Discussing Digital with Nikie Forster

Discussing Digital with Nikie Forster

In this edition of Discussing Digital, I speak to Nikie Forster of Curious Lighthouse Learning Consultancy. We discuss how Nikie is making great use of LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube, as well as some of the many different ways she creates content.
Nikie also shares her One Good and One Bad tips, which is something we ask everyone who takes part on an episode of Discussing Digital to share with us.

 

Transcript

Welcome

Hello, today on discussing digital I’m with Nikie Forster from the Curious Lighthouse Learning Consultancy and we’re here to discuss digital marketing and particularly how Nikie uses digital marketing in her business. So Nikie would you like to kind of introduce yourself and tell us a bit more about your business.

Yeah, absolutely, well first of all thanks for inviting me on Rob, very kind of you. So my profession is a learning and development consultant and the way that I usually describe my business is if it’s anything to do with learning I usually get involved in it, but my my two main areas that I focus on are helping managers to manage their people better and helping trainers to train others better. So those two ends of the scale of what I do, I work with large and small corporates, independents, pretty much anybody that wants help with learning I do and I do that face-to-face and virtually as well.

Brilliant, okay now obviously we’re here to discuss how digital marketing fits into the promotion and growth of your business,

Yeah.

Now obviously you and i are friends and well connected so I’ve seen that you you are very active on digital marketing so it’d be really good if you could kind of give an overview of the different elements of digital marketing that you do and and also as part of that if you can kind of go into a bit more detail about which which ones seem to work best for you.

Approach to Digital Marketing

Sure I would say my approach to digital marketing is a little bit scatter gun approach to be honest, although I am getting better at it so I really like it when something’s very relevant to what’s going on, which is probably why I struggle a little bit with the forward planning of stuff but I tend to use LinkedIn as my main digital platform because with the stuff that I do and talking to corporates and other trainers that’s predominantly where my audience is, but with some of the other bits and pieces that I do as well I find that YouTube is a good place for me to post stuff as is Facebook and I’m just starting to get into Instagram. Instagram’s one of those things that kind of I know I should be doing more on but it it’s just it doesn’t feel comfortable yet, whereas Linkedin feels very comfortable for me to be on, so I try and post on a Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Sometimes that is very much just a quick post and other times it’s a little bit more in depth, but I always like to include images and stuff like that, I tend to find they get the the most engagement.

LinkedIn

Yeah, it’s really interesting you saying that about one that you have identified that Linkedin is a good platform for you because of your kind of most clients that you’re looking for are there, but also your comment around the fact that you kind of feel you should be on Instagram but you you struggle with it because it doesn’t come naturally to you. I think that’s really important for people to understand that that is the case I think it’s you know for me quite a few it’s actually if focus on the one that works best for you and don’t always worry about you feel like you’re under pressure to be on the others yeah.

Instagram

Yeah, I think that one of the reasons why I struggled to kind of let go of Instagram is because although I’ve said you know in terms of the corporate side for management development definitely, but in terms of the trainer stuff that I do, they could be corporate trainers but they could also be entrepreneurs who want to train others in their specialty so they could create their own online courses, and that’s a very different ballgame so Instagram feels as though that would work better for that group,

Yeah

So yeah it always feels a little bit like a juggling thing whereas at the moment what I’d want to do is you want to create one post and just plaster it everywhere which I need.

Yeah, and again there’s nothing wrong with that but as you say there are there are kind of different nuances across the channels so obviously Instagram in particular uses things like hashtags a lot more differently to say Linkedin, although hashtags are appearing a lot more on Linkedin at the moment and is going down that route so yeah. You also mentioned mentioned YouTube earlier so how are you finding YouTube and how are you finding what’s the best way you found to grow your subscriber list? because it was it always feels like a challenge on on YouTube

YouTube

Yeah, so when I say I use YouTube, what I really should clarify is probably a couple of years ago I started using it and set up my own channel on there and I was posting quite regularly and I used to post it. Originally I had a topic particularly around management development and I would split it into four and make four shorter videos and then upload them one a week for a month. Ii thought that that would work well, but what i realized was that people don’t particularly like parts – part one, part two, part three on YouTube, they just want something that’s condensed down into two or three minutes and then they can go off and do something else, and then the pandemic hit and then I had to share my office with my husband and all the nice equipment’s in the office, so it kind of went by the wayside. So doing videos for me has kind of been put on the back burner a bit, but when I pick it up again, what I really use it for isn’t so much to grow the channel on YouTube, it’s more a case of uploading it there so that (a) I can create subtitles, because for me that’s the easiest place to create them and then (b) upload it to my website, because again it’s the easiest way of doing it or posting on social media, so I almost use it like a software tool, rather than a digital marketing tool if that makes sense.

It does, it makes perfect sense actually and your comment there about using youtube for for subtitlings and creating captions, I use it exactly the same way at the moment, because as you say it’s got a very good transcription engine and so it it then takes minimal effort to kind of make the subtitles more readable, whereas I certainly found things like Facebook where they’ve got transcription services you have to do a lot more editing. Talking about visuals and things like that I know one of the things that you’ve kind of been focusing on in your learning development marketing is around the use of Lego, which is a great visual product, I mean how have you found that has helped?

Lego

Oh it gets so much more engagement. I should explain that when I am training people I don’t like taking photographs of people while I’m training them, I think it’s off-putting and I think so people feel as though they then have to almost like put on a show of what they’re doing. So sometimes I will take pictures of if they’re doing an activity so so that people can see the props that I’m using and Lego is is one of those props, so it really helps me to show people the kind of stuff that I’m doing and everybody loves Lego and it’s so bright and colorful and I use it within my management development but also within training and I also have it for other trainers to be able to use this activity, so it kind of covers quite a wide range of my business which is why people probably see it quite a bit, but yeah the visuals of that, I think it just kind of takes people back to their childhood or if their parents playing with their own kids so it’s universal. You cannot sit at a table with Lego in front of you and not pick it up and start building stuff with it, it’s almost impossible to do. So yes I do find that I do use a lot of Lego imagery in my social media posts, but like I say it does get really good engagement.

Yeah, and do you actually obviously sort of like as you say you’re using it during courses whether that’s online because I know sometimes you actually send out the Lego packs to the person you’re training things like that so do you actually kind of take some images while you’re doing the training so effectively you’re almost getting creating content whilst you’re doing something else rather than having to make a special effort to create content?

Yeah, absolutely. So I’ve just finished doing a one-to-one management development program virtually so the whole program was virtual, so I sent all that stuff out to them and rather than trying to take screenshots of them holding things up I was showing my setup here in the office where I actually got the Lego off to one side so that people can see that’s the props that we’re going to be using today. So yes, I do think that the stuff that gets a lot of the engagement is the behind the scenes and the in the moment stuff, rather than the setup of everybody holding their certificates or all that kind of thing. I think people like to know what’s going on. How did that come to be? What’s that person actually doing? How are they making a success of something? and I think people enjoy the the journey rather than the end result, otherwise it would just be me banging on all the time about come buy my services, my courses, things like that and those direct sales pitches don’t get any engagement at all, except from your cheerleaders who really like the stuff that you do.

Yeah

So yeah, you’re absolutely right I do take a lot of the in the moment and the behind the scenes images.

E-Mail Marketing

Do you do any other stuff, like email marketing, to try and keep people informed about what you’re going on and stuff like that?

I’ve tried, I’ve tried. I have a couple of freebies in terms of online courses and I’m just doing some more ebooks, which is short kind of you know 12 ways to do … type of stuff and I do have something set up that can acquire people’s emails for that but I really struggle with the whole newsletter style thing. I don’t like newsletters. I don’t read other people’s newsletters. I’ve got no desire to create my own newsletter. So there’s a bit of a barrier there for me for that. Should I be doing it? Probably, but in a way that works for me and I haven’t worked out what that way is yet. It’s certainly not a bulk standard monthly newsletter. I need to think a bit more about what that is.

Yeah, again I think it’s important you know, that if you’ve got a mental block for want of a better word or this is something that doesn’t work for me, I don’t think you should beat yourself up about the fact that that doesn’t work for me, but actually I’m happy doing this stuff, so I’ll do lots of that, because sometimes people kind of you know, you hear gurus saying you’ve got to do this, you’ve got to do that and then you beat yourself up and don’t do anything, whereas if you go I can do this bit, I like doing that, a bit like, you know, what you were saying earlier about Linkedin is something I like, I’m happy with, so I can do lots of that, whereas this other stuff, it’s hard work. Life’s hard enough anyway, let’s not try to do something hard, that you can do relatively easy and I know you do loads of stuff anyway so, it’s really good you know, what you do is good anyway. So just touching back again on some of the stuff you’re doing repurposing. Obviously, because you do training courses anyway, you mentioned you had a couple of freebies that you do, so have you got any training platforms where you put courses that you you’ve created to hopefully get you some some additional income that way as well?Rather than just being a just a marketing tool for digital marketing?

Yeah, absolutely, so for example the Lego that we talked about earlier, as I said, I use that across several different areas, both in terms of using it to help managers to open up and discuss things and things like that, but then I take those activities that I’ve created and put them into a course so that other trainers can come and have a look at those and then use them for their own learners. So I’ve got several online courses specifically around that and I’ve got them on several different platforms for different reasons so I use a course creation platform called Thinkific to create online courses and I love them. I think it’s really easy, really easy? very straightforward to use. Very intuitive to use. You do a lot on it but there’s no marketing from their point of view involved in that you have to do all the marketing yourself. So if I’m ever marketing my Lego courses, that’s predominantly where I’m sending them to. The other place that I do have them is on Udemy, but, I think Udemy is fantastic at what it does in terms of getting out to a global audience, but they take so much of the profit from it so, it’s all about quantity with Udemy rather than building relationships with people and doing it that way. So yes, I’ve got those, I’ve got a couple of other ones about creating online courses. The management development stuff tends to be more specifically face-to-face or I do programs rather than one-off events so that that tends to be more invoice-led rather than a course that’s bought online.

Cool. okay, so as we discussed this beforehand I was going to ask you a couple things, so can you share with everyone one good thing that you’re doing in digital marketing that you kind of think ah, this really works for me and i’m just doing loads of it.

One Good Thing

The one thing if I had to really nail it down would be the behind the scenes stuff. Tell people what you’re doing so it’s not selling but it’s about what you’re doing, so like I said before my virtual management development program that I’ve just been running, I’ve been posting the behind the scenes stuff on that and just talking about what’s working, the fact that I found a new piece of software to be able to use to do it. So I’m sharing my own journey and story but people are still hearing what it is that I’m doing so if they need that in the future they know that that’s something that I’m experienced in. So that is what I would say rather than trying to sell on social media, is share your story in your journey and become the person that people think about when when they need that.

Absolutely, I think that’s really good advice. I was going to say what you’re saying. It’s about that whole meet, like, Know, trust stuff and to get people getting to know you and your approach and things like that rather than as you say here’s a hard sell type stuff.

One Bad Thing

Equally if there’s one thing you say “oh, it just doesn’t work for me, I just don’t want to do that”

I actually think this is something I learned very early on when I went into my own business. I started up my own business end of 2015 and I think for probably at least six months the way in which I did digital marketing was how I thought I should sound and how I thought I should come across which which was still very corporate and I’m not saying I’m not professional, I am, but I’m very informal and it took me a while to realize that actually if somebody’s going to buy a service from me then they get me. So that’s what I need to put out. So everything that I post now is very much just how I would be if I was training somebody or helping somebody you know create their own online course or whatever, because then there’s no surprises. I think people buy people not products, so that helps that they know what they’re getting. So to narrow that down because I went off on a tangent there, so as always so to narrow that down I would say “Just be yourself” whenever you are doing social media, just be yourself.

Yeah, that’s great, that’s great and I think that’s really really, really good advice. So finally is there anything else that you’d like to just highlight before we wrap up?

One of the things that I try to do is to stay current and I think that’s important. So although I’ve said before I like LinkedIn, I feel comfortable there, little things tweak and change. I’m talking about algorithms or things like that but just things like being able to put feature pages on, or being able to do a voice note for things, so i think even if you’re comfortable on a platform it’s still keeping up to date with what’s going on and also just pushing yourself slightly to see what else is out there. So I am never going to be on Twitter, she says. I’ve got a Twitter handle but I don’t look at it. But like i said before Instagram is probably somewhere where I want to go, so it’s keeping up to date with things and having somebody like yourself who can help navigate that stuff as well I think is really important.

Cool, thank you for that, I do my best.

 So just before we wrap up, do you want to just kind of share out your different digital marketing platforms so that anybody that’s watching would like to go and see the wonderful work you’re doing and the wonderful marketing you’re doing, so they can actually see what we’ve been talking about?

Fantastic. Well I can’t actually remember them all off the top of my head but i think what i would probably say is that the best one to contact me on is going to be LinkedIn and you can look up my name, Nikie Forster (n-i-k-i-e) but actually i think it’s probably going to come under Curious Lighthouse, so if you look under Curious Lighthouse for anything – Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, it’s all under Curious Lighthouse so that is what I’d probably say but LinkedIn is if you’re looking for a response from me that’s probably the best place to go

Yeah that’s fine you have sent me through some urls and that so we will share them in the comments with the descriptions on the videos but they will magically appear here as well.

Wonderful. Thank you.

Okay, well in that case I do thank you for your time today and I hope everyone’s enjoyed watching this because Nikie’s just shared a load of really, really good tips. I would suggest you want to go away, watch this video a couple of times and really take take apart some of the great tips that Nikie’s shared with us today. So thank you so much Nikie and I look forward to catching up with you again in the future.

Wonderful, thank you very much indeed Rob

What do I do with my video now?

What do I do with my video now?


Video is great for promoting your business, but once you’ve made the decision to get one or more videos produced and you’ve been given the video files, what should you do with them?
The obvious answers are put it on your website and share it on all your social media channels – but how do you do all those things?

Posting your video on your website

When you put your video on your website, don’t make the mistake of loading the video file to your website, as your website hosting platform won’t be optimised for streaming video, so your video won’t play very well when people visit your website.

Video Hosting Platforms

YOuTube LogoThe two most well-known video hosting platforms are YouTube and Vimeo, which both allow you to set up free accounts or channels. There are other video hosting platforms, such as Wistia, but these charge for their services.
I tend to use YouTube, because it is the second most used search engine on the internet, is owned by Google and you can link your Google Analytics for your website with your YouTube channel so you can get all your Google performance metrics in one place.

Once you have put your video on your hosting platform, you need to embed the video onto your website. It’s fairly easy to do this, on YouTube you click on the share button, go to the Embed tab, copy the line of HTML code that is shown and then copy this into your web page at the place you want to embed it on your web page. Note that there are some options available to you when you create the embed code, including video size, so choose the settings that you want.

When you embed the video on your web page, think about where you want the video to appear. In general, it is best to put the video as near to the top of your web page as possible, as you want website visitors to watch it and they are more likely to do this if they see it at the top of the page.

Posting your video on Social Media

Social Media Logos Montage - Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn - Pinterest - InstagramAlthough it is possible to share your video from YouTube, it is better to post the video natively onto the social media channels you are looking to share it on, as the algorithms they use for deciding whether to share your post with others all favour video hosted locally over video links. Loading videos locally onto each social media platform will also give you access to post insights. Facebook in particular provides some very detailed insights to how your video is being watched and there is a second level of detail provided about the audience once the video has been viewed 100 times.
Uploading video works the same across all the platforms, but they do have some nuances that you need to be aware of.

facebook logoFacebook

When you load a video onto Facebook, the system will select 10 thumbnail images from the video and you can choose which you want to use. You can also load a custom thumbnail if you don’t like any of the options available to you.
Facebook also has a very good tool for adding captions to videos and as over 90% of video views are made with the sound off, it is advisable to add captions if your video doesn’t have captions already. It is possible to export the captions file to reuse elsewhere, should you wish.

Twitter LogoTwitter

Twitter is fussier about the video files you can load. It only allows you to load .mp4 and .mov formats and the video files must be less than 512 Mb in size.

Instagram LogoInstagram

Instagram will only let you load videos that are less than 1-minute-long and you can only load files from your mobile device – there isn’t a facility to load a video from a desktop browser.

linkedin logoLinkedIn

LinkedIn is currently rolling out a facility to load videos natively, but this is only available from the mobile client.

What to do with your social media posts

Once you have your video on your social media platform, there are things you can do to increase their exposure. On Facebook you can share your post into relevant groups. On Twitter you can get people to like and/or retweet your posts and similarly you can do this on Instagram. Follow this link on more ideas for sharing content.


Rob Osborne of Red Knight SolutionsIf you need more help or advice on what to do with your posts, please call me or leave a message and I will be happy to pass on my advice. If you are looking to get videos produced, let me know by calling the Red Knight Solutions offices on 02392 265725.

 

 

Digital Marketing in 2017 – Predicting the big things for next year

Digital Marketing in 2017 – Predicting the big things for next year

Desk Calendar Representing Year Two Thousand Seventeen

As 2016 comes to an end and 2017 looms over the horizon, I thought it was time to stare into my crystal ball and see if I can predict the big things that will happen with digital marketing in 2017. It will be fun to look back at this post towards the end of 2017 to see which, if any of them, will come true.

Video – even more important in 2017.

Video cameraLet’s start with something that’s a safe prediction – video will be even more important for digital marketing in 2017 than it is in 2016, which is saying something as it’s a major influence in Facebook and Twitter’s algorithm already.  The functionality of Facebook Live will continue to be enhanced and the use of Facebook Live will get even better results in their algorithm.

There have also been announcements of live video streaming developments both for Twitter and Instagram and I wouldn’t be surprised if LinkedIn and others followed suit.

In summary, you really need to include using video within your digital marketing mix in 2017.

Augmented Reality and 3D

Augmented and Virtual Reality ConceptThe success of Pokemon Go earlier this year was the first real demonstration of augmented reality, where the digital world was overlaid on the real world, in real-time. There will be more games like this in 2017 and this will lead to digital marketing opportunities for business.

The 3D world is also developing at pace. Facebook has made an investment in this technology, as our many of the games consoles and Samsung are now promoting a 360-degree camera to support it, so it’s coming. I don’t think it will be big in 2017 but I can see it happening in 2018.

Google – it’s plans will influence your website

Google LogoGoogle will continue to refine its algorithm and these will focus on improving the ranking of websites that perform well on mobile devices, so your website needs to be designed for mobile. Key things to focus on are a mobile responsive design, use of AMP pages and quick loading pages. I predict a further refinement to Google Adwords too. Oh and don’t forget to post those videos onto your website too.

 Social Media

Facebook

facebook logoFacebook will continue to go from strength to strength. Video and Facebook Live will become increasingly important and influential in the performance of posts. I am expecting some augmented reality and virtual reality features to be introduced in 2017, but these technologies are still in the development and experimental phase so it is difficult to predict exactly how this will be done. Back the right option and you will get an advantage but there will be many false starts. The developments that have started in Messenger for businesses will continue to deliver additional features.

LinkedIn

linkedin logoLinkedIn was purchased by Microsoft in 2016 and I believe that their influence on LinkedIn will grow in 2017. Some areas of LinkedIn, such as the company page, have already been revisited and revamped and this will continue across 2017. I can see groups being re-vamped as LinkedIn groups seem to have lost out to Facebook groups in recent years.

Twitter

Twitter LogoTwitter is going to have an interesting 2017 and its success or otherwise will depend on who eventually buys Twitter and the direction of travel they take it in. Salesforce were rumoured to be the most likely buyer and if this is the case then there is the potential for some exciting developments towards the end of 2017, assuming the sale takes place early in 2017. Whatever happens as far as the potential sale, I predict there will be enhancements made to the paid advertising feature.

Other social media

Pinterest and Instagram will continue their rise in prominence within the digital marketing sphere and there will be a social media channel that develops from left-field. I don’t know which one but either SnapChat or WhatsApp appear to be well placed.

Is this the year of the small business app?

I read an article recently that predicted the death of websites and the advent of app only internet marketing. I wouldn’t go that far, but I can see the introduction of simple apps for small businesses becoming more popular, especially as we consuming so much of our digital information via mobile devices and apps work so well on them … definitely one to keep an eye on and even if it doesn’t happen in 2017 it is going to happen in the next few years.

Summary

In summary, it will be interesting to revisit this post regularly during 2017 to see which, if any, of these predictions comes true.

Finally, I would just like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year, where digital marketing plays a big part in your success.


Helping you with your digital marketing

If you would like help with your Facebook marketing or any other aspects of your digital marketing, call Red Knight Solutions on 02392 265725 or e-mail us at enquiries@redknightsolutions.co.uk  to find out more about how we can help your business thrive online.

 

Business owners – don’t be frustrated by Facebook. 5 ways to boost your post.

Business owners – don’t be frustrated by Facebook. 5 ways to boost your post.

Are you a business owner who is frustrated by the impact of your posts on your Facebook business page? Despite working hard to gain lots of likes for your page, Facebook is hardly showing your posts to any of your followers – statistics show that often less than 1% of people who have liked your page will see your post.

If this sounds familiar, despair no longer, here are 5 tips to follow that will see your post reach increase dramatically.

Facebook loves Video.

Video is the number 1 way to boost your posts, as Facebook loves video and its algorithm is heavily weighted to extend the reach of posts that feature video. If you really want your post to reach its maximum potential use Facebook Live for the video feed, as Facebook is really promoting Facebook live.

If you’re not comfortable using Facebook live then produce a video, but load it onto Facebook if possible rather than hosting it on YouTube or any other video hosting platform, as Facebook does favour hosted video. If you are producing a video, it is also a good idea to include captions on the video or produce the video in such a way that it communicates its message without sound, as a high proportion of the people that will see your video on Facebook will do so with the sounds off.

A further benefit of having the video hosted on Facebook is the detailed analytics that Facebook provides you with.

Goals On Monitor - boosted reach for Facebook PostInclude a picture when you post on Facebook.

If you are unable or unwilling to include a video, include one or more photographs with your post. Facebook likes seeing photos with posts and it is also more eye catching in timelines that Facebook does add your post to.

If you can post several pictures that relate to a post, then you should use these to create a slideshow. There are facilities for doing this in Facebook or you could you a tool like Animoto or ripl. Facebook will treat a slideshow you have created as a video.

Encourage Interactions with your post.

Facebook Like and ShareIf people are reacting to your post, the Facebook algorithm will give your post a boost. There are three types of interaction you should try to encourage, sharing, commenting and liking. They all have an impact.

Sharing your post.

You can extend the reach of your Facebook post by sharing your business page post into any groups you are a member of where your post will be of interest. You should also share your post on your timeline.

facebook emotionsWhen sharing your post, you should include a comment that encourages interaction from group members – shares and comments seem to have the biggest impact on posts, but likes have influence too.

If you employ staff, you should encourage them to interact with your post and share it. If you know other business owners, then you should consider asking them to share your post too, with a reciprocal offer of sharing their posts too.

Page Settings

There are numerous business page settings that affect where and how your post will appear on Facebook, most notably your preferred page audience. Use these to let Facebook know who your target audience is and your posts are more likely to appear on the timeline of people who match this description. There are options available to help with selection across the 150 odd attributes that Facebook holds about its users.

Facebook Boost Post ButtonBoosting your post

If all else fails, you can consider boosting your post. If you decide that you want to boost your post, don’t press the boost post button, but got into the ads manager to boost the post. This is because Facebook advertising manager lets you choose what the purpose of boosting your post is and if you look closely at the options available, boosting your post doesn’t necessarily achieve the outcome you would expect it to.


Rob Osborne of Red Knight SolutionsHelping you with Facebook

If you would like help with your Facebook marketing or any other aspects of your digital marketing, call Red Knight Solutions on 02392 265725 or e-mail us at enquiries@redknightsolutions.co.uk  to find out more about how we can help your business thrive online.

 

 

 

What should I do with my blog?

What should I do with my blog?

Seven steps to optimise readership of your blog

Phew, what a relief. You’ve finished writing your blog post and you’ve avoided the 7 content marketing mistakes that I recently wrote a blog post about, but now what do you do with it? How do you get people to read it? Here are 7 steps you should take to maximise the exposure of your blog post, without spending any money.

Step 1 – Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

Make sure you have maximised your search engine optimisation when you published your blog by:

  • including appropriate key words and phrases within the text of your blog;
  • using appropriate file names and completing alt-text and description fields for all of the images you have used in your blog; and
  • Completing SEO meta data on your blog post, especially page title and description.

Step 2 – Facebook

facebook logoPost on your Facebook business page

The first place to post your blog is Facebook. Post it on your company page, making sure it pulls through an appropriate image. If it doesn’t pick up an image from your blog, then upload one to go with it.

Share on your Facebook timeline

Lots of people think they’ve done what they need to on Facebook at this point, but they are wrong and are missing so many opportunities, as sharing your post from your business page on your personal timeline will increase the number of readers, as your friends and family (well at least some of them) will want to read what you have written and hopefully think it is worth a reaction, comment and maybe even a share. If you can encourage them to react to it in some way it will help, as getting interaction is part of Facebook’s algorithm on deciding whether to display a post in somebody’s timeline.

Share in Facebook groups

Don’t stop there though. Have you joined any Facebook groups that relate to your business? Yes, then you should share your post in all those groups too. If you’ve not joined any groups yet, then there is a great opportunity for you to expand the reach of your post and for many unconnected people and businesses to learn about what you do by joining relevant groups, participating in conversations in those groups and posting your content there.

Step 3 – Twitter

Twitter LogoTweet your post from your business Twitter account, using appropriate hashtags and images. If it is relevant to a specific follower, then you could send them a direct tweet or direct message to allow them to connect.

Once you have tweeted your post from your business account log into your personal account, retweet your business account post and like it too.

If you are using any Twitter automation tools, such as Twitter Jukebox or Social Jukebox, then remember to add your post as appropriate to ensure that it is included in your automation.

Step 4 –  Linked In

linkedin logoPost a link to your blog as a status update on your LinkedIn profile and if you think your blog is an interesting read you could consider copying it and posting it on LinkedIn as an article. This will give all your connections an opportunity to see your post.

If you think your blog is relevant to some of your contacts, you could also send them a direct message which includes a link to your post and an appropriate message as to why you have sent them a direct message about it.

Don’t forget to also post an update on your LinkedIn company page too. Your company page may well have a different set of followers to your LinkedIn profile.

Finally, post your blog in all the relevant LinkedIn groups you are in. Although not as popular as they once were, groups are still an active area of LinkedIn and posting will help attract additional readers.

Step 5 – Google+/Google My Business

google+ logoDon’t forget to add your post to your Google+/Google my business page too. Although this is unlikely to bring you that many direct readers, it does help one very important reader – Google, Which means that this is one of the most important actions you can do.

Step 6- e-mail marketing.

e-mail logoIf you are running an e-mail newsletter, don’t forget to add your blog posts to it. If you’re not running one, then sharing blog posts is a great way to start developing your e-mail newsletter content.

Step 7 – On-line forums.

Post a link to your blog in any on-line forums that you are a member of. If the forum has a good reputation, then this can have additional benefits to your SEO as your post will act as a backlink to your site.

Bonus Step – Other Social Media Sites.

Rob Osborne of Red Knight SolutionsDepending on the nature of your business and the style of your blog then there are other social media sites you may wish to post your blog on too. These include Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube.

Lots to remember.

There is a lot to remember when it comes to posting your blog. I have developed a checklist to help me remember all the different steps I need to do and I’m very happy to share it with you. If you would like a copy please complete the form below and I will e-mail it to you.

Send me the checklist

* indicates required




Your details will not be shared with anybody else.