps if the writer of the post has a Twitter account. In that way, you can mention them in your tweet.
One other thing you can do is retweet the posts of other users. If you come across something that is worth sharing, then you can simply click on “Retweet”. If you want to make it more personal, you can opt for the manual method of appending an RT plus their username at the beginning of your tweet.
Try direct messaging
If you do not want to flood your followers with tweets that are not of value, then you can continue the current conversation through private messages. The drawback of allowing this interaction to go on publicly might prompt the other followers to “unfollow” you. This is especially true when they cannot gain significant information from your tweets.
Be active
Tweeting frequently is a major factor in increasing your presence on the social media platform. So you should allot time to check on the accounts you follow, retweet valuable information, participate in conversations through hashtags, and interact with your followers by asking questions.
Parting thoughts
Twitter is a good platform that you can use to drive traffic to your blog. Although getting the results that you want may take time, using the medium in the right manner will help get you there.
Now, shifting the topic to you and your methods, are there tips that you would like to add?