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Social Media Tips for Bloggers

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While a lot of people believe that blogging is just about creating unique and interesting content, the truth of the matter is that you need to promote your content in order to ensure that each blog post reach its widest possible audience.

When it comes to driving traffic and building an audience, bloggers are turning to social media with record results. To get more clicks and promote their brands, successful bloggers know that need to develop a following on key social networks. It is ideal for accomplishing this goal since social media feeds on a never-ending stream of content.

Follow these tips and your blog will blossom in this new era.

Be on social media

You have done almost everything, yet you’re still not driving traffic. This can be quite frustrating, but you also have to consider all the links you have seen, but didn’t click on.

Spend some time on social media platforms. This way, you can find inspiration for that next blog post, keep up on industry news and build relationship with your followers and fellow bloggers.

Add social media sharing buttons on your blog

Make it as simple as possible for your readers to share your content by adding social media sharing buttons at the top and bottom of your blog. Reduce reader’s hurdles. If they have to hunt around just to share your content, then you’re hurting your content’s sharability.

Join blogger groups on Facebook

Participate on social media beyond sharing your own content. Join some active blogger groups on Facebook and become part of the community. Help others by answering their questions or sharing a link to a relevant blog post.

Once people get to know you, they are more likely to share your content.

Share other blogger’s content

Feel free to check out what other bloggers are posting and give them a repin, share or tweet whenever you can.

Be generous to your fellow bloggers by sharing their content. Hopefully, they’ll return the favor and share your content, too.

 

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High Arousal Emotions That Make Your Content Go Viral

If you have asked Google a few years back, “What makes things go viral?” you’ll most likely get a simple answer: luck. While it seems like a great theory, it is not entirely true.

If your content activates a high-arousal emotion, then there’s a great chance that people will be sharing and talking about your content.

A high arousal emotion can either be positive or negative. Mind you, activating these emotions is not a walk in the park. You really need to consider which emotion you want to target and hit it perfectly.

Passion/Lust

To tap on this emotion successfully, you’ll have to tease people and pique on their interest. You can do this by teasing them with food, sex or products/services that create an anticipation of pleasure.
People’s passion quickly run dry so there’s a need for constant adaptation and creativity.

Fear

Fear is one of the biggest motivators on earth. When motivated with fear, people are forced to take action.
People want to avoid problems. You can tap on this emotion, define the consequences and inspire a fast action.

Anger

When you piss off people, they’ll most likely do something prove you wrong or attain justice. They may want to talk about it on their blog, on Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms.
Keep in mind, though, that pissing someone off for fun is not a good marketing strategy. So, might want to skip on this altogether.

Awe

Create something that people will find remarkable and people will surely comment on it.

Joy

Positive contents are more viral than the negative ones. There are a lot of things that can make people happy. It can be something inspiring, funny or anything that’s positively uplifting.

When you’re looking to increase traffic to your site, don’t just write content for the sake of writing content. Instead, think about these emotions and hit them well. This way, you can be sure that your content will get shared.

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Resources for Bloggers Who Don’t Know What to Write About

There’s nothing more frustrating than a writer’s block. You stare at your screen and the cursor just taunts at you maniacally. For those times of desperation, content creators are in need of a more forthright solution.

If you are struggling to come up with new articles for your blog and keep your audience engaged, here is a list of some of the most tried and tested resources that you can turn to when word drought sets in.

Yahoo Answers

Yahoo Answers is probably one of the most underrated resources for blog topic generation. This site mostly serves a resource for people who are in search for answers. Creating contents that responds to the challenges that these people are facing will not only boost your credibility, you are also guaranteed that people will return to your site the next time they are looking for an answer.

Google trends

There’s no better way of generating a blog topic idea than using phrases and keywords that are performing well in terms of search volume. Those are the topics that you want to write about, and Google trends can help you bring those topics to light.
The Top Searches option allows users to view the top searches that Google conducted. These searches are sorted into different categories like Sports, Entertainment, Business etc. The Hot Searches option, on the other hand, gives you an opportunity to view the top searches by day.

Blog comments

Content writers fail to realize the importance of blog comments for generating a new entry for their blog. Believe it or not, your next blog entry lies in a small bit of reader feedback. That being said, we suggest going through your old blog posts, especially the most popular ones, and take time to read the comments.

Make a list of all the questions and suggestions that you see and feel free to use it as a resource the next time you find yourself staring at a blinking cursor.

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Ways to Attract New Readers and Keep Them Interested

Increasing traffic is one of the biggest challenges a blog owner face, but there is nothing more challenging than attracting new readers and converting them into regular visitors. Readers are fickle and gets bored easily. There is a whole world of entertainment out there, if your posts do not interest them, they’ll abandon your blog and start looking for something that would feed their curiosity.

Follow a posting schedule

The publish date of your most recent post is one of the first thing most people look at when they visit your blog for the first time. If the last one was posted a few months ago, then readers won’t even bother coming back to check for newer contents. If your schedule is loaded, keep a regular schedule and make sure to come up with at least one blog post a week or twice a month. This will keep your readers coming back for more. Also it’s a great way of showing them that you are committed to your blog.

Respond to comments

Visitors would be happy to know that you are taking note of your readers’ comments and is actually responding to them. Responding to comments is a great way of starting a conversation with your audience and making them feel appreciated.

Keep content relevant

Keeping your content relevant is the key to building credibility in your niche. Your readers will stop coming back if they cannot relate to your contents. While writing about a new topic may drive new readers to your blog, they may not come back once they realize that the post that caught their interest is only a one-time thing.

Start a series

Writing a series is a great way of capturing the attention of new readers and would keep them coming back for at least one more time. Also, first timers may be interested enough to click through your internal links.

Make sure to include a note in the first part of your series stating the schedule of when the second part will be due. Most importantly, don’t forget to link to the previous parts of the serious as your progress. Readers would love to follow the series and be able to click back to catch up on the parts that they have missed.

 

 

 

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Signs That Your Blog Readers Are Getting Bored

Whether you’re doing it for pleasure or for your business, having a set of loyal readers can be rewarding. But how would you know if they actually liked your recent posts or not? If you fail to capture the attention of your audience, they are more likely to stop visiting your site and move on to the next site.

Here are a few signs that your readers are starting to get bored. Read on and try not to send your readers to dreamland.

Traffic to your blog drops

If the traffic to your blog suddenly drops, this means that some of your regular readers are no longer returning to read your most current blog posts. It may also mean that your website has been penalized after a search engine update took place.

Either way, it is important to make use of your analytical skills in order to determine the real cause of the problem. If the reduction in traffic was a result of a search engine issue, then it would be easy for you to bring back the traffic that your site used to have.

You no longer receive any comments

An interesting blog post will most likely receive a few comments and compliments. In some cases, a discussion may follow. Since you can’t see their reaction, let us assume that the lack of comments mean that they don’t have anything worthwhile to say or they got bored reading the article and decided to move on to another blog.

Write in a conversational tone and feel free to ask for opinions. If you can capture the attention of your readers, get them to air their opinions and participate in discussions, then you have a great chance of keeping them interested.

Interest in contests and giveaways is poor

They may not be interested in the prize. Yes, that may be true. However, if your readers are not showing any interest in joining your contests or giveaways, then this is a clear indication that they are not feeling the excitement that they once felt when visiting your blog.

The prizes do not necessarily have to pricey. Instead, choose something that would be of great value to the people in your niche.

 

 

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Social Media Red Flags: 5 Signs You’re Using it Wrong

The sheer value of social media marketing combined with the rapid rate in which these platforms are progressing is something most business owners and companies cannot cast aside.

Social media marketing works and is here to stay. Everybody knows that. But that does not necessarily mean you’re using it right.

In an attempt to help you, we have outlined 5 signs that you’re using social media wrong plus a few tips on how to fix it.

Not updating regularly

Not sticking to a regular posting schedule is the most common mistake new social media marketers commit. If your profile runs dry for a few days or weeks, your followers may fall out of habit of checking in with your business.

Your tone is inconsistent

The internet is a noisy place. If you wish to cut through that noise, then you have to employ a unique tone for your business. Employing a unique voice will help you build trust, build and maintain your reputation and engage in meaningful conversations with your followers. Without it, your message shall be left twisting in the wind.

You are constantly broadcasting

Social media is all about interaction. Sending your thoughts in a one-ways fashion will not help you in any way. Instead, you’ll be missing out on the powerful benefits of engaging with people.

You ignore negative comments

No matter how popular your company is, you can’t prevent negative comments from coming. Instead of ignoring or deleting them, it would be best to offer your sincerest apology, provide them with a candid explanation and any actions you might want to take. Plus, re-assure your client that this won’t happen again in the future.

You are focused on quantity

When it comes to building a social media following, you should not focus on quantity alone. You may have a lot of followers but if your engagement rate is close to non-existent, then you’re definitely doing it wrong.

Build a following that would help you grow your business. Try to connect with people who would find your contents useful and whose content you can benefit from as well.

 

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4 Social Media Marketing Tips for Beginners

Social media marketing is beneficial for small business owners as it helps them build awareness about their business and products or services through different social media channels. With the right tactics, you’ll be rewarded with increased product visibility, a new batch of potential clients and bountiful sales as well.

As a beginner, building a social media presence may not be that easy. We have compiled a few tips to make the process easier for you.

Choose a social media platform

As a beginner, it would be best to choose 1 or 2 social media platforms and stick with it. This would be easier instead of working across different platforms at the same time.

A great way to determine which platform is best for you is to follow the influencers and learn about their success story. Follow the leaders in your niche and check out their Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and other social media accounts.

If they have 50,000 Facebook fans but only 5,000 Twitter followers, then Facebook may be a more suitable social media platform for your niche.

Optimize your social media platforms

Decide which social media tools you’ll be using and optimize your profiles. You are more likely to get more followers and boost your SEO efforts by optimizing your profile.

If you wish to have a trusted profile, then using a real photo would be of great help. Social media is all about connecting with people, so you have to show the people who you are in order to get their trust.

Connect your social media accounts with your blog or website

If your social media profile is ready, connecting your blog or website to your social media account would be the next step. Each platform has a certain set of procedures to follow. So, you have to abide by these rules and do it correctly.

Add social media buttons to your blog or site

Adding social media buttons on your blog or site is beneficial as it could help reader share your content easily.

For increased exposure, it is best to place the buttons above the fold. Also, larger buttons are more visible and are more likely to get you more clicks compared to smaller buttons.  

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Social Media Tips for Small Business Owners

Planning and implementing an effective marketing strategy is one of the biggest challenges business owners are dealing with. Being successful in marketing your brand through social media means being able to introduce your products or services in a fun and creative way.

 

In this article, you’ll be able to discover some of the strategies experts use to boost their social media marketing. Read on and we’ll tell you more about it.

Diversify your social media presence

While Twitter and Facebook still dominate the social media scene, there are a lot of social media platforms being introduced from time to time. Instagram has also been increasingly popular among users.

In order to see better results, it is important for business owners to diversify their social media presence and interact with their clients through a variety of platforms.

Tell your unique story

Make your company stand out from the competition by sharing your unique story through social media. This way, consumers may be swayed to purchase from you instead of your competitors.

While most of your existing customers are familiar with your story, your potential clients may have no idea about it. So, try to maximize the power of social media and share your story to your audience.

Research popular content from your competitors

Try to sneak a peek into your competitor’s posts and see which types of content are popular with their audience. If this catches the attention of their audience, there’s a great possibility that your followers would be interested too. It’s not about copying their content; it’s about creating contents around a similar topic.

Use images to amplify your updates

Fan engagement is necessary in order for your post to be continually seen in the newsfeeds. So, if you’re Facebook posts are not generating enough shares, likes or comments, you’re wasting time.

One of the easiest and most effective ways of boosting fan engagement to your status updates is by using images. You can search for blank images, edit them and add a text or a question that your followers could answer or share with their friends.

 

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Rules of Social Media Marketing

Leveraging the power of social media and content marketing could help increase your followers and customer base dramatically. So, it is important to understand the basics of social media marketing. From increasing your online presence to maximizing quality, abiding by these rules could help you build a foundation that will help stabilize your brand and increase your sales.

Rule of listening

Your success with content and social media marketing requires less talking and more listening. Know your target audience and join discussions so you’ll have a better idea of what they think. After this, you could create content that would capture their attention and spark conversations.

Rule of quality

Quality is more important the quantity. It is better to have at least 800 people who read, share and discuss about your content rather than having 8,000 people who would disappear after reading your content.

Rule of patience

It is impossible to achieve social media and content marketing overnight. If you are determined to introduce your business through social media, you’ll have to invest a lot of time and exert a lot of effort in order to see results.

Rule of compounding

If you publish high quality and interesting content on a regular basis, there is a greater chance that your audience and followers will share them in their own social networking accounts like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and even their own blogs.

When people shares and talks about your content, this provides more entry points for search engines; thus, allowing your keywords to appear in search engines. These entry points could potentially grow into thousands of ways for people to find you online.

Rule of acknowledgement

Acknowledging people who reaches out to you online is important. Building relationship with your followers and audiences is one important aspect of your success. So, try to reach out to them as much as possible.

Rule of accessibility

Publishing a great content and then disappearing afterwards won’t do you any good. Instead, try to come up with high quality and interesting posts once in a while and don’t forget to take part in the conversation. Online readers could be fickle and they won’t even hesitate to jump to another site if you disappear for a week or so.

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New LinkedIn Showcase Pages Reach Just the Right Users

LinkedIn replaced its news aggregator LinkedIn Today last week in order to get the right content in front of the right users.

The company took that mantra a step further on Tuesday, unveiling Showcase Pages for companies that will, in theory, allow them to share content to a more focused and interested audience.

Here is a great article that explains  Showcase Pages and what a great tool it can be for businesses looking to grow their audiences.

Showcase Pages work like less-robust Company Pages, giving major corporations like Microsoft the ability to create pages for niche divisions or business units, such as Microsoft Office or Xbox. Showcase Pages will be followable, meaning Microsoft can share Xbox content with LinkedIn users who have shown interest in the product, rather than every user who simply follows Microsoft.

LinkedIn hopes that brands will start focusing their content to specific audiences. Companies can operate up to 10 Showcase Pages, but LinkedIn says it will work with larger companies that have the need (and manpower) to operate more.

Showcase Pages aren’t Company Pages, and they don’t have all the same features. For example, Showcase Pages won’t have a tab for Careers or Products & Services, and they aren’t for recruiting, says a LinkedIn spokesperson.

Showcase Pages are also different from Groups on LinkedIn. (Xbox and Microsoft Office groups already exist.) The difference is that companies control the content of a Showcase Page, while an administrator controls the Group.

The other major difference is that companies can advertise on Showcase Pages.

Companies can purchase Follower Ads aimed at increasing the Showcase Page’s total follower total, as well as Sponsored Updates that will put the page’s posts and content in front of others who aren’t following the page.

LinkedIn has about 3 million Company Pages on the site, but isn’t saying how many Showcase Pages it expects to add. It seems likely that an abundance of new pages will increase the number of ads on the site, simply because there will now be more business units and brands looking to spread their news.

Showcase Pages weren’t the only changes for LinkedIn on Tuesday. The company also announced Talent Updates, a feature that lets LinkedIn Recruiters post content to their company page directly from their recruiter dashboard. Previously, recruiters needed to log out of their recruiter dashboard, and log in as the page administrator to post. (Or ask the administrator to post on their behalf.)

This is a behind-the-scenes change that shouldn’t impact users — they’ll still see content the same way they always have on a company’s page. It simply makes it easier for those operating LinkedIn pages to internally manage the content they choose to share.

(http://mashable.com/2013/11/19/linkedin-showcase-pages/)
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