By day I spend my time as a digital strategist – I’m a bit of a nerd and find it completely fascinating to observe natural consumer behavior and interactions, especially when it comes to social media. One of my favorite parts about my career is how well it compliments the blog side of my life; I love being able to apply learnings from both sides of the coin which is such a big benefit for me both professionally and as a blogger.

I wanted to share some of my key learnings and a bit of advice in terms of making your blog social – some simple ways that you can leverage the amazingness of social media to not only benefit your blog but build some pretty amazing relationships too (fun fact: when I first moved to Chicago I knew about 3 people in this city total. My blog and social media are how I was able to meet about 90% of the people I now know here and I’m eternally grateful for that).

// photo via Amy & Stuart Photography

• Be Consistent: Use the same username across all social media platforms so it’s easy for readers to find your profiles and engage with you. Consistency across your online identity is an important part of your blog’s brand – if your blog name is taken as a username on social platforms, choose an alternative & stick to it across all channels (and stalk the account that has the username you’d like! The social networks are often willing to help you out if the account using your blog’s name is inactive)
• Don’t Just Broadcast: Social shouldn’t just be seen as a way to push your content out there, the real power lies in the relationships you’re able to create. Engage with your readers, start conversations with other bloggers you follow and share content you find interesting outside of just what you’ve published on your blog. Each social platform holds unique opportunities for you to connect with others – take full advantage of that.
• Pinterest is Your BFF: My #1 traffic driver is Pinterest; it’s my guilty pleasure (um hello 16K pins) and a great way to find inspiration and curate content that reflects your interests and aesthetics. And while all that pinning is a lot of fun, it’s also an amazing traffic driver – make it easy for others to pin content from your blog (some tips on adding a Pin It button can be found on my “Blog” board) and don’t forget to pin your own posts! There’s no shame in sharing your content on Pinterest, but make sure you’re not overwhelming your followers (I pin mine each day to my “On the Blog” board).
• Be Authentic: Don’t try too hard or put too much thought into making sure every single post, tweet and photo you share is perfect. Let your personality come through and give your followers a glimpse into your life as a whole (not just the “airbrushed” blog version). Have a favorite song you’re listening to non-stop? Share it out! Having a bad week and feeling overwhelmed? Speak to that. I’ve found that a little authenticity goes a long way and social is just the place to amplify that – being approachable and “real” helps set you apart and make a deeper connection with your audience.

Always happy to help, answer any questions or share more about my process and approach. How do you use social to boost your blog? What platform have you found to be most successful for you?