Join the Conversation, or Get Moving Turtle!

I've been experimenting with social media and gathering analytics.  In all my research, I've found that the best way (so far) to garner more activity, attention, views to your site, blog, etc. is to be active in the social media community.  Commenting on other blogs increases traffic.

Take this example...a few weeks ago, I noticed that one of my favorite authors, Jennifer Niven ("Velva Jean Learns to Drive"), whom I follow on twitter, tweeted a link to L.A. Magazine's review of her new book ("Velva Jean Learns to Fly").  Several months ago, I had recommended her book in my blog, so I replied to her tweet, saying that while I was no L.A. Mag, I, too, highly recommended her...and included a link to my old blog post.  Not only did she reply to my tweet, but she went to my blog, and left a comment.  Her 100+ twitter followers saw her comment to me, as well as my link.  In one day, views on my blog spiked 25%.

There is another lesson in this example.  Don't assume that just because you posted a blog, everyone saw it already.  Older posts can and should be recycled.  Think about your blog posts having a longer shelf life, and write on topics that will still be relevant six months from now.  You can repost them on your blog, but also tweet links to older posts when it makes sense to do so.  Case in Point:

By day, I work for a marketing agency.  One of my tasks is managing our social media presence.  One of the people we follow on Twitter has 40,000+ followers. He tweeted a comment about how to find the right Social Media Manager.  I had written a post several months ago about how to train your new Social Media Manager.  So...I replied to his tweet, agreeing about how important finding the right person is, and then added "...and when you do find the right fit, here's how to get him started on the right track" with a link to my old blog post.  Activity on our agency blog spiked 20% in one day.

Stay tuned to what your followers (and those you follow) are posting, tweeting and talking about.  And look for opportunities to join the conversation.  If you are dipping a toe into the vast social media pool and are not sure where to start, remember that it's a slow moving snow ball, but each post, comment, tweet makes a ripple, and those ripples will begin to add up.  Keep a slow and steady pace, and you'll slowly add followers, and learn much along the way.