Identify the Social Networks You Intend to Target
There are countless social media sites. What’s not countless is your two most valuable resources—your time and your energy. You need to be ruthlessly selective in deciding which social networks you’re going to invest in. Okay, Antonio, spill it! Which ones?
Our goal for social media is to spread our message further, reach new audiences where they happen to be, connect with our followers and other influencers, and in the process amplify our own influence. Your choice needs to be strategic and calculated, as each social network you add will generally require further promotion and attention on your part.
So I wouldn’t waste my time on minor social networks, unless they happen to be specific to, and well known in, your particular niche. In that case, even an audience of a few thousand users could make it worthwhile, much like your presence in niche-specific forums and Slack groups can be a valuable investment of your time.
| Recipe 83 | Research niche-specific social networks. |
For example, Hashnode is a community for developers.[122] It’s barely a dot compared to Twitter, but it might be a worthwhile investment of your time if you’re targeting developers.
In Chapter 8, Promoting Your Blog, where we already covered social media to some extent, I recommended some major options: Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and (if you felt up to them) Instagram and Pinterest as two visually rich social media options. I’ll add YouTube to the list of general social media sites as one more option.
| Recipe 84 | If targeting a younger crowd, also consider Snapchat. |
Twitter allows you to reach new people every time one of your followers engages with your short messages (i.e., tweets). As mentioned above, when they like or share a tweet of yours (i.e., retweet you), a portion of their followers will be notified and exposed to your tweet even if they don’t follow you.
If the tweet resonates enough with these folks, they might, in turn, engage with your tweet by liking it or retweeting it, which in turn is then shown to some of their respective followers. Rinse and repeat enough, and your best content could potentially become viral through a cascade effect. These people, impressed by your content, might also decide to check out your profile and timeline, and if they like what they see, follow you. When that happens, your following grows and so does your influence.
In short, Twitter is an ideal way to reach new people with your message and get them to know you and your blog in the process. It’s also a favorite among technical folks, so it might give you an opportunity to engage with some of the most prominent figures within your niche or industry, potentially forming friendships and alliances with them in the process. If I were to pick just one social media site, without knowing anything else about you, it would likely be Twitter.
LinkedIn is the most popular professional network. To some degree, the same advantages as Twitter apply. People can like and share your content, allowing you to reach audiences who aren’t yet familiar with you. It’s a less-open system than Twitter, but it directly links your social media updates and the content you share with your professional profile.
If you’re blogging in an attempt to establish yourself professionally, LinkedIn is definitely a good place to promote your blog posts and industry-related content. You may be noticed and receive professional opportunities there, so I wouldn’t ignore it.
Facebook is somewhat controversial these days due to all the reasons mentioned before, so it’s okay if you feel like skipping it on ethical grounds. If you don’t, however, there’s still lots of value to be captured there. I’m not suggesting the promotion of your content with your friends and family, as much as your uncle might support you and give you a like regardless of the content you post.
Instead, once you have an account there you can create a page for your blog or the topic of your niche and leverage people who are interested in the topic on Facebook to further extend your reach. You can also use Facebook groups as a way to create a community dedicated to your niche (a remarkably effective technique if done well).
Just keep in mind that Facebook is fairly aggressive in limiting the number of people you can reach organically without paying, even among the people who expressly subscribed to your page. There’s also much less interaction with influencers or peers compared to Twitter. In short, have a presence on Facebook, but don’t set your expectations too high.
Instagram and Pinterest
Instagram and Pinterest are both visual and extremely popular. The former, in particular, is incredibly popular among the newer generations. Today, I wouldn’t say that either is overly popular among programmers. Most have Instagram accounts, but they tend to be more personal in nature, since most programming discussions don’t happen on either Instagram or Pinterest.
You can still use them to promote your programming blog, and it might actually be easier to stand out as a result, but it’s not a requirement by any means. If, on the other hand, your niche happens to be popular on such platforms, your presence becomes somewhat expected by your followers. I wouldn’t want to be a fitness blogger without an Instagram account, or a food blogger without an Instagram account plus some pretty compelling Pinterest recipe boards.
YouTube and Twitch
I’m including YouTube because it has the biggest potential to increase your influence online among these social networks (even more than Twitter). If you create an interesting channel, push content regularly, and market it right, you can really distinguish yourself in your niche. Unfortunately, it’s a bit of a lottery ticket and it requires a massive commitment. Whether you vlog regularly or simply post there occasionally,[123] it’s not a platform where you quickly rebroadcast your new posts like you can on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook. It’s a new endeavor altogether that requires some serious time commitment.
If video calls to you, however, YouTube could elevate your status within your community. Yes, it’s a lot more work, but because of that, way fewer people in your niche are likely doing it. For technical topics, particularly programming, YouTube is also a natural fit, since you can post screencasts and other technical tutorials that can benefit from you showing others what you’re doing.
While on the subject of video, I want to mention Twitch,[124] a platform that’s particularly popular among gamers streaming themselves live. I’m seeing more and more developers and makers there,[125] live-coding or building projects for a live audience who can interact with you, ask you questions in real time, and even tip you.
YouTube also supports live streaming, so if you decide to launch a YouTube channel, streaming there is an option. If you’re simply streaming, however, Twitch appears to be more popular at the time of writing. At any rate, video (whether live-streamed or not) is yet another way for you to raise your status within your niche and amplify your online influence in the process.