How to Extend the Life of Your Blog Post

We are Bloggers. We all spend time hovering over our keyboards, trying to come up with the right verbiage, free from grammatical errors, slimming down our content to make it simple, easy to read & not bore our audience. Once we are happy with our Masterpiece, which often we feel it could always go through 1 more round of edits, eventually we hit “publish”.

But what happens next? In other words, are you using social media to the best of your ability to extend the life of that blog post? You should! All that time you have put into creating this Masterwork should be worth it!

Here are 5 tips to extend the life of your blog post

1. Don’t auto post your blog. I know, I know, it is SO easy! Often our blogging platforms make it even easier with add-ins like “Publicize”. The thing is, each social media platform you are on has a specific audience, who expect a certain tone from you. They don’t want a canned message, or worse a title and a link.

My social media audiences are VERY different. For me, those who follow my Facebook page are more individual supporters of my brand. They don’t care about breaking industry news. Whereas my Google+ network would like that sort of post.

I have a vast audience. My secret is: I find a message that appeals to that specific audience and then post to that platform. The only thing that is the same across all my social media platforms are the blog title and link.

2. Post at different times on social media. This is where I am going to tell you it is OK to use social media management platforms like HootSuite or Buffer. Spread your posts out over a few days. For instance: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn today. Twitter, Google+ & Pinterest tomorrow or the day after.

Sidebar: Buffer is my platform of choice. It will help you look at the big picture of when exactly all your posts are going out. However, it does have limitations on analytics and account accessibility.

3. Multiply your Tweets. Yes, you see “Twitter” posted twice in the tip above. Thanks to this platform moving at warp speed, you can repost and not overindulge your audience. For Real!

This is where you really give your post legs. There is a theory that I read in a HubSpot article titled, “How Marketing Legend Guy Kawasaki Manages His Social Media Presence”. Guy reposts the same Tweet, 4 times, 8 hours apart. He calls it, “GRATE”, which stands for “Guy’s Repeating Automated Tweet Engine.” Different social media user habits and time zones ensure his Tweet (and post) have the most reach and views over a specific time period.

If you have a post like this one, where you have multiple tips, create a Tweet for each of them! I could literally get 20 tweets from this post! 5 tips, posted in the GRATE fashion.

4 Tweets/Tip X 5 Tips = 20 Tweets

4. Filter those Tweets. I do suggest filtering other Tweets (or RTs) inbetween. You don’t want your Twitterstream to be the same post over and over. This is where Buffer is your best friend!

5. Create an Infographic. Does your post have some type of visual appeal? DIY Bloggers – you know what I am talking about! For the rest of us that talk theories and social media tactics, think of fun ways to create a visual for your post.

For instance – I have 5 tips with this blog. Once my post is in draft mode, I head over to Canva to create a fun visual. (Below.) Viewers LOVE visuals. I could even get away with an Instagram and Pinterest post too!

Those are 5 ways to extend the life of your post. Make sure to subscribe to this blog, in the sidebar to the right, as I plan to share more social media tips for my blogging friends!

Happy Blogging & Social-izing!

Image Source: iClipart and Canva

About the Author: Jeannine O’Neil, owner of JO Social Branding, is a social media consultant who educates business owners on how to make the best use of their social media marketing. She teaches owners about the platforms and gives them the tools and skills they need to be successful with their social media.

Through JO Social Branding, she has positioned herself as a thought leader in the social media industry. Jeannine blogs twice a week, has a bi-weekly newsletter titled, “Social Eyes” and also teaches social media courses at North Shore Community College. In addition she speaks to organizations’ employees and members about the benefits and nuances of social media. Jeannine has been featured on Blogher, a national blogging community.

Most recently her claim to fame was the blogging and social media coverage of Angie Miller, the Beverly teenager, who placed top 3 last season on American Idol. Jeannine became the local blogging and social media expert on the pop star. While covering the local-turned-national news story, Jeannine garnered over 25,000 views to her blog.