As the world of online social networking has grown, Twitter and Facebook have become king and queen of an empire. For the longest time I held a grudge against Twitter because it just seemed like a stupid website to me. I didn't understand why people wanted to read about what Kim Kardashian ate for breakfast or what Miley Cyrus did the night before, and I certainly didn't feel like sharing the banalities of my day to day life on Twitter. Then I realized that having a Twitter for a business or website is a totally different animal! It's a great way to share information with your followers and fellow bloggers in a quick and efficient way. Plus, with all the smart phones out there, a lot of people have access to that information wherever they go with their phones!
Once I joined Twitter, I could let people know that I put up a new post, or that there was a new giveaway. People could tweet me questions, I could ask other people questions, and I could retweet relevant information to my followers. It has become a great tool and now I really enjoy using Twitter for my blog!
I make it a point to only follow Twitter feeds that I feel are important to me, or will tweet great information that I'll want to check out. I feel like if I follow too many people on Twitter, the sheer volume of tweets to sift through becomes totally unmanageable! Find what system works for you, though. You can create "lists" in Twitter, too, grouping related people together. For example, I have a list that groups all my sponsors' tweets, and a list that groups my blogger friends' tweets together. It's a nice way to organize the people that you follow.
I made a Facebook page for Delightfully Tacky long before I joined Twitter, probably because I already had a personal Facebook profile and I could see how a Facebook page could be advantageous. Facebook is another way to meet your followers where they're already at. Pretty much everyone is on Facebook, lets face it. It makes it super easy to let your followers know what's up, and it posts your updates in their news feed. I've linked my blog to Facebook so that every time a new post goes up, it automatically updates on my Facebook page. I can ask my followers questions on Facebook, post photos and so much more. I have a photo album on my Facebook page that shares some of my funny candid photos, which is another way I like to be accessible to my readers. You can put stuff like that on your Facebook that you wouldn't necessarily post on your blog. You can also link your Facebook page and your twitter account so that when you post a status update to Facebook, it automatically tweets that status update as well!
Both Facebook and Twitter are always in my top ten referring sites. They're a great way to connect to your readers in a more organic way. Since most people already use Facebook and Twitter, you're just making it easier for them to connect to you! And that's what you want. You want it to be easy for your audience to access your blog and relevant information associated with it. Facebook and Twitter are perfect in this capacity!
