does

Confession time. I am a hot mess when it comes to social media. Sure, I am on all (or almost all) of the social media sites that seem to attract book bloggers: Twitter, Goodreads (of course!), Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook even though I hate Facebook, Tumblr (plus my The 100 Tumblr that I still haven’t gotten anything done on)… and I even knew enough to link you to them all just now in a shameless self promotion. So I am not just some old lady that doesn’t know how to use social media… I am just some old lady who sucks at it. *

*Old lady being a relative term, as my grandma would probably be rolling her eyes at me right now. You know, if she knew how to use the internet. ::Waves to Grandma on off chance she does.::

The thing is, social media of any form is kind of a time commitment. And time isn’t something I have in droves. Maybe if I was really good and consistent with one platform, it would work. But instead, I run around trying to do all the things- and doing justice to none of them. Add in the blog, and NaNo, and whatever other nonsense I’ve managed to get myself into, and trying to, you know, actually live, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.

But some people. Some people are social media wizards! ::Cough:: Cait and her clones ::cough::  They know what to post, when to post it, who/what to tag or mention, and are basically killing it. I am not saying it is easy for them, but they make it look easy! 

I, on the other hand, forget my Twitter has a feed for days, and then agonize for about an hour on the best wording for the most mundane, useless tweet in the history of Twitter. Instagram happens in spurts. Tumblr… good luck with that nonsense. If you add me to Facebook, know that I will be on about once a year. At best. 

So, now that I have confessed my failures, I am curious: How do they affect my blogging? Or rather, do they? I think we can all probably agree that social media has to play some role. But how much? I don’t know how to answer that. It’s so multidimensional, that I think it is hard to have a clear cut answer.

But I have had a few thoughts:

1. If you have a huge social media following, someone will probably click on your blog, even if just out of sheer curiosity.

I guess whether they return depends on all kinds of other factors, but getting people “in the door”, so to speak? Social media could only help. I feel like I must have visited the blogs of at least most of the people I follow, so… this may just be me?

2. If followers don’t have anywhere to follow you… well, I suppose you’d be easier to forget. 

There are lots of times I will see a mention or tweet from a blogger I enjoy and think “OH! I wanted to check out Whoever’s post!” and I will mosey on over to their blog. Or I will see a tweet about someone’s post, it will intrigue me, and I will click. So yes, social media does help me with this. But I would say almost exclusively Twitter?

3. More followers equals more recognition, which equals more followers?

I feel like it is almost a snowball effect- the more people who see you, the more likely you are to have your posts spread, or be involved in mentions or… something? And then maybe more people will see your stuff? Followers beget followers? I don’t know, I think this one made more sense in my head, but it stands to reason that the more people you reach, the more people you interact with? The more recognizable you are in the community at large, perhaps?

4. I have NO IDEA what “blogging success” looks like. 

I mean, it IS all personal, at the end of the day, and I think I am probably basing this little talk on more of a numerical calculation than anything else. Quite frankly, it’s the only way we can firmly determine “growth” in this discussion, but I know that the numbers aren’t more important than quality interactions, so obviously that is a huge piece here.

5. I want your opinions! 

Because what is a discussion without discussing? So I have a POLL!

So, what say you all? Do you think social media is a key factor in terms of blogging? Or do you just think it is one of many tools to have in your repertoire?

(I am leaning toward the latter, though I do wish I was less messy 😉 )

Posted November 4, 2016 by Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight in Discussion, Discussion Challenge / 64 Comments

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64 responses to “Does Social Media Competence Equal Blog Success?

  1. N’AWWW, YOU MENTIONED MEEEEE. Now I get to flail for 78 years of happiness. ??? Ahem, but truly, I think some of us (COUGH*ME*COUGH) spends far too much time on twitter. And actually for all my social media fluttering about I have no idea if it actually helps my blog?! I never link to my blog on instagram/goodreads. So like, what even is my life. I mean, you can FIND my blog, but it’s not like I do partial reviews there or constantly say “go read my blog post!” because #lazy. And I’m the worst at self-promo. The actual worst. I always feel like I’m being spammy! ?? So yes I am kind of everywhere but at the same time…I’m not sure it helps my blog. OH OH WAIT! Except for the fact that people come to request friends on goodreads and they’re like “I LITERALLY SEE YOU EVERYWHERE”. So. Duty done. 😉 I think that’s the biggest reason why I do it? I’m recognisable in a lot of places!
    ALTHOUGH SOMETIMES MY BRAIN GOES DEAD and then I am like a deluded avocado trying to type out something funny but instead all the clones are combusting and the world is burning and lots of dramatic stuff like that etc. etc.

    • PSHH of course I did, you are the queen of books, yes? Yes. And I would not do ANYTHING on Goodreads either if I didn’t have the handy dandy plugin that links by blog for me. Because… #lazy also. You ARE recognizable! And I think that’s kind of how it helps- like, maybe someone never would have found you otherwise or something, but because they see you elsewhere, they do? I don’t know. Let’s make someone science-y do a real experiment!

      And tell your clones to get their acts together. You can’t rule the universe with broken clones. Or… they might start to try to take over YOU. That’s why everyone is afraid of clones, maybe? (Also probably because that cloned sheep was all jacked up and died. That’d do it.)

  2. I think it totally has an impact on the blog but there are other factors so it isn’t the only thing that can lead to blog success. I wish I was better at social media though. I sometimes Instagram and I suck at Twitter big time. I mean I keep up on GR and comment and like and post my reviews but that is it. I am like you and just don’t have the time to do it all – or like any of it. I am jealous of people who can fit everything in!! Great discussion lady.

    • I agree with you completely! I wish I had the desire or time to do a real study about it, I mean, just think- if it didn’t really matter, we could care SO much less 😉 And seriously, I am SO jealous of people with time! Can they spare a bit for us? 😉 Thanks so much!! ♥

  3. Interesting topic!
    I am absolutely terrible with social media! I’m probably best with Twitter, but I still only post a few links there a few times a week, and retweet other people’s stuff. Other than that I have an instagram that I haven’t posted to in weeks, and I have a Google+ page that I post to when I can be bothered.
    I have always wondered how much of an effect it has on blog success, because I would kind of assume if you’re really good with social media then it would help? I imagine it’s one of a few factors, but social media is probably a pretty major one, alongside commenting and interaction on the actual blog. I’m crossing my fingers I’ll get the hang of it soon! 🙂

    • Aw thanks! I feel you so much- I do things so sporadically, it is a MESS. I am SURE you will get the hang of it, I have faith 😀 But I also think you’re right about it only being ONE component in the grand scheme of things, so no worries if you never do 😉

  4. Okay. So the truth is 90% of the time I am a social media fail. We’re talking epic fail. And the #1 reason is TIME. I work full time and simply do not have the time to stay on top of Twitter and Instagram and Facebook and GoodReads and Tumblr and whatever else is going on. Because honestly all that seems like a full time job in itself. If I stayed on top of all that I wouldn’t even have time to blog. Hand in hand with not having the time is not having the inclination. I don’t know if I’m showing my age her (ahem) but I do not live and die by social media. MY FB page is my personal page and I don’t ever include blog stuff there. I don’t have a separate blog page on FB because I just don’t see it being useful and I’m not willing to try to promote it. I enjoy Instagram but again… it’s not a “blog account.” Yes, I share book posts and stuff but it’s also just random life stuff. And I’m not always consistent with it. Twitter seems to be the #1 choice for bloggers and I am so hit and miss with it. I go days and days without checking it at all. Because most times it just seems too overwhelming. There’s just too much there – tweet and retweets and and shared stuff and replies and actually finding the few things that might genuinely interest me seems like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack. I do have my blog linked to my Twitter account so there’s a tweet when I post but mostly I fail at Twitter. I see people comment on their blogs about the latest Twitter book blog drama or news and I have zero idea what there’s talking about. Even when I’m on Twitter I never see it. Guess I’m not following the “right people?” Who knows. I’m sure if I devoted a lot more time and effort into social media I could “grow my blog” but really it’s just not my focus or something I feel is uber important. I’m a small blogger and I’m okay staying that way. 🙂

    • DUDE, it DOES seem like a full time job! And like, I just CAN’T, you know? You know! It is a struggle! Sometimes Twitter stresses me out wayyyy too much. And I have to go away for a bit. (And if you ask me, if you aren’t seeing drama, you ARE following the “right people” 😉 ) I also LOVE your attitude toward the whole thing! 😀

  5. I try to do all of the social media, but basically fail at all of it. I always feel like I’m left out by not doing Twitter more, that seems to be where most bloggers communicate. I just can’t get into Twitter. Too many people and too many trolls. Instagram is fun, but work. But I love Pintrest, that eternal time suck lol. Good luck with everything!

    • YEP I totally feel you- I am not on Twitter nearly as much as others, and I always feel like I have missed ALL the things. Which, depending on the day, might not be a bad thing 😉 The trolls are BAD. I feel you with Instagram- it IS so much work- too much, IMO hahha. And thanks, my dear!! ♥♥

  6. I am terrible with social media. I have my Goodreads account set up to post to twitter whenever I read and review a book. But beyond that, I rarely post things to twitter. I just don’t get it and am really bad at the ‘hashtag’ thing. I don’t even know how to use Snapchat. I am 30, and barely understand what half the social media is used for. I feel really inept when it comes to social media. ha

    • Bwhaha I am SO the same. I mean, I DO do it, but it takes me FORever to even bother. And OHHH I feel you with Snapchat! I am SO bad at that, I have an account but it takes up so much space on my phone and it bothers me so I never use it haha. And I feel you, I am 33, and like, I will hear some new social media, and I think “Unless this is CRAZY popular and I need to know, I have no plans on figuring it out” ?

  7. I’m also a hot mess on social media. I pretty much only use Twitter and Goodreads because TIME. I don’t have time to be taking pictures of books or all that other stuff. According to my blog stats, I don’t get many referrals from Twitter. Maybe 1 or 2 a day? I’d probably get more if I was more involved with the bookish Twitter community.

    • OMG YESSS! The time it takes me to get ONE decent photo is so RIDICULOUS! I just can’t. I will try to take a picture if it’s a holiday, or if I get a book from a publisher (or fine, if I pre-order a super pretty and/or exciting one 😉 ) but overall I just don’t have the time for that stuff!

      And SAME! I really think it is strange how… useless the Twitter links are- but Facebook is even MORE useless. But I schedule them with Buffer so it doesn’t really take time, so I figure like, 10 is better than zero? (Lies we tell ourselves hahah)

  8. I think social media can help but I don’t like that some forms of it (bookstagrams, for instance) have seemed to replace content 🙁 Maybe I’m just old and old fashioned but I want to know how a book made you think and feel rather than see all the pretty photos you can take of a gorgeous cover. I mean, who doesn’t love pretty photos of books but it’s just frustrating when those photos replace something more substantive.

    As for what success is, I don’t know! I love getting meaningful comments rather than a lot of followers — isn’t that the ultimate goal? To discuss books with like minded souls?! Regardless, Shannon, you’re a total success in my book with or without social media ♥

  9. Ugh, I am THE WORST when it comes to social media. I literally forget about my Twitter feed for months. Then I will post on a consistent basis for a couple of weeks, then I forget about it again. I know it’s helpful, but it’s just so hard to think of the perfect thing to say. I have been thinking about creating a FB page for my blog, mainly because I am on FB way more than I am on Twitter.

  10. I used to read my twitter feed very Friday, but now I don’t anymore. I just started goodreads, but right now I don’t have enough time to really friend anyone. I do facebook more because my best friend and family are on there.

  11. I honestly think social media is overrated, in terms of driving traffic to blogs. At least, that is my experience. I *did* get an increase in traffic after joining Twitter, but that’s basically it. The book community seems to be mostly on Twitter, to begin with. Joining other platforms can be fun, but I don’t get click throught from Pinterest, Instagram, Goodreads, etc. Even on Twitter, the effect can be marginal. So, a few people each day check out a post from a link I tweeted. That’s pretty much it.

    I think it can be worthwhile to have a large following on social media if you’re committed to the platform, but I just don’t know that even having 10,000 Twitter followers means that a reasonable number of those people are actually reading your blog. But I also don’t have that many followers so… 😉

  12. I don’t know! It depends on how you want to grow your blog. I’m always trying to get more views/followers, but I’m not always the best. I do think it’s a good idea to have at least one social media account that you can use to help promote your blog. It’s all about getting the word out!

    -Lauren

  13. I think you what you have the time and the inclination to do. I don’t have much time to spend on social media either and I’m cool with that. There is only so much time, and I want to read, exercise + that 905 gig.

  14. I’ve seen a spike of traffic on my blog whenever I’m really active on Twitter, but I don’t have the time or dedication to spend 24/7 in different social media sites. I mean, I barely have time to reply to comments on the blog! I’m a blogging failure ahah

  15. Ha ha I hate Facebook to now. I don’t even know why, I just do. I remember at first being like ooh high school people, haven’t talked to so and so in years. And then after a while um, maybe that wasn’t so bad lol. All the frickin “check-ins” and other bullshit- once I started blogging I dropped right off Facebook and almost never get on. I love blogging and Twitter SO much more. Speaking of Twitter, I’ve gotten better at it but probably still don’t use it nearly enough. And to your point, it’s probably the big one in terms of social media for blogging, seems to me. I kinda agree with Eva’s comment above too, I like content- reading stuff- rather than all the pretty pix. Having said that, I’ll do some Instagramming once I figure it out lol but who knows when that will be?

    I don’t even know what Tumblr is lol. I mean I get it, but I look at Tumblrs and I’m like ??? So yeah. 🙂 I decided a while back that my big two were gonna be Twitter and Goodreads. Manage them properly, interact, ya know. How am I doing? Pretty terrible particularly on GR. And I love it- it just always seems to come last Sigh. I think though that interacting and getting to know other bloggers through commenting and visiting and all that stuff is the biggest thing. Twitter and social media are important but come after that. Although there’s no denying I’ve made new blog friends and had visitors because I went to a Twitter chat and met new people. .

    Ugh this was wordy. Anyway.. .great post! I think Twitter’s the big one and even though I’m hit or miss on it I do get comments and have wonderful blog friends, so for me it’s all good.

  16. I totally feel you with this post. I am a failure at social media. Like you, I have all the accounts, but I just don’t know what post?! Your description of Twitter is so me. I forget about it for days. I try to at least schedule links to my posts. And then on the rare occasion that I do think of something to tweet, I stare at it and edit it for like an hour even though it’s not even anything important lol. I honestly don’t know why anyone keeps bothering to like to retweet anything I post since I almost never do that in return because I just don’t even check Twitter most of the time. Plus I like using too many words. Twitter just doesn’t suit me.

    I feel like Tumblr should be perfect for me, but like Greg, I just kind of don’t even get it?

    I find it interesting that Pinterest had the most votes for least useful since I seem to get the most views from there (still not a lot, mind you, but relatively speaking). But then, Pinterest is where I have the most followers (literally only because I just like it and use it a lot, not because I’m “good” at it), and pins have a longer lifespan than tweets, FB posts, etc. If one of your pins gets popular, it starts coming up in the searches and spreads in a weblike fashion (or snowball, to use your analogy lol).

    Anyway, I think being good at social media probably does bring more followers? But like you said, it takes time. And if I have to choose between posting on social media or writing good content, the content is more important.

  17. OMGGG I totally feel you!! I use almost all social medias you use (except tumblr) but I don’t use them well? I use twitter regularly but I don’t EVEN have a separate account! I use my personal twitter because I was too lazy to make one :’) I follow a lot of book bloggers and sometimes join twitter chat, which indeed help me with promotion. I’m also too lazy to tweet about my post hahah

    BUT, it doesn’t work with goodreads and instagram! I am so dedicated to my instagram yet I hardly ever got referrer from instagram. I guess mostly because instagram doesn’t allow link on caption, so I can’t really promote my blog 🙁 so it seems like I’m interacting with different people on IG & the blog.

    So I guess social media does help, but it’s not the main contributor to a blog success (however you define it). I still feel like content is the key, because frankly, I think that’s what draw people to my blog 😛 great post! <3

  18. I think social media can be a distraction and it’s important to remember that your blog is the main course! I’m so guilty of wasting too much time on social media and then having no energy to blog. Yes a social media presence will make people come check you but they’ll bounce out quickly if these isn’t something interesting for them to get hooked on in your blog. Also platforms come and go in popularity but your blog will always be there.
    So I’m trying to keep my main focus on the blog and then social media after that. I know most of my page views come from Twitter, Facebook and GR though so it’s a hard one to balance!

  19. I don’t know too much about Instagram, but Twitter is SO important. I used to blog before I had Twitter, and pretty much never had much of a readership at all. But once I got Twitter, I found a community and there were definitely more readers. So with regards to Twitter…social media competence probably does equal blog success to SOME extent.
    What an interesting question, Shannon! And I’d say that you’re somewhat of a wizard yourself with blogging – you manage to go around to so many peoples’ blogs, comment, reply to comments on your blog, keep up with latest bookish news… give yourself more credit! 🙂

  20. I am on facebook, twitter, pinterest and google+ and while I sort of remember to post there I don’t feel like I am as competent as I want to be. Every sunday I schedule tweets on twitter for my upcoming posts as else I forget. I like facebook even though I am mostly a lurker there. I am part of some great groups on fb that i enjoy and I like scrolling through my feed. But I feel like I could do so much better on the social media front, but I just can’t seem to make time to actually do so.
    I do feel like social media can help, I mean even with the few tweets that i schedule I do get some retweets now and then or other that post on twitter, so i figured some people from there must get to me blog. I also think social media isn’t necessary, but every bit helps right? And I do get to blogs from facebook and twitter and I like following blogs there, so I do think there is a point. And not everyone might want to follow you by e-mail or bloglovin, but most people have on of the social media where you are. There probably are stats for this sort of thing. Mostly I do the same as Trish mentioned, I focus on my blog and then social media after that. I do think social media is important, but your blog itself is even more important.

  21. Social media definitely can keep you busy. I’m currently trying to step up the instagram game. I think that social media can definitely be helpful for a blog, but I think it’s more of an extension of your online presence and your blog is like the central place were “you” really are. That’s the way I view it at least. I try to focus more on my blog than social media though. I mostly just do whatever with social media, partly because which platforms are popular can vary pretty fast. Plus, if you’ve only built (for example) a twitter platform and twitter goes bye bye, all your work is gone.

    Social media is definitely helpful with getting the word out there though. If you don’t have a place to share and connect with people, then they’ll never know about your blog.

  22. I do this thing where I get really addicted to a certain social media for awhile, then promptly forget about it a couple months later. As a result, I’m either on a social media 24/7 or I touch it once a blue moon.

  23. I love this post Shannon! For my first year of blogging, I had no idea about social media and it felt very isolated. Twitter has changed all that however and it definitely helps your blog growth when you’re active. How very, I find most ppl will prefer to follow you on one platform instead of following your blog itself so it becomes a part of it almost? Super fun post as well!

  24. I’m pretty much on all the social medias. Although there are some I like a lot less than others (I know how useful Twitter is but Twitter… just not my thing. However, I’m still always using it because benefits 🙂 but I am on there a lot. Prescheduling in posts is my best friend with everything! I fall behind on things like blog commenting and reading blogs because that takes time. But prescheduling is something I do at like 5am on Saturday and Sunday mornings. I preschedule my blog posts, youtube videos, twitter posts and basically all my social medias excepting Snapchat and Instagram. But I’m addicted to those two, so I’m always on there anyway xD

  25. I’m using most social media, and they’re linked together. And my reviews and other blog-posts are automatically shared to Twitter, FB, Tumblr and Google+. I really use FB, Twitter and Instagram, though, not the others. And on Twitter, I’m the one who just butts in on conversations if I find something interesting… Yeah, I’m the one who can’t keep her thoughts to herself 😀
    Of course, I use Goodreads, too. But not as much as I used to. I keep track of my books, and find some new ones there to add, but that’s it.
    I find most of my new blogger friends in the comment section on other blogs! Like, on this post, I know a lot of the bloggers already, but not all. So the ones I don’t know, I’ll click through to their blog and see if we have anything in common… And I think that for me, blogs is the way I discover more blogs!

  26. I think social media can really help a blogger. It makes you more of a real person (at least Twitter does) if you can tweet regularly and make your presence felt, especially if you take part in chats regularly for bookish things. I am so bad at the whole social media thing. I mean, I just cannot find the time for all of that stuff but I really wish I could. I think if you’re good at it you can make yourself bigger but it’s not the end of the world if you don’t. As long as you post stuff, comment regularly on other blogs all the other stuff is just a bonus, you know? It’s the commenting and visiting other blogs that is really important for blogging and bui.ding a following, and even that takes up a lot of time. Who has time for social media on top of that on a regular basis as well as having a full-time job and reading and blogging yourself?

  27. I love reading all of Cait’s Twitter posts and I’m in awe. I don’t know how she comes up with all of her ideas. I’m just not that creative. I’m like you with social media. I’ll go through a phase where I feel like I’m doing it well and I’m on top of it all, and then I’ll fail miserably for awhile. That phase usually lasts longer. Sigh.

  28. I READ THIS AND LOVED IT. Though I read it yesterday and I may or may not remembered what you said. OH WELL. I will just comment about my experience with social media.

    Frankly I don’t care much! I like Instagram, but I am not using it for followers, but rather to practice my photography? And play around with it I suppose! I don’t have much books or props to use, so I mainly rely on flowers, AS YOU KNOW, so I just accept the fact that I won’t have a million of things in my photos. AND TIME. HOW DO PEOPLE HAVE SO MUCH TIME?

    I think by 5 years I’ll have a lot of bookish things. But most likely what will happen is that instagram will be obsolete or whatever. THEN THERE WILL BE THIS NEW FREAKING THING AND UGH.

  29. I had to think about all of the poll questions until the last one – I am SUCH A MESS with social media. This is my first year of book blogging- at this point I guess I feel like I am just focusing more on the reading and blogging part- but scheduling tweets is super helpful I hear : )

  30. I think having social media is pretty important. I have no idea how to measure blogging success either. I feel like my blog is right where I would like it to be. I usually get comments and I post pretty consistently. I know I get a small amount of traffic from social media, so it has been helpful. I have no plans to take over twitter or insta in order to grow more traffic. I think it has to be a good balance in order to work. I click on loads of links from twitter and insta and sometimes the blog has nothing going on. I would rather see an active blog for sure, then an active social media. Great topic!

  31. Well, for me it’s so much about traffic. I get anxious if I am not connecting to people, and I don’t have IRL friends close by–and most of them have kind of drifted in their own routines, so I try to make friends online really. It’s a nice balance, because I don’t have the anxiety of having to see them physically for long hours with intensity. So, that’s really my focus with social media. I still don’t have crazy following or anything like that, and I don’t know if social media would make a difference really with traffic. My blog is still growing, though. We’ll see. 🙂

  32. I think, to publishers, social media definitely equals some kind of book-blogger-YouTuber-Instagrammer-promoter success. You’ll note the rise in Bookstagrammers, some of whom get paid by publishers and get materials from publishers. Some don’t have a blog. I definitely think that having social media platforms boosts your blog, if you have a blog at all.

    However… I know for me, social media is possibly even more demanding than having a blog (and I post every day on my blog, at least once, with three reviews a week). I refuse to create an Instagram account, at least not while I’m in school. Maybe I’m old-school like that… I only have half a year left in college and then maybe I’ll think about doing the Instagram thing. I think it’s pretty inundated at this point. But I’m heavily active on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and even Tumblr a little. It’s a lot, with just those platforms!

    In any case, the “book blogging” community is changing… can we even call it “book blogging” anymore? Four years ago, when I started blogging, social media was not *as* much of a factor. In fact, Instagram wasn’t really a thing until maybe two or three years ago. So we’ll see how this goes, in the next couple of years!

    Great post, Shannon. =)

    Alyssa @ The Eater of Books!

  33. I’m also a mess on social media. I joined twitter to interact with other bloggers, and yet keep missing the chats and just different online time because of timezones ? Pinterest is a mess. So I totally rely on goodreads to share my thoughts across the oblivion. I actually use tumblr religiously, but never use it for blogging stuff. It’s just for random fandom stuff and I’m just happy to keep them separated. I guess social media is important if you really want to grow your blog, but if you’re just doing it for fun like me… then I don’t really think it’s THAT important! 😀

  34. I personally feel that being super active on social meda either cuts into blogging or reading time. Especially insta. I don’t have the time or energy to plan out creative photos/posts. Twitter is enough for me.

  35. I’m active on social media, but it takes a lot of time, which is why I’m trying to schedule and plan, so I won’t spend my much needed blogging and reading time promoting my posts. I think it’s easier to be noticed when there’s a social media presence, but most blogs will find readers without it as well. When I first started blogging I had no idea what to do and I had no social media accounts. Still people found my blog, but I didn’t have as many visitors as I have now and social media did help me to grow. I also love to use it to meet new people who are just as mad about books as I am and to make friends.

  36. I think it definitely helps. I have both an IG and Twitter (none of the other ones). While I do have a link to my blog on IG, I don’t typically promote it there so most of my social media traffic comes from Twitter. But I’ve talked to several people who say they just kind of suck at keeping up with it and they have a lot of followers as well! I didn’t even have a Twitter when I started and it was going well. I think there are a lot of factors that play into whether or not you get readers. Social media is useful, but not 100% necessary.

  37. Personally, I think my blog following grew predominantly from the sum of my social media followers. It’s only at the beginning of this year that I saw significant growth in my blog stats. It was also around that time that I became more active on Twitter, and Pinterest (though I’m super irregular on it).

    On the other hand, a huge social media following doesn’t guarantee blog traffic. I’ve had some conversations with other bloggers about stats recently. Turns out that a few who have a massive Twitter following (3, 4 times that of mine) and great interaction with a ton of people didn’t necessarily receive more hits on their blogs.

    I figure social media can give a great boost and can make quite a different compared to not engaging at all but simply growing social media channels doesn’t automatically grow a blog.

  38. I kind of feel like the book blogging community sometimes functions like social media? 😀 Like, commenting back and linking to other people’s posts and all that? BUT in terms of actual social media, I mainly use twitter for blogging. I love twitter, but I’m pretty sure no one thinks I’m as funny as I think I am on there. 😀 I have a facebook for my blog and I link to new posts, because I figured it may be helpful for there to be one, but tbh I’m really shit at using facebook for blog related purposes. I don’t really use instagram for it at all, and I’m usually too lazy to link to my blog from reviews on goodreads. I think it does help your blog growth if you use social media smartly, but ain’t nobody got time for that. And to be honest if I had more time to invest in blogging, I feel like it would be more effective to just visit people’s blogs more. (though of course I also find new blogs on social media sometimes)

  39. On one hand, I *do* think social media is very important..but on the other hand, I’m *also* a hot mess when it comes to social media. The only website I actively ‘promote’ my blog on is Twitter and I know I don’t promo as often as I could. You made a lot of good points about how having a huge following on social media will help get more exposure from your blog. That is actually the reason why I think social media is pretty important. (I also don’t know what blogging success looks like haha so *high five!*) I also have instagram and tumblr which I occasionally share links on but they were both created with the purpose of sharing my poetry & writing.

  40. Amy

    I hope that we don’t really need social media, because I honestly don’t think I can keep up with it! I sometimes use Twitter to say witty things (when they come to mind, AKA once in a bajillion years), but usually it’s just for interaction and things like read-a-thons. I’m exactly like you with Instagram; it comes in spurts. Other than that, I get on Tumblr once every other month, but I honestly don’t really understand how Facebook works, and anything else probably hasn’t ever been touched. OH. Except for Goodreads, but I don’t really use it like social media; I’m just in it for the books.
    But I definitely think you have something on the “more followers equals more followers” idea- it really is a snowball. The more people know you, the more interaction you have. The more interaction, the more mentions. The more mentions, the more views, the more returns, the more followers, the more people know you, the more interaction…. IT’S A CYCLE.

  41. I actually “shutdown” some of my social media connections just a couple weeks ago. I was sick of sending posts to Google+ (how does one use Google+? does ANYONE use Google+?) and LinkedIn. I’m cutting back on posting to Pinterest (basically just quote images will get posted there).

    I just can’t do it all and I am not seeing ANY traffic to my site from those sources. I do get a handful of links via FB and Twitter. I think most people find my blog based on my comments on other sites, challenges I’m participating in and memes.

    (And if it weren’t for CoSchedule I would be up sh** creek.)

  42. Lady, you crack me up EVERY time I read your discussion posts!

    Anyway, I’m not much of a social media whiz nor do I obsess on it as much as I should. I think that social media does help grow your blog to a certain point in that it helps get you out there and noticed to the blogging community. With that being said, I follow a few bloggers on social media that I probably have visited their blog ONLY ONCE! Or when I remember to. Although to be honest, I have also clicked on a lot of shared book blog posts that I found on Twitter (mostly Twitter since Facebook is for the family).

    I think there is a balance, too. Because sometimes what you say (and/or do) on Social Media can be a negative effect on your blog. I have un-followed a few people on Twitter because they love to create and/or stir up drama (drama that is not needed, BTW).

  43. Oh man! This is such a good question, and one that I ask myself all the time because I truly struggle with it.

    Like you, I have accounts on pretty much everything… Twitter, Goodreads, Litsy, Instagram… I feel like none of it, no matter how much I link back to my blog, helps me with blogging success. It’s like each platform works as its own entity for me, and no matter what I do, and no matter who I reach out to, my blog is just there and stagnant. None of it creates traffic for me. 🙁

    I think it’ll be really sad to see if things like Twitter, Listy, and Instagram start to take over and become the thing we go to instead of blogs. I honestly like sitting here and reading posts and reviews when I have the time.

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