This document provides tips and best practices for using various social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest to promote blogs and drive traffic. It discusses why social media is important for blogs, with key statistics about the large user bases on each platform. The document then gives specific recommendations for each network, such as posting regularly to Facebook 2-5 times per day, using hashtags and your logo on Instagram, and leveraging Pinterest for ecommerce sites. It emphasizes testing different approaches to find the strategies that work best.

1. BY ERIN DONALDSON
SOCIAL MEDIA BEST PRACTICEES 2017

2. THE BEST BLOG PROS AGREE, SOCIAL MEDIA IS A NECESSARY PART OF
DRIVING TRAFFIC TO YOUR BLOG.
WHY IS SOCIAL MEDIA IMPORTANT?
0 Billion
0.475 Billion
0.95 Billion
1.425 Billion
Pinterest Twitter Instagram YouTube
1.9 Billion
Facebook

3. BEST
PRACTICES
FOR SOCIAL
MEDIA PROMO

4. TIPS FOR FACEBOOK
GROW, MARKET & INTERACT
ALWAYS TRY TO POST BRANDED CONTENT, GRAPHICS OR
RELATED TOPICS.
01
START PROMOTING THE IMAGE YOU WANT TO BE ASSOCIATED
WITH YOUR BLOG...ON YOUR PERSONAL FB PROFILE/PAGE.
02
LEVERAGE NICHE-RELATED GROUPS > GIVE THEM GREAT
CONTENT ALWAYS!
03
BEST WAY TO CONNECT WITH MILENNIALS & GEN X. THE
EASIEST WAY TO GENERATE BLOG TRAFFIC.
04
POST EVERY DAY 2-5 TIMES PER DAY FOR BEST RESULTS.
USE SCHEDULING OPTION TO KEEP IT SIMPLE.
05

5. TIPS FOR YOUTUBE
WORTH THE EXTRA WORK?
TRY TO HAVE ONE YOUTUBE VIDEO TO PIN ON FACEBOOK,
OR USE ABOVE THE FOLD ON ABOUT ME - OR BLOG POSTS.
01
GREAT FOR REACHING A MALE AUDIENCE. BIGGER
REACH TO MILLENIAL/GEN X THAN CABLE NETWORKS.
02
87% OF MARKETERS ARE LEVERAGING YOUTUBE CONTENT
TO SHARE COMPANY/PRODUCT/BLOG MESSAGE.
03
RESEARCH AND USE CATCHY TITLE | COSCHEDULE HEADLINE
TOOL. (GREAT FOR BLOG POSTS TOO!)
04

6. TIPS FOR INSTAGRAM
DO YOU LOVE TO TAKE PICTURES?
PHOTO-BLOGS, TRAVEL, FOOD ETC. POST ON MONDAYS. 1-
2 X'S PER DAY.
01
IT WAS ORIGINALLY MEANT FOR SMART-PHONE PHOTOS, BUT
THE PROS ARE USING HIGH QUALITY DIGITAL PHOTOS.
02
BEST PRACTICES? HOW DO YOU LEVERAGE INSTAGRAM? I'M
NOT GOING TO LIE, THIS IS MY WEAK SPOT.
03
TRY TO HAVE 2-3 HASHTAGS YOU ALWAYS USE. BRAND
BASED, ALWAYS USE WATERMARK OR LOGO.
04

7. TIPS FOR TWITTER
CAN YOU SAY IT IN 140 CHARACTERS?
MOST OVER-SATURATED? CAN WE COMPETE WITH
CELEBRITIES? EXPERIENCES?
01
PREDOMINANTLY MALE. GREAT FOR BLOGS WITH MASCULINE
TYPE & THEME EX. PCG IS MALE VS OMT IS FEMALE
02
BEST PRACTICES? HOW DO YOU LEVERAGE TWITTER? I'M NOT GOING
TO LIE, THIS IS MY SECOND BIGGEST WEAK SPOT.
03
IS TWITTER STILL WORTH USING? AUDIENCE FEEDBACK.04

8. TIPS FOR PINTEREST
HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE USING THIS ONE?
IDEAL FOR FOOD BLOGGERS, FASHION, DIY & TRAVEL
RELATED THEMES...BUT STILL GREAT FOR EVERYONE.
01
PINTEREST IS AN ECOMMERCE MACHINE: ETSY, EBAY, SHOPIFY
STORE PLATFORMS. GREAT FOR PROMOTING PRODUCTS.
02
IT IS SUGGESTED TO POST 10-15X'S PER DAY. DESIGN GRAPHICS ON
CANVA.COM WORTH IT? MAYBE.
03
LONGEVITY. OVER TIME YOUR CONTENT WILL BE SEEN
MORE HERE.
04

9. IT'S A NECESSARY EVIL. BUT, IF YOU TRULY DON'T WANT TO
DO IT = BECOME A LIST BUILDING GURU
0-1000 LIKES ON FB IN ONLY 1 YEAR! = POSTING EVERY DAY +
GROUP LEVERAGING. NO MONEY SPENT.
CANVA.COM IS YOUR BEST FRIEND. WORTH THE MONTHLY
SUBSCRIPTION = LAYOUTS, BRAND INFO SAVED, SUPER FAST
PUT TWITTER ON AUTO-PILOT VIA WORDPRESS AND MOVE ON
WITH LIFE. FOLLOW/UNFOLLOW GAMES NOT WORTH RETURN.
USE AUTO-SCHEDULE FUNCTIONS LIKE > WHY I PREFER
FACEBOOK ON-SITE SCHEDULING.
EVEN A MINIMUM PINTEREST INVOLVEMENT = PAY-OFF
MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH
SOCIAL MEDIA

10. "...TRAIN YOURSELF TO AT LEAST
ACKNOWLEDGE THE CRAZY ALTERNATIVES.
WHENEVER YOU’RE MAKING A DECISION, ASK
YOURSELF, “WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS I’M NOT
CONSIDERING BECAUSE THEY SEEM TOO
CRAZY?”
- JON MORROW: SMARTBLOGGER.COM -

11. T H A N K Y O U !
E r i n D o n a l d s o n
O p e n M i n d e d T r a v e l e r . c o m
o p e n m i n d e d t r a v e l @ g m a i l . c o m