Are you getting tired of my blogging posts yet? I certainly hope not…if you want to check out my previous posts, you can find them here, here, and here.  Today, I want to chat a little bit about social media.  We all have accounts all over the place from Facebook and Twitter to Pinterest and beyond.  Do you have a plan for how you use these different platforms, or is it a bit of a free for all?? Having a plan on how you use your different social media accounts can help you stay organized and will also encourage people to follow you over all of them, versus just one or two.  If all I’m doing on Twitter is reiterating what I’ve already said on Facebook, why would someone want to follow me both places? So, I’m sharing my tips for how I use social media, and hopefully it will help you out as well!

(Since the title of this post sounded a bit like a school paper, I decided to take the theme and run with it…because I’m a complete goof.)

Pinterest: I suggest you take a long hard look at your traffic numbers and see where all of your traffic is coming from.  For me, Pinterest is easily the biggest referrer of people to my site, so I want to build on my “relationship” that I have with Pinterest.  First of all, I want to make sure that all of my boards are neat and orderly, and the most current boards are up at the top. This means, my Christmas boards shouldn’t be the first thing that people see when they visit my profile page…at least not at this time of year.  You want to make sure that your boards reflect you and your site.  While, I do have a few personal boards, the majority are related to my site.  Don’t underestimate the personal boards, though…it’s good for people to see more about “you”.

Facebook: Facebook had become such a thorn in my side that I had to re-evaluate the way I was using it.  No one was seeing my posts, my interaction was very low, so I decided to just let it go and use it more as a place to chat with my followers.  I post random topics (almost all pertaining to my site) and get feedback from my readers.  If I want people to visit my site, I can’t expect to throw up a link once a day to my latest blog post and have them rushing to their mouses (mouses…mice…touch pad, maybe??) to see what the Great and Powerful Carrie has to say.  There are 19,548 other “Carries” out there, building a relationship is key.

Twitter: To me, where Facebook is the more stuffy, formal party, Twitter is definitely the more laid back, casual after-party.  You can be yourself and have fun.  I don’t use it nearly as much as I should, but I notice that when I do use it, my feedback can be really good.  It’s a fun place to hang out, for sure.

Instagram: Probably my favorite of all the more recent social media platforms, I LOVE Instagram.  Since I’m a more visual person, seeing image after image really connects with me.  I love seeing the amazing images people are able to create using only their iPhones.  Sometimes you’re moved by the gorgeousness of the work, and you’ll scroll down a bit to see a hilarious picture of someone’s kid.  I definitely adore it.  But, to me, it’s a fun and casual place, too.  I’m not a fan when the majority of people’s feeds are filled with pictures taken by their DSLR’s that are there to promote their newest post.  People like images of everyday life…grainy and pixely as they may be!

Social media can take up a ton of a blogger’s time, but when used properly, it can provide serious boosts to helping you grow your site! Good luck!