8.18.2015

The Biggest Social Media Mistake You're Making (And How to Fix It)



I'm kind of addicted to social media (Instagram, anyone?).  

For bloggers, the ultimate goal of social media is to get readers to visit their blog. But not everyone is reaching that goal.

And why not?
Because you're sharing your entire blog on your social media,

and it's the biggest mistake you're making.

I see it hundreds of times a day. Wait, but isn't that goal? It is, but keep reading to see how to do it the right way. But first, here are three ways this social media mistake happens:

1. The Commercial

  • It's when every single social media post comes across as an advertisement for your blog. It's all BAM in your face, like a constant commercial.
    • Example: There's a comedian I used to follow on Twitter. Every post was about his upcoming appearances (Hey guys, don't forget to watch me on This Show! or I'll be performing at the Comedy Place this Saturday. Get tickets now!). Every. single. post. was like that. There was none of his personality, none of him, nothing funny, which is why I wanted to follow his account in the first place. Unfollow!
    • How to Fix: Your readers want to see YOU, to know there's a person behind the screen. Otherwise, they can just read a magazine on your subject, and that's what sets blogging apart. We feel like we "know" the blogger. There's someone real there.
      • Make your content 70% your life (especially great for Insta or Snapchat) and other things (like useful articles or posts related to your blogging genre if posting to FB, Twitter, or Pinterest) and 30% about your blog. A few bloggers share none of their blog on social media and instead use it to interact with readers, or use their personal Facebook for that and keep their blog on their fan page. I can't, but I've seen it happen.

2. The Main Course
  • This is when you share your entire post on Instagram or Snapchat.
    • Example: There's a blogger I used to follow on Snapchat. But every snap was of her scrolling down her blog post via her computer screen or it was a screenshot of her entire post. Why would I ever want to stop over and view her blog? She's already shown me her post for the day! The same thing happens on Instagram. If you show your exact blog post, why would I want to visit? Thank to your pic, I've already seen your post for the day. No need to click your link.
    • How To Fix: Think of your Insta or Snaps as an appetizer. Don't show your readers the main course. That's what your blog is for. There are plenty of ways to do this:
      • If you're a DIY or food blogger, share a behind-the-scenes snippet (Guess what these ingredients will turn into?). If you're a beauty or style blogger, show some of the makeup or clothes you will be featuring, but not the entire look on you. Not yet. If my post is on a haul of new beauty products, I'm not going to post a pic of them all. Why would you visit my blog if you've seen everything in my haul? Instead, I'll post one item. 
      • Exception: Once you've shared your appetizer, and only if the picture quality is amazing (we are visual people after all), share a bit of the final result or the "main course." But, don't share pics for the same post back to back on social media--maybe the day after the post goes up, like an "in case you missed it" type of post. 
3. The Movie Trailer
  • Similar to the first two examples, you're sharing your entire post on your social media. Sometimes there are words on the picture but no words to describe it. Or maybe it's just your blog link with no explanation.
    • Example: You're watching a movie trailer and you realize you've seen the entire movie by watching that trailer. This happens a lot, doesn't it? I don't know about you, but many times it makes me less likely to want to watch the movie, especially if I'm not familiar with the lead actor/actress. 
      • Or the trailer is full of words with little visuals, or the trailer has no explanation at all. I can't figure out what the movie is about. Sometimes it's an intriguing mystery, and sometimes it just leaves me confused.
    • How to Fix It: Again, don't show all your cards, so to speak. Leave a little mystery, a teaser, but not to the point that your readers are confused or feel they've seen everything by viewing that pic. Give them a reason to want to visit your blog. Showing all of your post is not it.
      • Unless you are sharing a quote, don't share an image with words on it. I call this the "title" or "main" post pic. See the pic at the top of this post? This will not be seen on my Instagram. This is great for Pinterest, but you will find less engagement from other forms of social media. 
      • Don't just throw your blog or post link up there on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, etc. without an explanation. Tell us why we need to view this post. How is it going to help us?
      • And finally, don't share anything on your blog's social media unless there is a link to your blog in your profile. This sounds common sense, but it's another one I see daily. I will have blog visitors, especially on Google+, that don't have their blog link anywhere. Thanks for the comment, but there's no way to contact or visit your blog.
Have you seen these examples on social media?

Extra Elle:
  • I had a great weekend but it was so fast. One of my nephew's had his birthday party a couple of weeks early and I made the 5 hour drive down there. It was so much fun and was Mario-themed. But I need a weekend to recover!
  • This summer has been one of power outages--last night made the 4th one within the past month. I'm ready for fall :)
  • My pup Charlie ate something that hurt his tummy, I suspect at his Doggie Daycare, and is finally better. Whew. 

59 comments:

  1. I'm glad you shared this! I always post my blog post photo and really should be showing a sneak peak. I need to fix ASAP! So many great tips! Thanks Elle!

    Jill
    Doused In Pink

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  2. I'm glad you're dog is feeling better - and these are all such great tips. I feel like I don't spend enough time considering the various "marketing" facets of it all so this is really very helpful.

    Courtney ~ Sartorial Sidelines

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  3. Great tips, Elle! I'll be sure to keep in mind for IG

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  4. Glad Charlie is feeling better! Loved the Snap with his tongue just barely out the other day, so cute! And these are all great tips! Thanks for sharing!
    <3, Pamela
    Sequins & Sea Breezes


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  5. I am the opposite... I hardly every promote my blog posts on IG or Snap chat. I just post whatever and don't put nearly enough thought into it. These are great ideas though! Thanks!

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  6. Anything that sounds like a sales pitch is hard to like lol! xo, Biana -BlovedBoston

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  7. I'm the opposite... I forget to post anything about my blog on social media - oops

    Glad Charlie is feeling better.

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  8. Love how you break all of this down for us. Such a great post to use. Well done, lady!

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  9. This post is so very helpful. Great tips.

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  10. wow! So much to think through Elle! Thanks for sharing. I am guilty of doing ALL of these wrong! Pinning now :)

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  11. Happy bday to your nephew:D And yah....so agree with your tips above. I do think it's best just to leave a teaser in social media posts instead of showing everything. I don't post about my blog on IG, but I'm just lazy:P

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  12. Thank you for this post! I was having a conversation about this very topic with my husband last night and this is super useful information!

    ~Beth
    New Blog - www.thebethnextdoor.com

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  13. I loooved this post and yes, I have seen so many examples of this... a blogger who tells me "I don't know why people are not visiting me" and why? Because she posts the whole outfit on Instagram, now I can figure it out! It's all so true, leaving a bit for later is the best!
    DenisesPlanet.com

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  14. This post is so amazing and the tips so helpful.. it is fr reasons u mentioned i do not share all my blog posts on instagram.. :)

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  15. I just post the title to my blog if its a non out-fit post. If its an outfit post then I will show the outfit. I have been without a phone for a week now. So my Ig post about my blog have been coming super late.

    Glad Charlie is doing better

    http://www.amysfashionblog.com/blog-home

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  16. Great tips, I like be the analogies! Glad your puppy is feeling better!
    Xoxo,

    Whitney & Blaire

    Peaches In A Pod

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  17. Great post, Elle, and a helpful reminder. So sorry about the power outages. Those are the worst and are reminders of how much we depend on electricity.

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  18. Great post and reminder! You do a fab job of highlighting Charlie and cool products on your Instagram. I'm slowly getting onto Instagram and also only want to highlight cool tidbits and fab pictures,
    I hope Charlie is well now!

    xoxo,
    little luxury list formerly Chic 'n Cheap Living

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  19. I'm so glad you brought this up. I've seen some bloggers literally share every single photo from their blog posts and it's like total overkill.

    Rowena @ rolala loves

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  20. I rarely promote my blog posts on social media, and if I do..it is usually on twitter with just the link. We had one heck of a storm come through this morning and I cant believe we didn't lose power! We usually do. I am glad Charlie is feeling better!

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  21. I totally agree! If I follow a fashion blogger and they 'gram a full picture of their outfit and I see it before the post...I feel like there's no point to look at the post!

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  22. These are really great tips, Elle, definitely picked up a few tips that I can use to improvise my IG.

    Shireen | Reflection of Sanity

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  23. This is a super informative post. Thanks for the tips Elle!

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  24. These are really great tips!! I need to put some of these into effect. Thanks so much Elle!

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  25. This is a great post elle! I use to post in Instagram everytime I wrote a blog post. Now I only do if it's one I'm excited about or something new im trying. I realized there's no need to post every month on the dot that I have a favorites post up!

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  26. This was a great post, Elle! I'm in the process of trying to revamp/amp-up my social media strategy when it comes to blogging, so this is very helpful information and tips!

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  27. These are such great tips and ones I need to follow better. I have been thinking about Instagram a lot lately and just what photos to share for my fashion and DIY posts. I thought I was following you on IG, but wasn't... so now I am! Lol! Thanks again for the tips!

    Carrie
    curlycraftymom.com

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  28. Love this idea! Sounds like a great way to get more peeps to my blog as well. I can see this as a perfect way to showcase nail art and just show the colors and not the end result! Thanks!

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  29. LOLOLOL Why would someone snap their post?!?!?!

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  30. It's so true! If you divulge everything on social media, there's no reason for people to go to the blog!

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  31. Love your social media advice! It gets annoying when every post is self-promotion or just about the blog.

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  32. Very informative post indeed. Hands down on your hard work. :-)

    http://naturelbellefemme.blogspot.com

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  33. These are such great tips!! I'm definitely guilty of showing my whole outfit post on social media. That's something I need to change.

    xo,
    Angela

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  34. This is such great social media advice, I love it all! And so glad to hear your puppy is feeling better!

    xo, Rachel
    A Blonde's Moment

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  35. Good advice. I plan to take some of it.

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  36. Thank you so much for sharing this, fantastic way of putting it and so true! And I'm sorry to hear about Charlie's tummy troubles *hugs*, hope he feels better soon.

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  37. great tips! i never understood why people took screenshots of their blog post and put that up on instagram either!! xo jillian - cornflake dreams

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  38. Thanks for sharing all these fantastic tips! Such great advice!

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  39. Thanks for sharing these tips! It's so sweet you went to your nephew's party. I'm sure it meant a lot to him and his parents too. I'm glad your pup is feeling better. :)

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  40. Excellent tips you are so right about sneak peaks!

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  41. This was a fantastic read. I hope I'm not making these mistakes on Insta and Snap!

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  42. Great tips and interesting post
    www.elegant365.com

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  43. Awe, poor Charlie!! Our family dog has been having issues and after testing it's probably just the onset of old age :( This post has a lot of great info, I definitely do some of these things and am better about others.

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  44. I'm not sure if I've got the right amount of "mixture" yet or not. But these are some great eye openers for sure! TFS girl!!!!

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  45. Good tips. I don't share my blog anywhere as i do not want my real life people to read it. It is more like a diary for me so i will never be big time. I also do not post daily, sometimes not even weekly or monthly.

    I must say, out of the new (to me) bloggers i have come across yours does not leave me feeling like there is no substance. I have had to delete some that use to be good because they are just full of fluff now or strictly ad posts and i have no patience for that. I want real.

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  46. This was amazing Elle, thank you! Brilliant advice! I try to follow these guidelines. I share a lot of my life on insta because I don't have a facebook ( and won't either). So Instagram is my way to show more of myself, although I started it for my blog. How do you think I'm doing, if you don't mind my asking? I miss interacting more with fellow bloggers. I feel like everyone just promotes themselves now and it gets very annoying!

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  47. I will keep these tips in mind! Thanks for sharing and I hope your pup is going much better now!

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  48. Great tips, Elle! There's so much to keep in mind when it comes to social mediea.

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  49. good to hear Charlie is feeling better!
    I personally don't share much on instagram to connect with my blog, I like to keep them separate purely because when people do those other things you mentioned, it annoys me. but i didn't know about doing it this way, i wish everyone would read your post Elle ;)

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  50. How useful! It is nice to read this and get an objective viewpoint of your social media activity, because really when you're blogging, it is so easy to get overwhelmed! But you have great points to raise. Thankfully, I am not guilty of these (at least not that I am aware of. Ha)

    xo,
    Abby of Life in the Fash Lane

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  51. I have totally seen all of those instances and it totally kills it for me too. I don't really post much about my blog on Instagram. Glad that Charlie is feeling better!

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  52. Awesome tips you have shared... now I have to go back and see if I'm committing any of these blog crimes :) And thank goodness Charlie is feeling better... he is your baby!

    XO

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  53. Elle... I hope bloggers listen to you...one of my biggest pet peeves is not being able to find their actual blog link anwhere. I have no way of thanking them for their commenting or for me to reciprocate with a comment of my own xox ♡

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  54. These are some really great tips. I'm pretty sure a lot of the no/no's apply to me and maybe one day I'll change that. Maybe lol.

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  55. Very interesting tips!! I need to use some of these. Because I have a personal twitter, I suck at my blog twitter and its basically just blog post after blog post... same with instagram.

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  56. Great tips. Personally, if I can SEE an entire outfit on instagram, I am not going to check a blog!

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  57. Great tips to keep in mind! I need to work on the snippet aspect to encourage them to click through to my blog. I feel I don't do that very well...

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  58. I never thought about it this way but it all makes sense. I used to be awful about sharing my title picture on Instagram before I realized I was showing all my goods!

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