Many small and midsize businesses may use or are considering blogging as part of their marketing strategy. What many fail to realize is that creating the a blog post is only a fraction of the work needed in successful content marketing using blogs.

Search generates the majority of traffic to your website, which is why blog posts are a good idea. Social networks provide an additional facility to have conversations with your audience. And make no mistake about it – your search engine ranking jumps when others are talking about you and sharing your content. The purpose then of social media is to engage with the folks who show up.

Oh, and hashtags, hashtags, hashtags! Hashtags can attract new followers and double your engagement. More effective hashtags used means more potential engagement. And don’t forget @ references. If you’re referencing subject matter experts in your industry, include their names – wouldn’t it be fantastic if your Seth Godin mention was tweeted out by Seth Godin (@thisissethsblog)?

So you’ve written a good post, but now what? With lots of research available for “what works” and “what fails”, you may want to do a bit of research yourself. Based on our research, here are some key techniques we use when delivering a new blog post.

Polish up the Blog Entry

• Test your headlines with something like CoSchedule (and choose a strong headline option based on score). Research shows that a six word headline attracts more readers.
• Edit and spell check your post. Providing under 1600 words is a good “size” – things that take about 3-7 minutes to read.
• Choose a strong blog header image. Look for something interesting, or better yet, create an image yourself. To save time in preparing images for social media, consider a blog post header image size of 1200 pixels x 627 pixels.

Share a Blog Teaser on Facebook

Although Facebook may not be a focal point for every business, it’s a big pond where you can cast your line. For best results, consider two factors:

• The most read posts on Facebook are 40 characters. That’s a teaser – so plan on having a strong, concise introduction to your blog post, with the link.
• Facebook images are best sized as either 1200 pixels x 1200 pixels or 1200 pixels x 627 pixels. As hinted above, to save time, we try to use the smaller height. If your header image looks better as a square, it just takes a bit more time to prepare.

Post a Blog Link on Twitter

Twitter is a favorite at Twisted Puppy. It’s the easiest place to share without overdoing it. Its fast pace allows posting more frequently. For best results, consider two factors:

• The most read posts on Twitter are about 100 characters. We like to leave a little room at the end of tweets for hashtags and retweets anyway!
• Twitter images are best at 1200 pixels x 627 pixels (see, we saved you time already!).

Use LinkedIn Too

For B2B, we love LinkedIn. It’s more focused, less diluted and closer to your community & connections. For best results, consider these three factors:

• The most read posts on LinkedIn are about 25 words. Use a strong, concise introduction to your  blog post, with the link.
• LinkedIn images are best sized as 1200 pixels x 1200 pixels.
• In addition to posting on your company page, find LinkedIn Groups that are also related. Preferably you are active in these groups already, before loading them with your blog posts. In online marketing, we prefer “lead with information” over “lead with a brochure”!

 

Your business may also benefit from sharing your blog post on other social platforms, like Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, Google+ or SnapChat. Each has its own nuances – we simply focused on the ones we use the most. Chances are good the images and posts you create on other platforms will be similar to these.