19 May, 2009
Why Blogs and Twitter Make the Perfect Partnership
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A quick search on Google for ‘blogs and Twitter’ reveals a few articles that raise the debate of Twitter killing off traditional blogs. Mark Evans’ article from a few months ago named ‘Is Twitter Killing Blogs and Blogging?‘ states that ‘Twitter is emerging as a vibrant alternative to bloggers and blog readers’ – which is not true. Twitter should be embraced as a partner to blogging (especially in social media marketing), not an alternative – and this article examines how.
To improve the Web presence of a brand, company or individual, a two step social marketing process can be identified:
- 1. Blog to increase Web site popularity
- 2. Twitter to help increase blog popularity
The first step is a method used by many people as it is probably the most obvious. Blogging adds a dynamic feel to a Web site, and can help to create a community aspect – which should ultimately mean increased Web traffic and popularity. The second step doesn’t appear to be as obvious to people, as there is an unawareness of the natural link between a Twitter account and a blog.
Twitter to Increase Blog Popularity
Classed as a ‘micro-blogging’ Web site, Twitter allows users to post 140 character long updates (similar to a Facebook status update). Every time a new update is submitted, it is viewable by everyone who is ‘following’ the user profile. Some of the other features include specific replies to users and direct messages (DM).
The simplicity of Twitter appeals to ‘professionals’ (in theory), which means that there are thousands of users who specialise in various job fields. The advantage of this is that there should be at least a small handful of users with a potential interest in the chosen subject area of a blog.
To use Twitter to increase blog popularity, updates can be done each time a new blog post has been completed. The update on Twitter could contain a brief explanation of the new blog article (ie. the title) and a link to the blog location. The following example was posted to promote a previous Web Toastie article:
New blog post – What is Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)? http://twurl.nl/m8nvj8 #webtoastie
Updates such as the one seen above allow followers to be informed that there is a new article, and thus increasing the awareness of the blog. A small problem arises by a shortening of long URLs by Twitter, as the domain name can be hidden from users – but the ‘#webtoastie’ part of the update accommodates for this by providing a searchable hash tag that displays the blog name.
The advantage of promoting a blog through Twitter is that it allows people to get to know the person behind the blog articles. Giving users the opportunity to engage on a personal level helps to gain more online acquaintances, and fills the gap before a new article is posted.
Have No Followers? Get Some!
Obviously banging on about a fantastic blog is no good if there is nobody to read it.
Tips to gain followers include:
- Following a person in the hope they follow you back
- A clearly defined profile biography
- Key words or hash tags in your updates
- Add a ‘Follow Me’ link on your blog
None of the above tips are guaranteed to work to attract more followers, but there is no harm in trying.
The Proof is in the Pudding
When visiting a blog you may see a Twitter ‘Follow Me’ button or icon (even this site), and this just goes to show how a blog is perfectly linked with a Twitter account. Not only can Twitter help to promote a blog, but a blog can link back to the Twitter account in order to encourage users to get to know you. The majority of the traffic on Web Toastie is currently from referrals off Twitter, which helps to demonstrate how useful it can be to promote a blog.
Twitter is not the enemy of blogs and bloggers, merely a tool that goes hand-in-hand to further widen the community aspect that a blog sets the foundations for.
2 | Kieron Hughes
May 20th, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Oh nice, I’ve never come across that. I will check it out.