How to Fall in Love with Blogging and Social Media

The inspiration for this post came on a Friday evening around 8 pm. I didn’t have any plans and was excited to be staying in and getting some much-needed work done.

I had just finished answering a bunch of emails and, even more important and satisfying, sending off a wrap-up package to a website client. I forced myself to wait to do my daily social media posting until I was done with that wrap-up package, as I was determined to get it off my to-do list and into the client’s hands.

For the past 6 or so months, Janet and I have been massively upping our social media efforts. And when I say massively, I mean it’s pretty much like we’ve been on a social media rampage!

Stick with me here for a moment for a little background before I dive in and tell you why and how I have fallen in love with blogging and social media (I added the social media part after I wrote the end of this post…you’ll see why).

In early 2016, we hired a virtual assistant (VA) to help us get our social media butts in gear. We followed all the pointers from a countless number of blog posts and opt-in freebies to make sure our profile pics, cover images, links, handles, and bios were updated, consistent, and up to social media standards.

Together with our VA, we created a posting schedule and divided it up. While it was well thought out and organized, it wasn’t overly aggressive or time-consuming, which could have been why we weren’t seeing any results (though we do know it does take time and consistency). We weren’t getting any new clients and, even more surprising, we weren’t getting more likes, follows, or subscribers to our list.

{Oh, hey…have you signed up for our list? You’ll get an uber-valuable resource guide full of biz tips and tools when you do. Click here to get on the list, and then go back to reading this post, k? :)}

When our VA left us to go take on a full-time job (it’s ok, we forgive and support her), we were stuck with the question, “so now what?” Did we go back to square one of barely posting anything and doing so sporadically? Should we continue what we were doing and divide up what our VA was doing? Well, we didn’t do either of those things.

Somehow, at some point, we decided to go crazy!

We were in a bit of a slump, business-wise, and we weren’t happy with our social media efforts up to this point. So one day, we decided we were going to start tracking our efforts and results. That, in and of itself, pushed us to get out there and work even harder (enter the crazy, massive rampage).

Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest are our favorite social media tools and where we spend most of our time online (probably in that order), so here’s a quick overview of what happened over in those necks of the online woods:

Facebook: We joined a TON of Facebook groups. We put them all into a document and divided up who would post in each group and what the posting rules were for each group. We’ve had some pretty awesome success with this so far. We’re meeting new online friends and genuinely connecting with people every single day. If you’re into numbers (and we’re trying SOOO hard NOT to focus on the numbers), we had 168 likes when we first started the effort and today we have 334! Not too shabby!

Instagram: In many of the Facebook groups, there are days where you can post one of your social media links to get a little love on your account. This is how we got some nice boosts to Facebook, and even more so with Instagram. Not only did we increase from 465 followers when we started this effort to 1,142 today, but we also have been consistently posting every single day (mostly 2 posts per day) with quality captions and hashtags. And, we continue to research hashtags and adjust our focus and design of our posts.

Pinterest: Unless you’ve been living under a rock, Pinterest is pretty darn important in the online world. In August 2016, we had 96 followers, and now (January 2017) we have 502. HELLO! We started using BoardBooster a while back, and we just signed up with Tailwind. Fingers crossed using both will continue to help us grow and hopefully bring in some new clients.

We joined group boards AND changed up our graphics game to include tall pins on all of our posts since tall pins are clearly all the rage on Pinterest. Did you notice that big image at the top of this post? Feel free to Pin your heart out…and be sure to follow us on Pinterest before you get stuck in the Pinterest vortex o’ fun!

{Since group boards are a fantastic way to get your content in front of a lot of people, we decided to start one, too! It’s rather appropriate since we are women business owners, and we are all about promoting, supporting, and connecting with other like-minded entrepreneurial women. So, our board is called Woman Power…and you can get the scoop on how to join it here.}

Ok, now that you know the nitty gritty details of what we did (in a nutshell) and some of the (numerical) results we achieved, let me tell you why I love blogging.

While I was enjoying my Friday evening (wait, I think I’ll go pour some wine while I finish this post…ok, I’m back) of going through my list of Facebook groups to check into and post whatever the theme of the day lets us post (be it an intro, our opt-in freebie, a link to one of our social media profiles, our latest or favorite blog post), I realized how much I truly enjoy reading blog posts and supporting other bloggers.

It was a post named “Kids Directly Help Those in Need” on a blog called Happy Science Mom that made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I would have probably never stumbled upon her site (which is no longer up) or that post if it weren’t for our new, cray-cray (but oh so fun and seemingly quite productive) social media efforts. Her post was about empowering kids to help those in need. I paused after the second paragraph to start writing this post because I was so giddy with happiness that I GET to connect with people all over the world who want to share their personal and professional stories with the hopes of inspiring, educating, or helping their readers in some way or the other.

That’s exactly what Janet and I strive to do with each and every post we write. We want to connect with you in ways that are meaningful and helpful. The online world is a magical place. Don’t forget, it’s how Janet and I met in the first place, and look at us now. Business partners and BFFs. It doesn’t get any better than that!

By the way, while I was writing this post, I heard the ding from a Facebook message. It was from a new online friend who happens to live in Houston. We just met this week in – you guessed it – a Facebook group. She was messaging me to get some information for a potential client she might be sending our way. While we don’t know yet if we’ll be doing any work for this client, we DO know that we have made a wonderful new connection with someone in both the online world and my own city. That probably wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for the power of social media.

A final thought:

If you’re not into reading blogs (I actually met someone who said he had never read a blog – woah!), you may want to find some that appeal to you and your interests. Search for a topic that interests you or that you’d like to get a little inspiration from. Blogs make for great reading, connecting, and inspiration. (Find out what else they can do here.) Go out and find some that give you the warm fuzzies. I know you’ll be glad you did!

Blogs make for great reading, connecting, and inspiration. Click To Tweet

Do you have any favorite blogs that inspire you and/or make you feel connected to the blogger or blogging world in general? Tell us in the comments below. We’ll always make time to read more blogs and support our fellow bloggers!