Social media is a giant experiment, that has changed the face of marketing forever, for the good.

Blogging is the single most difficult platform in social media and the most likely to fail. In fact, most blogs suck and are destined to fail (there are millions of blogs)—elephant journal is an exception and one of millions of good blogs.

Why is blogging critical to your social media strategy and how can you make it successful?

Blogging is the center of your social media strategy; all content is either created on your blog and shared from your blog or simply shared on your blog.

Why?

Primarily because you control it. If Facebook deletes your profile and you lose hundreds of thousands of Likes, do not lose your content. If Twitter becomes irrelevant (has it already?) your foundation is still your blog and your content is safe.

When I break down the words “social media,” I am reminded that media is content we create; social is how we share that content.

With this in mind, I want you to think of your blog as the foundation upon which you create and share all of your social media. All of the other networks are how you distribute your content, how you promote and share your content.

Still not sold on blogging?

Blogging is the core of any great search engine optimization strategy—it’s how we drive traffic to websites. Are you ready for my top 10 secrets?

Top 10 Secrets Revealed!

1. Keep it real. This can be stated as always write from the heart. Meaning if you are writing about something you believe in, the writing will come naturally and you will enjoy posting and maybe even look forward to it.

2. Write Posts or update your site at least weekly. You set the standard here, give yourself a schedule so you do not have to think about when you should post. Eventually, you will just post without a schedule because it will be part of your routine.

3. Find the balance of long posts vs. short posts. Not every post should be an essay or novel, sometimes just posting a picture says 1,000 words. We want to average 250 words. That means some of your posts should be a simple picture and a quote!

4. Write in your own voice. This can be difficult, but as you let your guard down, your voice will shine through.

5. Focus on your area of expertise. This is where you have the most knowledge and information to share with the world. That said, this should be an area of creative freedom, so break this rule as required. If you are an expert in yoga, write about what you are learning—this is where you are an amazing teacher and your content will be brilliant.

6. Cite your sources. The more links you can build into your posts establishes your credibility and the value of reading your posts. When I tell you to distribute your content on Facebook, I am telling you to do that because there are a billion people on Facebook, not because I like it (actually, I love it).

7. Add pictures when possible, cite the source and include the meta data (this is an excellent habit to develop from the start).

8. Links, Links Links. Put them in your posts, include a blog roll and add sites there. Posting a link to someone’s site gives them credit and builds social capital. This is great for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and builds Social Capital because we are promoting resources. Just do it!

9. Bank it. This is a shot in basketball and a process in blogging. You do not have to post every blog when you write it—sometimes, you want to keep a few posts in your “bank,” for days or weeks when you are not in the mood to write but want to get a post up. This also gives you time to go back and add or revise a post.

10. Promote Your Blog. This may feel like selling your soul, but it is not. You are contributing to our universal knowledge. Put links out on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter. Put a link in the signature line of your email. Tell your friends you blog and send them a link to the site. Make business cards and include your blog address on them. Use social media and traditional media to promote your blog. Your information is only useful if other people find it. Contribute to other people’s blogs, with a link. You have to share your content 10x the effort it took you to write the post. Think about that, and start sharing your posts more!!!

“You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

I believe you will be an amazing blogger; start today and never look back.

Even if you read a lot of bad blogs, remember your blog will be amazing—write what you feel passionate about and restore our faith in blogging!

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Ed: Bryonie Wise