Blogging Tips

Twitter lists have introduced the promise of a new option for promoting your blog on Twitter. But what about Facebook lists? Facebook and Twitter have been the two major contenders for promoting one’s brand across the social web, so how do the two stack up against each other when it comes to the promotion of your blog?

Ease of Use

One consideration towards choosing which social media outlet is best for you is how easily you can use each application. For blog promotion, Facebook offers a more tight-knit network for sharing your blog updates and related content.

It’s easy enough to share content through your personal network on Facebook, whether you post a link or piece of media directly on your wall or use Facebook’s bookmarking tool. With the use of apps and third party services, you can also automate some Facebook sharing, driven primarily through Facebook Connect.

The benefit here is that those on Facebook may be more inclined to read updates shared through Facebook, and subsequently share it with others in their own respective networks.

Twitter on the other hand gives you access to a potentially larger network, which could get more immediate returns to your site for increased traffic. When it comes to ease of use, Twitter has more automated options for pushing content. However, this comes as a result of third party applications, just as with Facebook.

You’ll likely find that it’s easier to share content on Twitter, as its short-form format and public accessibility lends itself to a wider pool of potential viewers. However, the more effective feedback is more likely to come from Facebook, as it’s a more personal networking approach.

Shareability

The shareability of your content seemingly goes hand in hand with the ease of use pertaining to each network. Shareability, however, refers primarly to how easily your network can share your content throughout their own networks.

While today’s comparison studies Twitter and Facebook, recognize that there are other sites used as social media outlets. Encouraging friends and followers to share your content on these networks as well means that additional shareability options will need to be present in some form or fashion.

This too relies heavily on third party applications for both Twitter and Facebook, and direct sharing capabilities are limited still. It may be best to consider the benefits of how viewers can share your content within these respective networks, for the purposes of this Twitter/Facebook comparison.

Twitter has a few options for sharing its own content within its own site walls. Retweeting, for instance, is the direct quote of another user’s tweet, now shared with your followers. Easily offered on mobile and web apps alike, sharing mechanisms on Twitter have become a standard form of recognition, subverting the need for ongoing dialogue.

Facebook, on the other hand, has contact-specific methods of sharing content. Choose between your wall or an individual. Add a comment or simply express how much you like a shared item. No matter what action you take, another user is alerted to this action. Determining which users see which actions is a controlled way of sharing content across Facebook, making it more effort-driven for viewers.

For blog promotion purposes, Twitter may be your best bet as far as shareability goes. While Facebook may offer more purpose-driven sharing options, the purpose behind it may limit the number of people willing to take the extra step to share. Twitter is more immediate in its sharing options, extending the reach of your initial tweet about your blog.

Reach

Speaking of reach, this measures the result of shareability and ease of use regarding Facebook and Twitter. When it comes to promoting your blog, the work you put into Facebook and Twitter as social media outlets can largely affect your blog’s reach.

While I could argue that reach on Twitter is further because of its potential to be accessed by more people, I could also argue that Facebook’s more controlled reach may have a better longstanding affect.

I point this out to say that the effectiveness of Facebook versus Twitter for your blog promotion depends on your ultimate social media marketing goals. Both Facebook and Twitter serve their own purposes, so I would recommend utilizing both for blog promotion. However, the ability to remain dedicated to both campaigns is really what will bring about the largest benefit on either Facebook or Twitter.

image credit: amecoli