Moving Beyond Social Media to Market Your Blog

Blogging is still a relatively new term, having combined the aspect (and terminology) of the web with the action of logging your thoughts, actions or daily activities. As a trend, however, blogging is rather established. It’s no longer uncommon to learn that someone or some business entity has a blog. Marketing around blogs has driven an entire web-based economy all its own, but for those running the blogs, new marketing tactics are always a challenge resulting in staying one step ahead of the curve.

Traditional marketing for a blog (and I use the term ‘traditional’ in a relative sense, considering the length of time blogging has been around compared to printed media) includes the heavy use of social media. This is in part due to the fact that blogs are a technological trend all their own, fostering the heavy use of web-based social media. Nevertheless, there are new arenas for which blog marketing could expand the message of your publication, some of which still take advantage of socially driven media networks and services. Additionally, ads can be incorporated into these other methods. Here are three to consider.

Resource Sites

Your blog has an overarching theme. If you were to summarize your blog’s theme, what would you say? This is a message that you can use to further spread your message, and establish your authority. Create a PowerPoint demonstration outlining your blog, or make a slide show that highlights your blog’s motif.

This collection of slides or photos (or video clips, etc.) can be used to market your message and grow your brand. Leverage social media to spread this mini marketing packet for your blog motif, and let it gain traction as a handy resource. Sites like SlideShare are great places to post this content, as they still enable social activity around your content, and can be referenced by others as a resource for their own purposes.

Mobile Apps

The content you created for additional resource sites can also be applied to mobile apps. Make an app that gives the basics of your blog’s message, along with your regularly updated blog content. Add some socially driven action items to encourage reader engagement and sharing. As mobile apps are becoming shortcuts to users’ favorite websites and services, an engaging app could really drive readership to your site.

Provide apps that utilize some of the device’s major features when creating apps for the iPhone and other popular platforms, such as Android. For instance, enable photo uploads to your blog’s community page directly through the phone’s photo gallery, minimizing the need for your readers to open your mobile app in order to interact with your blog.

Virtual Goods

While Facebook apps are all the rage, virtual goods are just beginning to take off. With several mobile and web-based platforms jumping on this band wagon, there are more possibilities to generate revenue based on consumer adoption of purchasing goods through these networks.

Create an item that relates back to your blog’s brand, and incorporate it with your other marketing campaigns and social media profiles. An example would be a virtual Valentine’s Day greeting item that readers can send to their friends on Facebook, for which they and their recipients will receive a discount towards the purchase of your blog’s book or T-shirt.

Written by Kristen Nicole from Kristen Nicole
Posted on January 11th, 2010 and filed under Blogging
Do not forget to subscribe to our RSS feed for updates

8