In the past I’ve posted on inter-linking and cross promotion and today I want to expand on that with a little cross promotion when you are linking out to other blogs via your social networks.
First, The Credit
I want to thank Michael Q Todd for reminding me of this basic method of expanding our reach. Michael has setup a very cool subscription based support/sharing group, Change Agents via Social Media, on Facebook to master Facebook’s EdgeRank.
I recently spoke with Michael via a Google Hangout and he recommended that I use ScoopIt (Follow me there) when promoting other member’s blog posts on the social networks (Link directly when using your own blog). So when I want to share the posts of other members on Facebook, I simply “Scoop It” and then use that ScoopIt URL on Facebook and across the other social sites. This is another form of cross promotion and helps all parties involved. My Scoop It following grows and the posts of the other bloggers get that much more exposure.
Use Any Social Site For Cross Promotion
You don’t have to use Scoop It for this type of cross promotion; you can use any social network that you want growth on. For example, most of you have probably heard of Robert Scoble. Robert Scoble was VERY quick to see the potential on Google Plus and he was already huge on several social networks, including Twitter. Robert used his leverage on Twitter, along with his marketing skills, to grow his Google Plus account to well over 3.2 million followers. Here’s a quick example of Robert Scoble using the cross promotion tactic that Michael Q Todd and I use:
Wow. Hipset, a new music magazine that works off of your Facebook likes ABSOLUTELY ROCKS. Here’s more: plus.google.com/11109108952772â¦
â Robert Scoble (@Scobleizer) August 19, 2012
As you can see, Robert used Google Plus to write about and link to Hipset and used Twitter to draw in more traffic to that G+ post. He could have just as easily included a direct link to Hipset in that Tweet but this cross promotion across social accounts helps both Robert and Hipset
The Backstory [Off Topic A Bit]
I found a very impressive guy on YouTube and I wanted to learn more about him. As soon as I watched his energy and excitement on a YouTube video I sent Sheryl a Tweet saying I thought he would do very well. Then I ran a quick search to find his site and that is where I found the tweet embedded above. That search led to this blog post today.
@SherylLoch I predict that this guy is going to do very well on YouTube http://t.co/SZism2M4Ob Watch his excitement.
— Brian D. Hawkins (@HotBlogTips) February 24, 2013
By the way, that little search I ran on hipset? That search brought up, along with Robert Scoble’s links, an article about Hipset on Forbes, TechCrunch, and a bunch of other favorable links. So, yeah, that YouTube channel should grow pretty fast if they keep the momentum up. Right now there are only five videos in two days with 103 subscribers and 2214 video views [UPDATE 24 Aug. 2014: 2,357 Subscribers]. We’ll check back later and update the stats and see how well they’re doing.
Your Thoughts On Cross Linking Via Social Media Accounts?
Are you using this method of cross promotion? Can you see any benefit to it? Do you think it’s just too much work? What types of promotion do you use to grow your social media accounts? Some bloggers prefer to keep everything separate with different followers on each account. I’m interested in your thoughts on the matter.
Related Social Media Post:
- How To Find Social Accounts When Your Brand Is Already Taken
- Check Social Share Counts With These 4+ Free Online Tools
- Repurposing An Old Twitter Account For A Nice Start On Your New Brand
- How Can I Consolidate All Of My Social Media Posts?
- What Exactly Is Social Proof And How Do Bloggers Use it
- The Future Of Social Media And Why Speed Is of The Essence
- Kristi Hines on Blogging, Social Media Promotion, and More (Video Interview)
- Psychological Influence of Social Media Marketing
- Guerrilla Marketing Or Social Media? Pepsi Or Coke?
- Is Social Media Marketing A Waste of Time? I Think Not
- How To Use Social Media Monitoring To Grow Your Blog
- Social Networking Is Like Politics
About Brian D. Hawkins
Oh, you use Scoopit too?
I just got onto that site…
Anyways, cross promoting could be done on a lower level amount of promoting.
Since many beginners don’t have that many followers, cross promoting won’t be very beneficial but shouldn’t be neglected at all.
It is great to let your followers know that you are on the other social media sites.
I need to make sure I let my followers know on Twitter that I have a Google+ profile too 🙂
I do Samuel, it’s a very cool content curation tool and it does send traffic back to your blog and those posts you share.
Haha thank you Brian just saw this on my Fb ticker! Scoopit is a bit more than you may realise. It is a powerful search and branding tool and also has edgerank. It also generates a lot of shares into other sites
Thanks Michael, I thought your tip should be shared. ScoopIt has a large community and it’s all about sharing; you can’t go wrong with that. 🙂
I was on Scoopit on day 2 and the key to doing well is commenting and rescooping the regulars in your niche to build your edgerank in there
Cross promotion is good but should be done properly otherwise it is a waste of time. Just sheer numbers of followers isn’t enough as everyone knows how easy it is to followers to your twitter account. I would rather prefer real followers even if the numbers are less.
Hi Keral, good point. I do agree, like everything, it’s a waste of time if not done correctly but I think numbers still count. With that said, the numbers have to be ‘real’ as well.
Cross-promotion wow nice idea. I’ll use it once I have a good no. of followers on my social network. I would be happy if you can guide me to build a good reader base for my blog. I have a 3 months old blog with around 70-80 visits on daily basis. But have no subscribers neither get relevant comments on posts. Tell me what should i do for engagement on posts
I think you’re doing very well on Techy Buzzz Mridula. That’s not bad traffic for a new blog. Just keep updating on a regular bases and sharing with social media as you continue to develop relationships.
I did notice your RSS feed subscription link is way down in the footer. Personally, I’d have one above the fold to encourage people to subscribe.
Hey Brian! Thanks for the tips! I just started a cross promotion group with bloggers and Scoop It is definitely something we should be using!
Glad to help Jimmy. Is it a Facebook group?
Yup! You can find us on Facebook. We ‘re called “Let’s Promote The Sh*t Out of Our Dating Blogs” (straight to the point.) 😛 We just incorporated Scoop.it and it’s exactly what we needed! Thanks for the tips!
Very cool, thanks.
I use scoop.it but very rarely. I know its potential is great – just didn’t have the time. But the tip you give here sounds very reasonable and really easy to cross promote! Thanks much.
I completely understand the lack of time Jane, it took me several days just to start replying to comments. I can’t keep up everything even when I go to bed at 2am everyday. Post your ScoopIt link here so we can follow you there, if you like.
Intriguing Brian. I’m not sure why I fight these types of sites. Maybe it’s because I see people going to something like that rather than working on promoting their own stuff by themselves and that irritates me to a slight degree. Maybe it’s because of the demise of sites like Delicious, which I did use, sites that got on my nerve like Technorati, and sites that started throwing people out without real reason that, luckily, I never joined that thus didn’t have to leave.
Yeah, I know, going against the grain again; that’s what I do. lol
I look at them as tools Mitch. Tools to engage with friends, meet new friends and promote content. If that tool goes away, I’ll still be here.
The danger is for those that invest everything they have into another site. Many people don’t have their own blog or website, they rely on Facebook or Twitter to build a following and even an income. That’s pretty risky if you ask me.
Nice Tips Brian. Social Media promotion became more vital after the entry of Social Signals in the Advanced SEO. Now Social Signals also having effect on the SEO of any blog/website.
Social Signals are getting very important Narender. I just read another article somewhere talking about Google using social signals from sites other than G+.
Nice thought. I use Scoop. it . I found very difficulty in using this Then how can i do cross promotion
I don’t think it’s hard at all Helen. I use the Chrome extension a lot and can scoop an article in seconds without even going to ScoopIt’s website.
I see the benefits of cross promoting on social media sites.You need to give in order to get, if you share another bloggers post on social sites, they will do the same for you.Having great content is essential, no one is going to share if it is not worth it.
Samuel (first commenter) mentioned that many beginners don´t have too many followers, but they will get a lot of them fast when they start participating and sharing good stuff.
I agree Tom, we can get very far alone and no one wants to play with a selfish friend. 🙂
It’s a mutual system i suppose that allows supporting each other. I think is the fairest system i met until now as it requires presence from more than one user.
This is the first time I’ve heard of ScoopIt. I’ll be checking it out after I finish this comment. Thanks for the information.
Nice post !
I have not tried to use cross promotion on social media for by blog but i can not see the benefits of it 🙂 i am going to give it a try with Facebook and Twitter and we what results i get.
Thanks for the share
Good luck Phil, there’s no direct benefit for your blog but it will help grow your social influence, which ultimately will help your blog.
I’ve always revered how social media networks could do wonders for blogs. They can make or break your popularity. And for what it’s worth, you can choose anything from Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc, to expand your audience and promote your product.
I thought Google’s “+1” had dropped by some 8%, and forecasts suggest that this will continue. Still, I do use +1, even if it doesn’t seem like such a big player these days…
I never even thought about doing something like this. This has totally evaded me. I still never use Scoop it. To be Frank, Hi I’m Frank! I can’t wrap my head around it. If It does everything automatically then I’m fine with it holding my content for sharability. – Scott Craighead