It looks like a few people found some value in my post from last year, “12 Things to Do After You’ve Written a New Blog Post.” Well, one or two new things have been launched on the “interwebs” since March of 2011, so I thought it might be time for an update. And hey, I thought I’d throw a printable (and PIN-able) infographic version of the original post into the mix while I’m at it.
Blog syndication
My previous post talked about establishing RSS connections with various social media sites so that your blog content automatically posts to your profiles. Some of that still holds true. I’m not really a fan of auto-posting to Twitter or Facebook, but there are a few automatic connections that I do recommend. One is for your personal LinkedIn profile. If you haven’t yet plugged your blog feed into your profile, watch this video and get it done. Forward this to your coworkers as well — everyone in your company should be syndicating your blog content on their LinkedIn profiles via the WordPress or BlogLink applications.
1. RSS-to-Email: One of the new (but not really new) things I wanted to mention was RSS-to-Email syndication. Depending on your email marketing or RSS management platform, you may now have the ability to set up RSS-to-Email campaigns for your blog content. If you’re using Mailchimp (my fave), there’s an easy process for setting this up. Create a new blog subscriber list so you’re not spamming your current list, configure a mobile-friendly email template, and create your campaign to send automatically when you launch a new blog post. Add the subscription form to your blog so you can continue to build your subscriber list.
2. Google Currents: Currents is Google’s answer to the popular iPad app, Flipboard. It’s all about media consumption on any type of mobile device, and Currents makes it simple to create your own real-time digital magazine by syndicating any content feeds that you connect. You can go to the Google Currents page, name your edition, and plug in your RSS feed, your YouTube channel, your Fickr stream, your Google+ updates, and a host of other accounts. You can then customize your look with brand elements and color schemes. It took me all of 15 minutes to get “The Divvy Daily” up and running.
Much like Google+, the future adoption and consumption of Currents is still unknown. But tablets are a big part of our future, so you might want to get on this train now.
Status updates: Social sites you need to consider
3. Google+: Google continues to build upon its new social network, and it’s hard to deny the SEO value of sharing your content via this platform. One unique point about Google+ is that there are no character limitations, so you are free to include a lot more content within your status updates than you can on platforms such as Twitter. I’d recommend that you create thoughtful, engaging, keyword-optimized teasers with links back to your blog or website.
4. Pinterest: By now, there’s no need for me to add to the 5,000 other “how to use Pinterest” articles out there that were likely posted in the last few days. If you have developed an original graphic or photo for your content, pin it for some extra link juice!
5. Twitter: We’ll assume you’re already posting to Twitter, but I’d like to take this further and remind you to think about using specific hashtags that relate to the topic(s) covered in your blog post. Adding a hashtag to a blog post is a great way to extend the reach of your content beyond your followers. A good chunk of the Twitterati follows and monitors certain hashtags that they care about, so a post that shows up in that hashtag stream has a good chance of being seen and retweeted. For example, when you add #cmi to a tweet, your post is probably going to get viewed by a few hundred more eyeballs than it would otherwise, due to the number of people that are monitoring the Content Marketing Institute Twitter stream.
You probably already know the popular hashtags related to your industry, products/services, or subject matter, but if you don’t, you can head over to http://hashtags.org/ and do some searching to find out which hashtags are the most popular.
Social bookmarking
6. Bookmarking with Reddit: In my previous post, I talked about how social bookmarking has been on the decline for some time, but the bookmarking site, Reddit, is not messing around these days. The recent story of Caine’s Arcade that blew up all over the world was largely due to the power and reach of the Reddit community.
But, you can’t just show up on Reddit and expect to get any love. I’d recommend finding established users in your network and asking them to bookmark/promote your content. Be careful not to overstay your welcome though, and your “stuff” better be good.
Seek and assist
7. Twitter tips: I’m anxiously awaiting the release of a new service (in private beta at the moment) called NeedTagger, which scans your content and finds people on Twitter discussing the needs that your content can meet, right now. Using its Engagement panel, you review the incoming tweets/comments and meet users’ needs by sharing helpful content. In return, they click on your shared links, driving high quality traffic to your website. NeedTagger tracks the clicks and shares that you generate for each link you share, so you can measure how well your content and messaging perform in social media. Yeah, giddyup.
Just do it
I’ll offer the same words of advice that I gave in my original post: The first time is the hardest. Setting up accounts and getting to know the interface and functions of the various social sites and applications may make your brain hurt. But it will get easier. I usually dedicate an hour to blog post promotion after each launch.
And finally, all this new stuff can be tracked, including Google Currents, which plugs in directly to your existing Google Analytics account.
Your turn: What did I miss? What else are you doing to promote your content?
Looking to score big points with your target audience? CMI’s 2016 Content Marketing Playbook has tips, insights, and ideas that can help increase your success with 24 of the top content marketing tactics.
