Our previous blog post, 5 Tips For Effective Content, gives you tips on how to enhance the level of your content. Here are some more tips to help you build your marketing plan and create the ultimate social media strategy.

If done well, blogging can lead to a successful social media campaign. There’s a big potential audience to tap into, and you can monetise and profit from blog posts. Once you’ve put in the work and built a wide network, you can even become an influencer or considered an industry thought leader!

But how do you stand out on this ever-growing platform? Developing a customised social media marketing plan is the first step.

How important is social media?

These platforms have changed the way marketing and blogging operate. Google now has Search Plus Your World – a sign of these platforms’ importance.

You need more than just SEO to direct traffic to your site. On top of search engine traffic, bloggers are also making use of social media to get more eyes on their content.

As mobile penetration increases, more people stay online, using social media as their main source of communication and information.

It’s not going away anytime soon

Popular sites such as Facebook and Twitter have made their interfaces mobile-friendly, for easy access to users on the go.

Engagement on these sites will not stop; users will keep using these networks, and get on with any additions or new platforms. So if you’re new to the blogging world, social media engagement is vital to gaining exposure, promoting your blog, and driving up your site visits.

Simple and low-cost

An effective social media marketing plan need not be pricey. Social media accounts are easy to set-up and customise, enabling you to access a large audience without needing to splurge on analytics.

Now, let’s start planning your social media marketing strategy.

Part 1. Starting your blog

Enhance your blog with social media engagement features

Your blog posts may leave readers wanting more, so ensure you’re easily contactable so they can reach out to you.

Place a contacts page with your email address, social media pages and a phone number on your site. You can also include Follow buttons to make it easy for readers to follow you on your Facebook, Twitter and other profiles.

Comment boxes are crucial for you to get feedback on your posts. Even if some may be negative, you will still be developing a relationship with the audience.

Make sure to add Share buttons. Even if your post was amazing, it wouldn’t matter if no one was reading it. So remember to ensure your content is shareable.

Add sharing buttons to the top or bottom of each blog post, an easy way for readers to click and share. Some examples of social media plugins include Ultimate social media and share icons, floating social bar, super socialiser and shareaholic.

Part 2: Planning your social media marketing strategy

Now that your blog is working with great, shareable content, it’s time to fine-tune your strategy to get more online users to talk about your posts.

Automate the release of your posts

Fully leveraging all social media platforms is time-consuming. Make use of social media tools to automate your posts. They include HootSuite, Buffer, Hubspot, Socialoomph and Sproutsocial.

Reach out to those who share posts

Get social on social media and get to know your target demographic. You can only harness the power of leveraging social media tools when there is engagement. Find out what readers, especially those who shared them, liked about your posts, and what content they would want to see more of.

On HootSuite, you can paste the URL of your blog post into a search box, which will give results of tweets about shares from the post. Retweet those as the starting point in developing ties with readers. On Google+ and Facebook, you can use your blog titles as a search option to find out who has shared your posts.

To keep people engaged, you can in return acknowledge and tweet their posts too.

Get the timing right

Time is of the essence when it comes to sharing your posts. Users on different social media platforms have their peak timings: Google+ sees more activity in the morning, while users on Twitter are predisposed to afternoon tweeting.

The right timing, coupled with social automation tools, will give you an edge over rivals. On top of that, monitor trending topics and hashtags on Facebook and Twitter, which will provide you with the best timing to share posts on these current topics.

Plan ahead

Make full use of free social media analytic tools, which can give you ideas on future posts that work well on all platforms. This will enhance your social media marketing plan, as it helps you in writing future posts, supplying topics for your content calendar and adopting a better perspective on trends across social media platforms.

Comments on your blog can also be a trove for new ideas. Follow readers’ remarks on your content and stay updated on discussions across your networks. For instance, if readers want a certain type of information, you can use this knowledge and cater a post to answering their questions, thereby helping you connect with your desired audience.

Reach out to influencers

If you’re starting out, follow industry expert bloggers who can, by association, increase your blog traffic and social shares. You can use them as a guide in terms of their social media engagement and strategy.

Be judicious in using social media

No one enjoys being spammed by blog links all day, so tag people only when they’re related to or highly interested in the topic of the post.

But go ahead and be social: comment on others’ posts, share others’ content and continue engaging your audience.

Produce useful content

Be original. Readers are looking for original experiences, opinions and advice so if you are able to provide these, they will return time and again and even share it on their own social media accounts.

Some ways to do this are to:

• Give internal and external links within your post or blog.
• Honesty is appreciated, so go on and write about personal failures and your progress to reboot, like your efforts in getting a job callback.
• Use facts and figures to support your opinion or advice to make it more credible.

Good Luck!