One of the main reasons for writing blog posts is to share our knowledge.
And social media plays a HUGE part in helping us share that content and knowledge with our audience.
But in order to make our content easily shareable, there are some major mistakes you have to avoid. Otherwise, you’ll be losing out on a ton of social shares….which then results in fewer eyeballs on your posts and fewer conversions on your website!
#1. Forgetting about sharing graphics:
Humans process images 60,000 times faster than text.…which is why social media is extremely visual. Using images, videos, and illustrations are a surefire way to grab attention and intrigue your audience.
If you don’t have a sharing graphic or featured image pop up when someone is sharing your content, they might think twice about following through.
The same is true if your sharing image is blurry, not related to the content, or is confusingly placed.
Why?
Because if the visual doesn’t make sense, it looks spammy and not very inviting to read, let alone share. Think about how you use social media…would you click on a post that your friend reposted if there was no image or if the image didn’t make ANY sense with the title?
Truth: I’ve X’d out of sharing an awesome piece of content because the visual was really THAT bad….actually, I’ve done this quite a few times. Visuals matter here, people.
And I’m not just talking a Facebook sharing graphic, I’m also referring to the vertical styled one for Pinterest.
Over at Mariahmagazine.com, Pinterest is my #1 traffic driver to my website….but that wouldn’t be the case if I didn’t include Pinterest-friendly images for my blog readers to share.
Pinterest people are SUPER specific when it comes to what images they share (myself included). If a blog post doesn’t have a vertical image, I’m not sharing it on Pinterest….and the thought of you losing out on social media shares because of a lack of a vertical graphic makes me sad.
So don’t forget to include both a horizontal and vertical version!
#2. Your social sharing buttons aren’t obvious enough
Social sharing buttons are the key to making sharing your content as straightforward as possible. Don’t fall into the trap of having the teeny-tiny social share buttons hidden at the bottom of your blog post…they’re not obvious or enticing enough to make your blog readers share your content.
More times than not, they’ll typically even overlook those. So even if they loved your content, and they WOULD have shared it, the social media sharing buttons weren’t obvious enough to make them take action on that.
Here’s an example of the teeny-tiny ones we want to avoid:
And if possible, use larger, more engaging ones with social media share counts showing if possible, like this:
(these are using the WordPress plugin: Social Warfare)
But the bottom line is, make sure every post has an easy-to-find set of buttons featuring all of the major social networks that your audience is using.
Find out which social media platforms will give you the best results!
If you’re putting in the time and effort into creating content for your website, chances are you value your audience. And when you value your audience, you create content that they like. And when people find your content useful, interesting or entertaining they’re going to want to share it….so don’t make them jump over hurdles to do that.
#3. Focusing on quantity over quality
In order for your social shares to skyrocket, you have to create content that’s worth sharing.
Sounds extreme, but it’s true.
No more creating a 300-word blog post and expecting it to go viral….which was totally the case 5+ years ago. And that’s because there wasn’t as much content being created as there is now.
Now, there are over 3 million blog posts are published EVERY DAY. (source)
That’s insane, right?
So in order for yours to stand out, you really have to know WHO your blog post is for, and WHAT their problems are so they can connect with your content, and share that sucker all over the web!
So don’t worry about publishing 3 blog posts a week, or even 2 a week….or hell, even 1x a week. You can get away with posting a new blog post 1x or 2x a month if you make them insanely valuable for your audience.
And then when it comes to social media, loop your content and reshare old posts that are still relevant. That way you’re always generating eyeballs on your content which means your social media shares on each post, old or new, will continue to grow!
Conclusion:
Blogging takes a ton of time, and there’s a bunch of steps to take in order to get the MOST out of your content. That’s not news to us, as bloggers…..but what we don’t want is all of our efforts falling flat because no one is sharing our content.
So avoid these mistakes, like the plague, so you can get more eyeballs on your blog posts, more shares on social media, and more conversions on your website!
Have you made any of these blog mistakes? Let me know in the comments!
About Our Guest Contributor:
Mariah is a website strategist over at Mariah Magazine Web & Strategy Studio. She works with online business owners to help them get more website traffic and improve their SEO by creating a website strategy that’s unique to their business goals and ideal audience. Connect with her over on Instagram or check out her step by step YouTube videos. And if you’re looking for an Ultimate Blog Post SEO Checklist, be sure to download a free copy here!