WordPress Bloggers: Why You Should Be On All 3 Major Social Networks

Social media is a whole lot of work. Everyone knows that. Where opinions differ is on the worth of social media – i.e., how it can benefit your blog. And generally the arguments drill down further – which social network(s) should you be on?

Well, I am about to simplify the argument. You should be on all three. All three major ones I should say, as there are a huge number of social networks out there. And just for the avoidance of doubt, I am referring to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

All Three? But Why Tom – Why?!

Calm down! All will be explained. And afterwards, you can go nuts and disagree vehemently with me in the comments section. Consider me your virtual punch bag.

All social networks were not born alike. Believe it or not, each one offers you something completely different. And in order to promote your blog in the best possible way, you need to leverage all three.

Facebook

Facebook is of course the daddy. Everyone is on Facebook. But where does your blog come into it? Well, Facebook allows you to extend your blog’s brand in rather a unique way. For instance, you can create a customized landing page, complete with graphics and photo albums.

Not only that, you can create a community. People can post on your wall, and you can get back to them directly, for all to see. It can almost become a quasi-forum for your blog, which with careful attention, can grow at a swift organic pace.

In terms of ‘personalizing’ your brand, creating a community, and getting your image out there, Facebook is a wonderful tool. And of course, it appeals to the masses.

Twitter

Now we’re looking at a completely different beast. Twitter attracts a different crowd than Facebook. It is nowhere near as big, but the potential value of each Tweeter, pound for pound, is probably more valuable to you, as a blogger. Facebook attracts everyone. Twitter attracts bloggers. And bloggers love helping other bloggers.

Your brand on Twitter will remain relatively anonymous. Although you can personalize your profile page, most people do not spend a great deal of time there. Most people on Twitter are looking at their timeline.

And the timeline is a link-sharing fest. Whilst Facebook can be used as a means of extending your brand outside of your blog whilst bringing visitors back to it, Twitter is more of a funnel – directly feeding people into your blog from tweets and retweets.

With Twitter, the power of mutually beneficial relationships becomes very important. The more heavy-hitters you can get to follow you, the greater your reach will spread. Tweets = traffic.

LinkedIn

Finally, we come to the little brother of the major social media networks. LinkedIn is associated with such unpalatable terms as “corporate” and “networking” (there is nothing wrong with networking by the way – on the contrary – it is hugely important to your blog’s success). But the fact is, there are many powerful people who operate in your niche active on LinkedIn, and with good reason.

If you can expose your blog to those with great reach, it will grow exponentially. And LinkedIn is a place where you can reach pretty influential people. Whilst they may also be on Twitter and Facebook, LinkedIn provides a slightly more ‘formal’ environment where you can establish and nurture relationships.

But let’s put reach aside for a moment, because if your content is crap, reach is irrelevant. Learning and developing are also enormously important. And LinkedIn can be a great resource for finding potential mentors. After all, their experience and qualifications (whether they are ‘traditional’ or more practical) are there for you to see.

Aren’t You Missing Something..?

I have deliberately left out the new kid on the block. I consider Google+ an unknown entity at the moment, in terms of the positive effects it can have in the long term. Is it just a Facebook copy? If it is, then what is the point of using it? After all, everyone is already on Facebook.

I want to open this up to you. What are your opinions on my approaches to the three main social networks, and where do you think Google+ comes in?

Creative commons images courtesy of Mario Sundar, Rosaura Ochoa, Viktor Hertz, Yootheme, Fasticon and Deleket

Tags:

• Facebook
• blogging
• linkedin
• social media