At times it can be a little tricky to stay on top of your social media game. In this post I address some common issues I see on your blogs (that's right I mean you!) and provide simple solutions and a few short steps you can take to make sure you come out a winner. 
A few of these tips might not apply to you, but if you need help fixing any of them, let us know in the comments and we'll get you some solutions fast! I want you to be successful, and like it or not, social media plays a big role in helping you reach your online goals. So let's play ball!
Get Your Social Media Game Right!
- #1. You’re not even on Twitter or Facebook yet – there’s an old saying: “Get a glove and get into the game!”
- #2. You don’t have sharing buttons next to your posts: I recommend the Digg Digg plugin (installation instructions are below) but the bare minimum you should have the Google +1 button, a Retweet button and a Facebook share button at the top of your post. These buttons are a subtle call to action, asking your readers to share your content without saying a word. If those buttons are missing you can pretty much bet that your content won't be shared. Search engines can send you traffic, but you want “people” to send you traffic too.
- #3. You don’t have your Twitter name set in whatever plugin you’re using: Stop what you're doing right now and fix this! Log into your dashboard, go to the settings page of the social sharing plugin and add your Twitter handle! Are you done yet? Look at it this way, if people Retweet your content and they don't include your Twitter handle, how are you ever going to know? How are you going to connect with people and find out who is out there evangelizing for your brand? Monitor your @ mentions, this way you can thank people and start making connections with them.
Use Social Media to Grow Your Network
- #4. You don’t belong to a network: If your a business professionals you should check out this awesome network I joined called Social Buzz Club, especially if you're a fan of Facebook and LinkedIn. If Twitter is your network of choice, join JustRetweet and Triberr – read my review here. I'm getting fabulous results and really expanding my reach with these two networks.
- #5. You don’t have your social media profile links on your blog: Your profile links should be above the fold DUH! Don't you realize that there are Twitter and Facebook fanatics like me out there who will add anyone to their networks just because they landed on the page 🙂 If we have to search high and low for your profile link that tells us you don't care about social networking (basically you've been benched). Even if that's true, don't let word get out to the public ok?
Bonus tip – test each one of those profile links to make sure they work because some plugins let you enter the user name, others want the complete url – if you need help please ask!
- #6. You don't share other people's content: Remember, like everything in life, you have to give in order to receive. This is another reason I highly recommend curating content with services like Paper.li and Scoop.it so you can share content that helps build your authority and provides value to your followers.
- #7. You don’t @ mention the source or person who generated the content you’re sharing: You can’t expect to make connections on social networks when you’re being selfish. That's why Twitter, Google+ and Facebook all have this feature. Use it and give people their props!
Bonus tip – test each one of those profile links to make sure they work because some plugins let you enter the user name, others want the complete url – if you need help please ask!Make Your Content Share Worthy
- #8. Your article is downright boring…. Add attractive images or interesting quotes to spice up your posts. Think “Pinterest“.
- #9. Your title isn’t catchy enough: Download a free copy of “Headline Hacks” and get 52 viral headline suggestions from Jon Morrow from CopyBlogger. More headline writing tips can be found here: Sharpen Your Headline Writing Skills
- #10. You’re not using hashtags in your Tweets or on Google+: Remember there are millions of people who are online searching for stuff, use # hashtags to help them find your content. Here’s a tutorial for on using hashtags in Google+, it blew me away when I saw this because even I wasn’t doing this until the other day. Shout out to Chris Lang and Ronnie Bincer for the workshop.
Your Social Media Game Bonus Tip!
Just ask! Yup, that's the bonus tip and trust me, you can score a home run with this one. Be sure to ask people to share your stuff. Be honest with yourself – when is the last time you ended a post by asking your readers to share it? Just like I'm going to do now 🙂
Here is a video recap of this article
10 Social Media Mistakes New Bloggers Make by MsIleaneSpeaks
Great points. I think that with social media we must also take time to respond to those who engage with us (or try to) in addition we should visit them when they engage us and either comment or rebroadcast something they have done or posted.
This type of reciprocal way of working together can build helpful relationships.
It is really easy to get discouraged when you help others and they do not help back. but that is how it is with some.
Engagement is a two way street – that’s what I think anyway.
I think others have different views though – any thoughts?
Hi Dave, there are some people who have different views but I stopped following them so I have no idea how well that is working for them 🙂
I think you nailed it Ileane! That is the perfect response to that kind of behavior.
Hello Ileane. Twitter is too big to manage that small for me. I don’t follow or unfollow looking at views, I have some strategies where I connect with people looking/searching for people talking on a certain topic.
In line with what you said in the post, you won’t believe how many companies I approached for business where they tell me they have a social media manager, but when looking deeper, they don’t have any accounts. Not mentioning interactions etc.
I am always torn between ‘Do I tell the company that their ‘Social Media Provider’ doesn’t know what they’re doing and perhaps getting the business, or do I keep quite and keep hustling on to another pitch.
Hey Ileane Thanks for sharing this tips. BTW i am very much active on every social media sites. As you told Digg Digg to use on my blog, i used that and i can see the changes 🙂 Now my article sharing rate is double. Specially i am too happy to see my +1 Counts.
BTW for shraing any article on socia media site we need eye attractive picture too to attract all users.
I have already download “Headline Hacks” and its really superb.
Thanks for your Bounus Tips too 😉
Hey Amit, you are really doing a fantastic job with your social networking skills. I’m so glad to hear how your shares have increased with Digg Digg. Mine have too!
Ileane, I love that DiggDigg plug-in you recommended to me. It’s awesome and so much better than a lot of others I had tried. Thank you again! You are right about being on social sites, so many people are still not on Twitter or if they set it up – don’t use it. They believe Facebook is the be all – end all. I don’t believe in putting all your social eggs in one basket.
Lisa, I am really happy that you got your Digg Digg all set up with the Blog Engage vote button. You are really going to need that now that you are becoming such an active member of Blog Engage – on top of entering the contests over there. I wish you the best!
It’s so funny that I realize some of my settings were wrong when I was helping you! lol – that reminds me I need to do a YouTube video on that set up….
So true, I don’t know how people think they can be successful only with Facebook. Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ all have their advantages and we need to utilize those resources, they’re FREE! Great post and great comment here.
Wonderful points Ileane!
We do have to follow these tip suggested to get a proper know how of social media, which is so very important nowadays. And I think most of it depends on how you interact, connect, and share things with one another on the social media.
I do need to check out Headline hacks and Social Buzz Club. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Happy Mother’s Day everyone 🙂
Harleena, looks like there is a problem with the Social Buzz Club site today. I will give you a heads up as soon as they get things cleared up. You’ll love it I’m sure. In the meantime, why don’t you give JustRetweet a spin 🙂
Hey Harleena,
I wanted to let you know that all is well with the Social Buzz Club site and you can feel free to explore it.
Have fun.
-Ileane
Thanks so much for letting me Ileane. Would surely check it out 🙂
You covered the commonly mistakes very well. Businesses and entrepreneurs have to know the importance of have a Social Media Strategy…a good plan and have some realistic goals set. Thanks for sharing…this was a great article.
Excellent advice, Ileane, and a must-read for anyone who’s serious about social media.
Hi Sharon, thanks for sharing this with your social networks! You certainly are hitting home runs in the social media game every day.
You know Ileane, most my friends enjoy the Like button but I don’t think it offers the possibilities that the share button does. I mush prefer having the share button but I now have both. Like you I’m also a big fan of Digg Digg, I really appreciate how they took the time to add the Blog Engage button it was so nice of them so we support it 100%
Hi Brian, I was getting ready to record a tutorial showing how to add the Blog Engage and Google+ buttons to the Share Bar plugin and I just so happened to look on Facebook and see Leo announce that they purchased DiggDigg.
I was so happy to see that both buttons were already included and I was glad I hadn’t started recording that tutorial yet.
Facebook saved that day for me that time. 🙂
Great tips for all persons ready to win the social media game. While you have covered pretty much the common mistakes, you also share your own experience. The next thing I’m going to do is to implement a few changes on my blogs, to make them competitive.
Good for you Jack! I’m glad you have been following along with the posts here so you are taking advantage of what you are learning from all these awesome guest authors (and me too). Keep us posted on your progress.
Thank you again for sharing your broad knowledge in this field. I think there are many people interested in the newest techniques and tips related to social media.
I agree with all the points, I was not aware of this social media until recently. Now I realise the power of social media. It actually propels the business/website into webspace much faster with the social media buttons.
Great post, Ileane. Thanks for the tips.
You’re welcome Kevin.
Hi Ileane, Social media plays big role in every business online. Thanks for sharing this great article about mistakes of social media.
Hi Ileane,
Found you from Barry Well’s blog and got to tell you this post is very valuable. It sure is going to roughen out the “edges” on my blog. It sure gives you a good social media mindset.
Some of the resources you give I know of, some I don’t and will be checking them out. It’s from people like you that share good stuff that we all get stronger.
Helping each other is what it’s all about! Thanks for such an informative post and will be back for more.
Terry Conti
Hi Terry,
Barry Wells is a great connector! He is all about bringing us together and learning from one another. It really pays off too because we all love him for it.
Thanks for your comment Terry, the feedback is great.
Yes, sometimes my blog post that I wrote with no intention to attract search engine is turn out to be the most shared content in my site.
Love this Ileane, glad to see I’m not the only one that follows people on Twitter via their blog or website 🙂
Hi Sarah, Congrats on being in the top ten blogs for bloggers list! It’s a great feeling. Thanks for stopping by!
Hey Ileane! Amazing tips to be a professional at Social Media! I mean, just do what is right at that point! Loved when you asked to ask 😀 So even I’m asking you – Please have a look at my newly developed blog! Thanks 🙂
Hi Ileane. Adding valuable content is very important. It shouldn’t be just another post. It should be well researched, helping the visitors find their solution, contributing and sharing personal experiences, facts and so many other things that comes to quality and not just words filling in the bank! Thanks for your helpful tips and posts. They help me improve my website, my strategy and contribute to the internet society.
John
Hi John,
Thanks for your advice on how to finding valuable content to share. I know a lot of people are wondering about that and you’ve just made it easier for them. Thanks for the Google +1 too!
Any fun post worth reading is a post worth sharing. Thank you for another great post! Social media is the heart of most SEO systems. It is cornerstone that pretty much builds up your traffic for free if you have enough articles worthy of sharing.
Thanks Ileane for this awesome post.
I always look upto your blog to learn some new things in order to excel in blogging. And today I got to learn something about the social media. Just amazing.
Thanks very much 🙂
Hi Arbaz, thanks for the positive feedback! It help keep me going. 🙂
You have shared a great points here Ileane, I think that without this social media site online business is useless,many internet marketers uses these social media sites in selling their product.but we should bear in mind we need to become more successful in our Social networking strategy.
Great points! I think its give and take procedure. First we should produce content that solves our reader’s issues and than continuously responding to their question in comments, similarly if we doing guest posting we have to answer regularly there as well.
I think Social media is all about interacting with the readers directly and timely that’s how get your recognition in internet world and that’s how you can run social media game for longer period of time.
Hi Ileane, I see most of these mistakes everyday on most blogs and it’s really a pity since these mistakes could lead to social media failure. Another mistake that many bloggers do is that they don’t share their own content atleast on social networks even if they want others to share their content.
I am not talking about facebook, twitter etc. but mostly about digg and stumbleupon where if you haven’t already submit your post it just makes it difficult and takes some time for readers to be the first to submit it, this only makes people actually not sharing a blog post…
Kostas, I agree about using sites like Digg and StumbleUpon. However, sometimes sites like these (especially SU) will frown about promoting your own content on the site. It’s best to add the buttons and hope that your blog visitors will submit the posts on your behalf.
Years ago many users were banned from SU for doing this. Reddit is the same way so just be careful and vary your submissions to those sites. They are tricky which is why I didn’t mention them in this post.
You are right Ileane, but this could happen if you promote only your own blog, if you share your own blog one time for every 3-4 other shares there will be no problem. It just takes time for someone who wants to share a post to be the first who submit it and it’s one of the basic reasons one post doesn’t get too many shares on digg, reddit and stumbleupon…
Ileane,
Fantastic stuff!
I actually will not Tweet a post if I click the Tweet Share Button and the individuals @Mention isn’t filled out or the @Mention is the Plugin designer or something like that.
I want to expose my audience to that person and their work and it’s frustrating when that person hasn’t taken time fill out all the settings of a simple social sharing plugin.
Thanks!!
Ryan H.
Hi Ryan, I wish people knew how much exposure they miss out on just because of this simple error. Maybe those plugin developers should put up a warning so that people can’t activate the plugin until the Twitter handle is entered LOL!!
Thanks for your comment Ryan, always great to hear from you.
Awesome post Ileane, I love the Digg Digg plugin, thanks for sharing. 😀
Hey Ileane,
I guess a common practice among non-tech bloggers…Lol, even I have been avoiding the points listed here on my niche sites. Time to fix things. Thanks for the reminder haha.
Much needed article for me 🙂
Lacking too much in Twitter. Hopefully ,will cover it soon
Bishwajeet, I think you have a lot of focus on Facebook but please add the Twitter engagement to your portfolio if you can. Twitter is important in terms of Google.
You’ve covered just about everything here, lol 🙂
You can also use a free service like pixelpipe to update all of your social media sites at once. This is a great way to maintain a presence across many platforms without having to invest the additional time.
Micah, thanks for that suggestion. I know that some people can use pixelpipe to their advantage.
Personally I don’t like to blast the same message on different networks but I’m a social media ninja, so don’t go by me 🙂
I’ve had the most difficulty coming up with catchy titles. Thanks for the link to “Headline Hacks” it should come in very handy.
Alanc – I used some tips I got from Headline Hacks to make the title for this post. Of course I had to put an extra “Ms. Ileane Spin” on it 🙂
At least I’m covered on the stuff I care about, that being Facebook, Twitter and Google +. I don’t have my LinkedIn contact on IJS, but I do have it on my business blog, so I figure that’s good enough.
Sounds like a plan Mitch. I think you are good to go!
Thanks for these tips, ileanne. social sharing is such a big deal these days, it’s important to place social sharing buttons on your blog liberally so that it’s easy for others to share your work. You also make a great point about sharing the work of others as well.
Great post Ilene. I recently wrote a similar post. Mine concerned how a church knows if it needs a freelance social media manager. I mention five signs that make it evident. One was, “Your church staff thinks Google + is half a math problem.” I guess that can apply to anyone really.
I know it’s corny, but I love that social media joke.
Thanks for the post and making yourself available for anyone who has questions. That’s so endearing.
That’s too funny…. and so true. I’ll stop by and check out the post. Btw – thanks for sharing this on Facebook. 🙂
Hello Brian! That post seems a lot intriguing to me. I think I am going to read that next!
Thanks John. I appreciate that. You’ll like the five signs. I call it geeky social media humor : )
after reading this article i found one mistake in my blog and i fixed twitter name in digg digg plugin. 🙂
Yay!! If I helped one person with that tip then I’m very happy it was you! Thanks for letting me know and look for a more details post about the Digg Digg plugin coming soon! Thanks for your comment.
This all sounds great but where doe it end??? twitter, facebook, g+, pinterest, mmmm
sure their are more. I am just overwhelmed with all the choices, how do you manage it all effectively? Thanks.
Jeff, I hate to tell you this but it doesn’t end! I bet 100 (or more) new social sites were introduced since I wrote this post! Pick one or two that you like the best and focus on those until you master them. Then you can add more as time permits. One site that you absolutely must sign up for is Google+. You can find out more about what to do there in this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XFsB0DqMGI
Well, I guess I’m not on my social media game after all. But damn…it seems like SO MUCH work…
Cristain, it really is a lot of work, I’m not going to lie and say it’s easy. One tool that can help you is Buffer. It’s really a time saver because you can post to Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn all from the same dashboard. If you decide to sign up here’s a link that will get more Buffer space for both of us http://bufferapp.com/r/244ff
These are all wonderful points. I totally agree with sharing other people’s articles because too often, we get caught up in our own articles and furthering our own agenda’s that we forget to share and help others. In the end, it benefits you too. Thanks for the great article!
Hi Ileane,
Yes – I’ve also noted the same mistakes a lot of bloggers make in the section you’ve named “Get Your Social Media Game Right”.
In my opinion – A lot of people don’t use social media to grow their network – They wait for their network to start growing by itself. Go out and be social online, Engage in conversation, submit a bookmark or two – you’ll be amazed at the power of Social Media interaction and what it can do for you, personally and professionally.
Anton, you are such a pro when it comes to social networking. I learned a lot from you and I hope others pay attention to your advice too. Thanks so much for saying that!
btw – would you like to do a guest post here and share some of your strategies with my readers. Please let me know and I will send you a password. 🙂
Initially when i start blogging i was just focusing on writing but after some time i realise that social media is more than handy to use. The points which is pick from your article ms. Ileane are using Hash tags in Twitter and images that attract visitors.
Zeeshan, I was really surprised to find out that you can use hashtags in Google+ too!! The only thing about using hashtags in Twitter is not to overdo it. One hashtag per tweet is more than enough.
I don’t think Facebook has embraced hashtags yet though. 🙂
Thanks for the comment Zeeshan!
Showing activity is very important for your readers. It means you are serious about what you are doing and you don’t do it as a hobby. If you want to be taken seriously, avoid these mistakes..
Social Media is one of the main tool to a product viral. From 2011 Google and Bing has also awarded importance to links from social media to enlist a site in organic searches.
Wow. This is a real eye-opener. Thanks for the post Ileane.
even google now supporting this social media game!! 🙂
I’ve been using social media to promote myself and my blog. Thanks to this post I found a way to improve my social media game. I’ll start with digg digg plugin. 🙂 Thanks a lot!
The post was worth reading. I specially like the idea of joining a social network like mentioned by you ‘just retweet’ .
I have joined it and looking forward to use it..
Thanks for sharing this information and yeah keep posting.
Cheers!
I’ve noticed that some social media buttons don’t really get used by a particular user base. Is it good to leave those up anyway? It kind of looks like it would look bad to a visitor.
Great article. I love how you started it with the suggestion of getting on Facebook and Twitter. No joke, I knew someone who was advertising as a PR firm and refused to use Facebook and Twitter. I was dumbfounded! Even if you hire another organization to cover that aspect of your PR firm… like me LOL 😉 Thanks for the great tips and glad to join in the game, good, bad, or otherwise!
Ileane – love this article but social media really a great place to self-promotion but being involved in the social media would definitely be benefits while able to slowly build a following that develops the site authority.
But sometimes, when I think of earning an income isn’t necessarily has to be famous though.
Hey Louis,
Sometimes it feels like the famous bloggers, athletes and the celebrities are the only ones generating an income through Social Media. But the important thing is to really make connections with our followers and build relationships. Thanks for sharing your insights Louis. Take care.
Great article. I’ve been using social media to promote myself and my blog. Thanks to this post I found a way to improve my social media game. Social Media is one of the main tool to a make a product go viral. This is a real eye-opener. Thanks for the post Ileane.
You’re welcome Thomas. I see lot of experienced marketers making these mistakes too so I’m glad you got a chance to learn from this post.
Great post Ilene. I recently wrote a similar post. Mine concerned how a church knows if it needs a freelance social media manager. I mention five signs that make it evident. One was, “Your church staff thinks Google + is half a math problem.” I guess that can apply to anyone really.
Ha ha! Good one Rahul. But sometimes I think that Google + IS half of a math problem 🙂