Here we are in week 4 of our Social Media series; many of you have let me know how much you appreciated the topic of blogging. Some of you even told me that you are thinking about starting a blog yourself.
There are so many ways to go about blogging, really. It is just fun! I always tell people, if you like to encourage others and you like to talk; blogging is for you. It really might be your thing to do. There are others out there that need to hear your story; something that you know or something that you have experienced in your life.
Think about it; how much fun that would be.
Anyway, today my good friend Elizabeth will be talking to you about a few more details about blogging. She is a lot of fun.
Here is Elizabeth Maness:
How Often Should You Be Blogging?
by Elizabeth Maness
We’ve read tons of posts on this subject and it seems like everyone has a different opinion and there is no right or wrong answer. The only one who can determine how often you should be blogging is you. I am about to give you the best blog tip ever so listen up and take notes.
The best way to determine how often to blog is to first determine what your goals are as a blogger. People blog for different reasons and those differences will determine how often you should be blogging.
What Are Your Goals As A Blogger?
To truly get this blog tip, you have to first identify what your goals are as a blogger. Are you blogging for your business primarily to help drive more traffic to your site? Are you blogging to provide value to your readers with the expectation to monetize your blog through ads and affiliate programs? Some people blog for personal reasons with no intention other than to share with others and build a community. So what are your goals?
Personal Blogging
There are a ton of personal bloggers out there; those whose sole purpose is to simply share with the world their own personal experiences and stories, grow community, and connect with like-minded people. Figuring out how often to blog if you are a personal blogger is simple. It’s always a good idea to have some consistency. Create a schedule of some kind and train your readers when to visit your blog for new updates.
The one truth about blogging frequency that rings true no matter what your blog is that the more pages there are on your site to index in search, the more chances you will receive more traffic from search.
Blogging for Business
Blogs that are attached to your business website are a little different in nature. The main purposes of your blog should be to add value to your readers, establish your authority and expertise in your industry, and to increase search engine traffic. It would never be a bad thing to blog every day, if you can come up with enough relevant, compelling content, which can be a challenge.
We tell our clients that at a minimum they should be updating their blog twice a week, on consistent days, every week. If you send out an email twice a week, making those days the same day you update your blog is a good idea, that way you can include the link to your updated info in your emails.
When Blogging Is Your Business
So your blog is your business. What do you think you should do? As with any business activity if that is the primary way that you are making your income, or if you want that to be the primary way you make your income, then you should be going blog crazy.
It will be more important for you to have fresh, relevant, engaging content updated very frequently. You want to have as many pages as you can index in search engines, as most of your income will come not for referrals, but from search engine traffic. If blogging is your business then you should blog every day.
If you can’t imagine updating your blog that often, or find that you have trouble coming up with content at that rate then fill your days with guest posts to help out and also bring additional traffic to your site. The more you blog, the more you will be successful at driving traffic to your blog. And when blogging is your income, traffic matters a great deal.
So to sum it up, there is no real answer. Consistency is essential and there is no way to deny the benefits of blogging more often. What are some things you have learned about the frequency of blogging? Do you have any blog tips to share?
Elizabeth Maness
CEO AssistSocialMedia.com
Owned and operated by Elizabeth Maness,mompreneur, building business branding and relationship using social media since 2003.
Your Facebook Family Tree: Trim It With Love
Today is our last day of our Social Media series this month. I am so glad that you all enjoyed it as much as I did. Now, you also know some of my friends on Facebook. 🙂
Dorien and I have something special in common and that is that both of us are Dutch; we come from the same country: The Netherlands. And although we have never seen each other, there is that one thing that makes it a little special, no maybe 2 things: both of us are Dutch and both of us love Social Media.
I know that you will enjoy her post as much as I do, maybe especially because of all the insights she gives on how to do certain things on Facebook. Enjoy her post and please leave her a comment.
Here is Dorien!
Your Facebook Family Tree: Trim It With Love
by Dorien van Dam
Remember when you first made your Facebook profile? Whether it was yesterday, months or years ago… Facebook ‘knows who you know’ and you probably gathered your first few family members and close friends and ‘friended’ about 50-60 people within a week. I venture to guess your Facebook family tree quickly branched out when old high school friends found you, present and past colleagues sent friend-requests and your child’s teacher or your neighbor’s son asked as well. Sounds about right? Maybe you made a business page since it is the only way to conduct business on Facebook. You got fans. With that, I dare to wager, came the friend-requests of people who really weren’t your friend. Business associates, fellow bloggers, other page owners and just plain strangers, all wanting to ‘friend’ you. Feeling it? Now how do you keep track of the friendships, make sure you see the important updates of your loved ones and don’t miss anything you value on Facebook? Here are some ideas and Facebook features to do all that AND keep your Facebook family tree healthy, trimmed and neat so you are in control.
USE YOUR LISTS For personal profile/friends only
Use the initial ‘Lists’ Facebook set up for you, and put people in the appropriate lists. They are:
* ‘Your Town’ Area
* Family
* Close Friends
* Friends of ‘Your Business Fan Page’
Create new lists
Think:
* Acquaintances
* Sports Friends
* Colleagues
* PTA moms
* Friends in Europe
* Etc.
Each list you add to your profile creates a new ‘filtered news feed’ meaning only the status updates/posts of those personal profiles on that list are seen in that filtered feed.
CREATE INTEREST LISTS
Add both personal profile/friends AND Facebook Pages to these interest lists.
Think:
* Social Media Managers and their Pages
* Local Pages and Page owners
* Experts in your field
* Authors Pages
* Publishers
* Restaurants
* Entertainment in Your Town
* Fellow Bloggers and their Pages
* Etc.
Each list and interest list you add to your profile creates a new ‘filtered news feed’ meaning only the status updates/posts of those personal profiles or pages on that list are seen in that filtered feed.
CREATE GROUPS
Groups on Facebook are a great way to solidify new friendships or to share sensitive content.
* Secret groups are great for MasterMind-type groups, family groups or support groups. No one can see who’s in them or what is talked about. They are by invite only and do not show up in Facebook searches.
* Closed groups are great for like-minded business owners, networking groups, PTA’s, camps, sports teams, fraternities and sororities, book clubs etc. They do show up in Facebook searches and everyone can see the members, but no one outside the group can see the posts. Admission is by approval of the admin to the group.
* Open groups are good for large brands, fundraising campaigns and interests like ‘reading’, ‘writing’, ‘surfing’ etc. Everyone can join, everyone can see the posts.
How will this help you ‘trim’ your Facebook family tree? When you want to interact with a person about their business or a mutual interest, but you have nothing else in common, groups are an ideal meeting place. Being in a group with a business associate gives you access to them and lets you tag that person in a group, but it protects your personal newsfeed from their updates. If you feel inclined, you can ‘friend’ later. It’s almost like trying out a friendship first, to see if it is a good fit! 😉
HIDE UPDATES
This option is great for friends and family you love, but whose continues and annoying updates or game requests you despise! Hide all but their ‘most important’ posts and you are both happy. Your online relationship continues without hurt feeling and you both win. (And they will NEVER know you hid their annoying statuses 😉 )
DELETE SPAMMERS
I am sure you’ve accepted friend-requests from those known to you or not, to only regret it right away: You are inundated with messages about events you never want to go to, receive coupons for items you will never purchase or find game requests notifications each time you log on. Only one way to deal with them: un-friend them NOW! Do not react to them, or send them message to ‘please stop’. You are one of many Facebook friends; spammers play the ‘number’ game. They probably care very little about you and what you want. They want to sell you something or promote themselves.
UNFRIEND THOSE WHO ARE NOT WORTHY
You must know whom I am referring to: People who continually bash others, people who are very negative, people who are extremely controversial and post inappropriate stuff. There is nothing left but to un-friend those people along with the spammers. And guess what; unless they go looking, they will not even notice you ‘left’ the conversation! No notice will go out that you un-friended them.
I love my Facebook family!
Facebook is a great platform to connect on. I personally use B2C and B2B marketing and I have met some great people on Facebook I am proud to call my friends! Taking the time to ‘trim your tree’ every once in a while will enhance your productivity: It will create more time for those who are a positive influence, those who share your vision and those who with amazing content. Will you take the time this week to trim yours? Leave a comment and let me know when you do!
Dorien Morin-van Dam is the face behind the orange glasses! Proud to be Dutch, Dorien wears orange glasses in real life, too!
As the social media manager of my own company, I find myself frequently talking and walking business owners and friends alike through the initial steps of social media set up and management. Explaining and helping them understand this is important. Even though they might delegate some or all of their social media to a social media management company, it is crucial for them to understand how the different platforms work before they engage in social media marketing.
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