How To Leverage Social Media Into An Asset For Blogging

Last night, I gave a presentation at the Atlanta Bloggers Meetup on social media and blogging as part of Atlanta’s Social Media Week. I was one of three presenters of the night and the only one that fully relies on blogging for income. I brought along the Kodak Zi8 to record the session and the video came out ok. The small sensor camera really struggles in low light and I wasn’t wearing a mic, but the quality was good enough to publish.

One word of warning…apparently I REALLY talk with my hands. It is funny what you realize about yourself when you have to watch it on video.

How To Leverage Social Media To Grow Your Blog

In the video, I talk about basic principles in regards to social media, blogging and how you can combine the two to increase your business, traffic and bottom line and then I answer some questions from the audience on generating income and increasing traffic.

Text Summary On Social Media Presentation Video

Everyone already knows the most popular social media spaces online. We all use them on a daily basis to converse with friends, keep in touch with family or to follow our favorite celebrities. When we do this act, we are functioning within the core, fundamental purpose of social media.

Entertainment.

99% of users of social media have zero interest in blogging or starting a blog. However, they have a great amount of interest in conversing with other like minded individuals online who share their same interests. That need to communicate is what we can leverage into our blogging to pull readers back into our content.

All of these social media spaces (Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc.) in and of themselves do not generate revenue or traffic. They are their own separate sites with defined purposes. The blogger has to tie all these separate entities into something usable and measurable by giving them a common home base. That home base for the blogger is the blog.

By going out and pulling potential customers and readers back to your content, you are bringing value back to social media by turning it into something that can be measured and converted.

With Facebook fan pages, branded Twitter accounts, LinkedIn groups and other aspects of these social media sites, we are able to create a consistent branding atmosphere, a consistent voice and a consistent purpose that all increase our traffic and revenue.

If Only It Was That Easy!!

The theory of “if you build it and they will come” applies as little to social media as it does to blogging. The trick for the blogger is to go out and converse with members of social media sites to pull them back to your content.

However…there is one major mistake I see most bloggers and businesses do when they are looking to expand into social media to increase their web presence.

They do ZERO market research.

Just because Joe down the street told you Twitter is the next big thing or you believe you have to be everywhere at once does not mean that is the right plan of attack for your blog or business.

Most bloggers and business owners like to do what I call the shotgun affect. They spread themselves out really thin across all aspects of social media just hoping something sticks. The result…nothing does and they become another person that says Twitter or Facebook doesn’t work. It isn’t that they don’t work, it is your approach that failed.

Your job as the blogger or business owner is to go where your core audience interacts and bring your content and brand to them. It is not your job to convince them that Twitter is better than Facebook.

For Bike198, I find that Facebook is a much higher converter as cyclists could really care less about Twitter. My Facebook likes and shares are very high on that site and it serves a great purpose in my blogging. However, in the blogging niche, Twitter took off like wildfire and bloggers across the world are using it as an easy way to spread content and connect with other bloggers. It all depends on your target audience and how they are already communicating. Once you figure that out…you go there and set up shop. If you do that, your chance of success is much higher than if you just recklessly hope something sticks.

That is the key to making social media successful for increasing your profits and expanding your brand’s reach on the web.

Filmed with the Kodiak Zi8 and edited with iMovie and Keynote

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9 comments

Kerwin November 11, 2010 - 4:41 pm
Hi Rob, I've followed your stuff for a while and have learned a lot and read your ebook as well. Thanks for this video. I've found though that I get very little traffic from, twitter when I try to direct folks to my blog. However, if you go to a conference and use the hashtag, then you tend to get more traction. What tactics do you use to get people to get to your site from twitter?
Robb Sutton November 11, 2010 - 4:43 pm
Thanks Kerwin! Create value within your Twitter profile (don't just pimp your stuff over and over again), make it easy for your existing readers to spread your content by making social media buttons easily accessible, leverage your built up relationships.
Steve Roy November 11, 2010 - 8:46 pm
Robb, Thanks for writing this article (as well as the others). I've been really struggling with getting on board with social media and you've answered a few of my questions. I would love to see more related content in the future!
Robb Sutton November 12, 2010 - 9:25 pm
I'll get some more content around these lines in the works.
Donny Gamble November 12, 2010 - 1:28 pm
Hey Robb, I like how you broke it down for people in the video. A lot of probloggers fail to sometime assume that people know what they know. I am glad that I got the opportunity to her you speak at a Meetup in Atlanta this year, you definitely opened my eyes to a lot of new things and concepts that I will implement in my business.
Robb Sutton November 12, 2010 - 9:24 pm
Thanks for the feedback Donny. I'm glad I was able to help!
Anonymous November 13, 2010 - 5:05 am
Rob, So good to finally hear you speak. I've been following you for some time on Twitter. You really brought it home for me about social media, specifically Facebook. Now I just need to figure out actually how to do it. Great use of Meetup.com. I'm assuming you gathered the group there through meetup. Why did you re-purpose your site away from your name? Heading over to bike198 to find your FB fan page. Thanks. Scott
Robb Sutton November 13, 2010 - 11:42 am
Scott, I'm glad I was able to help. Russell Fair runs that group and he asked me to speak the other night. I have spoken to that group about monetization before as well. I try to make it out there when I can for the meetups, but lately it seems like I am out of town for the first week of every month! My branding change article is here: http://robbsutton.com/blogging-labs-formulating-blogs-that-make-money/
Edwin November 13, 2010 - 6:34 pm
Awesome post Robb. Wish I could of seen you live http://guidegoods.blogspot.com/2010/11/guide-goods-big-prize-contest.html
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