Social Media Strategy on Liquid Grain

Social media, we all do it.  Bloggers, we especially do it! 


However how best to "do" social media isn't always clear- a symptom of working with an ever evolving medium to share our recent blog posts and blog "brand" in general. 

I know that I am in no way a social media expert, I possess neither the time nor the skills to label myself this.  But after a few years of blogging and using social media I'm finally at a stage where I am happy with my social media perfomance and strategy in general.  For example, I have just passed the 500 followers mark on Instagram!   

So I thought I would have a very frank and open discussion about my social media strategy!

I call this a strategy, but I tend to think of it as more of a routine I stick to.  Because I work full time I found it necessary to build up a routine with my social media and stick to it. 

Even though there are several different aspects of social media I'm just going to talk about Facebook, Twitter and Instagram- because that's what I use.  I figure that it is best to do a few well and consistently rather than having lots and lots of accounts.

My camera died a death while I was in Kuwait 😢 But it managed to hold out for most of the trip, including to the Kuwait Science Centre and Aquarium!

A photo posted by Kathryn (@liquidgrain) on Mar 28, 2015 at 11:48am PDT

The Basics / Cheat Sheet
To make things easier for me I have installed / enabled some tools and apps to make social media-ing more automoatic and easier for me.

The most important one has got to be IFTTT.  If you are an Instagram user you will notice that when you post a picture and click the Twitter button this doesn't post a picture on Twitter, but instead a link to the picture- very annoying.  To post a real pic set up a recipe on IFTTT! 

Everyday 
My everyday routine is to aim for 3 instances of social media presence a day.  This is something I read about social media strategy so I'm not just making it up.  This articule said that in order to have consistent social media visibility and engagement you should post every 8 hours on the dot. 

I, however, very simplistically split the day into 3: pre-noon, noon-5, 5-midnight.  

I want a presence in each of these sectors on at least 2 out of my 3 social media platforms. 

This Boils Down To... 
Typically this boils down to:

• 2 Instagramphotos
• 3 Facebookposts
• 2 of these will be linked to Instagram
• 1 will have the same base as a Tweet
• 3 Tweets
• 2 of these will be linked to Instagram
• 1 will have the same base as the Facebookpost

Bonus
I make a point of going for "bonus" social media activity every day, which usually comes in the form of interaction. 

Every time I post on Instagram I make a point of commenting on other photos- and not the annoying "Great pic!" but actually on the content in the photo.  At first this was hard but now I get a really positive feeling commenting on other people's posts.  
Tip: Make yourself a rule, when you post a photo you MUST comment something positive on 5 other photos! You will be surprised at how easy this becomes!  

When I have some time on my hands I have a browse Twitter and interact with people there. 

If I'm especially adventurous I'll comment on Youtube videos, but I'm not really all that confident on Youtube yet, it's all a bit scary and new! 

Easter treats!

A photo posted by Kathryn (@liquidgrain) on Apr 4, 2015 at 10:28am PDT

How? 
As I have a very regular blog post schedule, it means that my social media strategy is quite predictable. 

I post 4 times a week so that is 4 posts to go up on all three channels.

I post video a week on Youtube  which I promote on social media then as well! 

Then everything else is other photos or wordy stuff I want to post!  

But there are some exceptions: 

• At the end of each week I re-post my favourite post on social media from the previous week. 
• At the end of every month I re-post my favourite Youtube video on social media from the past month.  

But!    

In addition to the day to day spocial media strategy, a different aspect is trying to boost your social media followings or blog followers through social media.  Looking for a boost is a different kettle of fish, something I could maybe talk about another time if you are interested, let me know down below!

While we're all here talking about social media, I'd be ever so grateful for a follow on mine:  Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. 

What's your social media strategy for your blog?  I hope this has been an interesting post for you!

On www.liquidgrain.co.uk I have reviewed the Braun silk-epil cleansing and exfoliating system. Have you tried it? What did you think?

A photo posted by Kathryn (@liquidgrain) on Mar 3, 2015 at 4:35am PST