Social media has always been a great way to build engagement, quickly attracting relevant people to your blog. However, to truly succeed online, you have to know the different ways you can install or integrate social media into your blogging strategy. To do this at one point would be impossible, requiring enormous code, but with companies coming out with simple tools to streamline implementation, it’s easier. For those of you starting a blog, looking for creative ways to implement social media into your blogging, follow these simple to use strategies. Each one has been proven to work well through enormous testing and tweaking. Once implemented, you simply have to test what works better than others then optimize until you reach high impact results.
Here are some cool ways to get started with social media and web integration.
Social Follow Buttons
One of the best ways to integrate social sharing to your website is by utilizing social share buttons. Approximately 80% of users are building blogs using WordPress so this makes it easier to integrate social sharing by installing plug-ins. Next, you have a wide range of choice so make sure you pick one that is very easy to customize and provides statistics. Next, test different places to add social share buttons and from my experience, I recommend the following places:
- Above Content
- Below Content
This way, those who know you provide substance and are loyal will share before reading while having a chance after reading your content for optimal performance.
Social Login
Many product and service websites have been using social login to help build engagement. This doesn’t mean it can’t be used by niche bloggers, but it’s important you implement it the right way. If you require people to sign up to leave comment, download material, or for a FREE trial, then use social login integration to build momentum. When people login, they’re essentially registering for your website, opting into your email and product, but they’ll post an update on their wall at the same time. With them leaving a post on their wall, you have just increased the chances of other relevant people finding out about your brand. Imagine this…
Someone uses social login and post an update to 50,000+ followers on Facebook. This can be enormous engagement through a simple login. You can integrate social login with a plug-in offered in the WordPress backend.
Instagram Embed
I’m sure many people know Instagram is growing at an unprecedented rate each year so it’s important to capture new followers when you can. This is why I recommend using the Instagram embedded feature to add photos to your blog. On the bottom right corner of the picture, you’ll be able to retrieve an embed code to easily add the photo to a page. When people visit your blog, they’ll see the image and will be able to click through to your Instagram account, opting to follow you right away. Instagram is a great way to capture relevant people and post updates to them through engaging photos.
Simple “Like” Box
The Facebook “Like” box works wonders when you’re starting off in the industry. Instead of it being a simple way to promote your blog, you’re also adding credibility at the same time. Many people don’t realize how important it is to have someone “Like” your website and follow you. By including this feature into your website, you are allowing all visitors like credible sources, other authority bloggers, friends, and others to follow your website. When others see this, they’ll want to join your group because they believe you’ll provide valuable information. I mean, why else would so many people “Like” your page…right?
If you have a Facebook account, then it’s very easy to implement this strategy. Simply head over to Facebook Developers and setup an application account so you can retrieve the right code. Once you have the code, you can paste it directly onto your page or install a WordPress plugin to automatically set it up on your website.