Blogging Tips: How to Share Your Blogposts using Social Media

                    

Hi My Lovelies,
I am super glad the weekend is almost here for so many special reasons which i won't bore you with. I am pretty sure most of my blog posts are read by my fellow bloggers or readers who are contemplating writing a blog and all the good stuff. You may want to check out my previous post on Tips for Blogging which you can find here. One of the things with blogging is getting people to read what you have posted and engage properly with your readers. I am pretty sure many people are looking for ways to get more people to read and engage with their wonderful blog posts. While I am not an expert on this topic or even SEO techniques, I will share a few tips that have worked for me.




1. Use/Install the "Add This Widget" beneath each Blog Post 
I guess one of the most important ways to share your posts is to install a share widget which allows your blog post to be shared along relevant social media sites. I prefer using the "Add This Widget" which can be installed on different blog platforms including Blogger, WordPress and if you have your own self hosted website. It allows you install share buttons beneath each post once you have installed the code which is extremely straight forward. You can check "Add This" out here on how to install the codes.



2. Install LinkWithin Code/Widget under relevant blog posts
This is also another important element in sharing your posts, increasing your readership and engagement. Link Within allows relevant or related blog posts appear underneath another blog post. Say for instance, i write post on Skincare on Acne, there will be other related skin care reviews underneath that post for any reader to engage and read more. I think it is a very useful tool and I have seen many new referrals on my blog increase as a result of the Link Within code installed. It's also very easy to install on Blogger, WordPress and other sites. You can check out LinkWithin here for a free install.



3. Facebook
This is one of the most important ways to get your blog posts out there because your friends can read it and share with their friends who can share it and so the cycle go on and on. I personally recommend having a separate Facebook page for your blog (check out Fashstyleliv Facebook Page while you are at it) as it allows you do more for your blog on there as opposed to your personal Facebook page. I also recommend joining a lot of relevant Facebook groups. When i say relevant, it really should be relevant to your blog. Don't go joining a Facebook Group that is mainly for Technology Bloggers when there is none of that on your blog. As a beauty blogger, I find there are many lovely groups such as BeautyBloggers, International Beauty Bloggers, Fashion, Beauty and Lifestyle Bloggers, UK Bloggers, Nigerian Fashion and Beauty Bloggers. Most of these groups are closed so you need to send a request to them which is usually approved as far as your blog fits the mold.  There are many more out there but i really love these groups as you can learn a lot of blogging tips, swap comments, posts and interact with other bloggers. I am also a member of the Natural Healthy Hair Facebook group and Naturally Beautiful Facebook Group where i share my posts on my natural hair on. I tend not to share other posts on there because it is strictly for hair and as much as I want to get  more readers, i don't want it clogged up with other irrelevant posts.


4. Twitter
Twitter is definitely one of the most interactive social media networks because you get very good engagement with a lot of people globally. I love to share my blog posts on twitter and I have a separate twitter page for @Fashstyleliv as I like to keep my personal one for work and other personal stuff. I have to say I have not always been a tweeter but i have started getting into the flow to grow my reader base. It's also a way to get many brands to share your posts, say for instance, you reviewed Real Techniques Brush set (I had to shamelessly insert my review of these brushes here), you can tweet them @Realtechniques and they will definitely share your posts/review. Some brands PR teams are better than others so you need to expect different reactions. Apart from that, you can also make use of the hashtags like #fbloggers for Fashion Bloggers and #bbloggers for Beauty Bloggers. I also know @Blogobiz is very good in helping promoting posts so check them out and follow them. they usually retweet blog posts to their followers. I think twitter is a good way to interact with other bloggers as well and participate in Twitter Chats.




5. Google Plus
This is also a new for me to share my blog posts. If you are using blogger, it is very easy to install using some of the HTML widgets in the Page Layout Page. You can also find options on your dashboard to add it. If you use WordPress, I am sure there are other ways to add it. The main thing is to have a Google Plus account which allows people add you to their circles and for you to add them back. It also allows people to "Plus one +1" your posts. It's one of the easiest ways to share your blog posts and add new readers to your blog. 

               

4. Reddit
I only discovered using Reddit, how silly am i! Apparently, it has been around for a really long time. It is so easy to share your posts on here once you sign up. Looking at my stats page, I can see a good number of referrals come from Reddit and it is pretty good because it spans a wide range of readers from around the world. I always add a Sub Reddit to my blog post share,I use beautyblogs subreddit, which is like a smaller group of reddits where you get a more targeted audience.

             

5. Glipho
I have already previously written a comprehensive post here on Glipho about how wonderful a social blogging publishing engine it is. I totally love Glipho and i highly recommend it especially if you are new to blogging or you want to gain more readers and share your posts even more. It's funny that i have the highest number of followers on Glipho. I have about 107 followers the last time i checked which is just the same as my Facebook Page and much higher than both my GFC and Bloglovin followers. It's easy to join, all you need to do is sign up via Twitter, Google Plus, Facebook, etc and you are up and running to start gliphing as they call it and sharing your posts.
 
Of course there are other ways to share your posts but these are the most common ways I use to get my posts out there. There are other ways which include Bloglovin and Instagram amongst a gazillion other choices out there. I hope this was helpful and if you have any more tips, please leave comments below so I (and am sure every one else) can learn as well. Thanks always for reading. Don't forget to check out the Leonie Blackhead Removing Giveaway which is still running from now till the end of the month...toodles.....x

Glipho -The Trendy Social Blogging Platform.....Get Your Gliph On!!

                    

Hi Lovelies,

This is a special post for my fellow Blog loving ladies and gentlemen and to everyone who just likes to write either seriously or just for fun. I am pretty sure you may have come across Glipho, but if not, you are in the right place. Just like you, I had never heard about then until one of the members of the Glipho Team Maria left a comment on my Instagram page regarding an Iphoneography blog post(link here). So, I decided to check them out and see for myself. I was hooked and I have been on for a little more than two months so I think that's a fair amount of time to tell you guys about my experience.

                                   

What is Glipho?

Glipho is a new social blogging and media community and social publishing engine which marries both blogging and promoting social media into a seamless platform. Glipho connects blog posts and bloggers who sign up to various top social media including Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Linkedin to mention a few with a view to build an audience, grow traffic, interact with other bloggers and promote social media as well. Glipho was founded in Mid-2012 by the Founder Roger Planes who was born in Spain and had all his education there including his Masters in Computer Science before he moved to London, United Kingdom in 2012 to pursue his career. He started off as a software developer in London before he identified a gap in the blogging community- the difficulty for bloggers, among an estimate of over 200 million bloggers globally, to build an audience and traffic because there was no easy platform to do it. He took his time to develop Glipho in 2012 which would bridge this gap effectively, thus Glipho was born...

My Experience

I am afraid all I have to say about Glipho is positive things (this is NOT a sponsored post by the way...hahaha). It's just the truth. It has been a lovely and wonderful experience but I would break it down to the different reasons why I love Glipho.

                                  

What happened my first day on Glipho?

I started off by signing up which I was a little skeptical about because I had to sign up using either Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin or Google. I was thinking "what happened to signing up with my email?". Just like many people,  I am a bit wary about allowing any third party apps into any of my social media. My fears were unfounded as Glipho is very safe and has no access to passwords or anything private on these sites. It is mainly to help promote your Gliphs or posts via these social media which you give access to. You also get a feed of whatever social media you signed up to on your profile so people can see and follow you if they want. I signed up using my twitter and I was set to go.Anyways, I signed up via my twitter account and I was ready to roll.

The Glipho Platform/Interface

I really like the interface/home page because it seemed really interactive. Here you have, your profile, your feed (mine was my twitter feed and a follow button), your desk (where you can publish posts) and insights where you can monitor how many followers you have, how many profile views you have, total Gliph views and individual view counts. Super!! I promptly created my profile, added a nice profile picture, a cheeky lil' bio page and a link to my Blog...Voila, I was ready to get my Gliph on. I forgot to say; on signing up, you had to follow at least one or two Gliphers. Next, you had to choose your interests such as beauty, fashion, lifestyle, society, etc. Your Gliph feed page could show either Gliphs from your interests or Gliphs from your favourite writers or you could browse through and this gives you the freedom to switch up your feed from one area to another. Amazeballs!!

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The Glipho Desk

This is the Blogging desktop or writer's desk if you wish. Here, you either write a Gliph or you could import a previous Blog post. To be honest, I was a little confused, but only a little,as I got a hang of it in a jiffy. Similar to Blogger, you had a title section, a description section and  the body of the post. For all you lazy Blog posters like me, don't think you can just randomly share a few words and post a Gliph, you need to write at least 150 words which made me a little annoyed because I just thought I could share my post and run away. However, it is for your own good as Glipho is more interactive than just another social media platform for sharing your posts so less than 150 words may not give your viewers the real gist of what you want to say. It's a close knit community which means you need to put in that little effort. On the left hand side of the desk, you'd see another mini page where you can add images via Flickr, Instagram, Picassa ot just upload from your computer. Of course, you have to grant permission to these social media as well.

 My default one is Flickr which I promptly linked. Once your title is ready, a mini description is added (don't worry you can skip this, Glipho would add the first few lines of your post), main tag and other tags are added, body of posts and links of your blog are added with images ( you can now add Youtube Videos to your Gliphs), your first Gliph is ready. Being OCD with publishing my posts, I opt for the preview option to see how it looks and then publish. You can choose to share on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest and Google. Easy Peasy. Once you do it the first time, I assure you, you'd get the hang and can do it with your eyes closed. You can also import older blog posts from your Blogging platform;  it works well on Wordpress and Blogger as far as I know; I am sure they are working on other platforms. There is a detailed description on your Glipho which could help guide you through the process so you have smooth journey. Of course, this does not affect your normal Blog or interfere with anything; it's just an easy way to promote your posts without any stress and share with a new budding community.

What happens to my Gliphs after publishing?

You have the option of re-sharing as much as you like or editing the Gliph if you find some blunders. The good thing with the Glipho team is how they help with building an audience. Remember how you had to follow at least one Glipher when you sign up, well, that's one of the ways you also get new followers which is really good. I am not sure how they do it but I don't think I have seen any Glipher without a follower. Glipho would promote you and your posts. I love how they rotate bloggers who are either trending writers or posts that are trending posts. It does not matter if you have only one gliph or one follower; your chances of being featured in the trending page is high. They are a growing social platform but they have already built an impressive amount of followers for themselves. Your Gliphs are retweeted almost the same time as you tweet it. Trust me, it's really fast and I am wondering if the system just automatically retweets it. What this means is at least a 1000 people can read your Gliph if they like it. The Glipho team also shares posts on their Facebook page and the other social media platforms like Google plus and Linkedin which means a wider array of audience for your Gliphs to reach and optimal interaction in different spheres. 

                                  

The Glipho Team

I think the Glipho team is a really close knit one. Although, I have never met anyone of them, I just feel they are really funny and nice people from their Instagram posts and tweets. They are really courteous to their Gliphers and are always ready to help. I have seen a few people ask some questions and they always promptly reply with helpful answers which I think is really commendable. Asides that, they try to make an effort with interacting with the Gliphers. They always have something exciting for the Gliphers to do or participate on Thursdays which is featured and published on their Blog on Fridays such as "favourite place to blog", "what no one knows about you", "take a crazy picture of yourself" and other exciting things. I think it is really lovely and keeps the community close. They also recently hosted a meet up which I sadly missed due to work commitments but I am sure it was a blast.

The Glipho Community

I think it is also a nice community because everyone seems nice and interactive; definitely not a place for trolls..hahaha. They are decent people on there who all share a common interest in one area or the other and are ready to encourage one another. I have not seen any negative comment yet (they may be) but I am yet to see one. Any criticism is given in a matured way and the writers take it on board really well which I think is brilliant.

                       

Is Glipho just for Bloggers?

Certainly Not. In fact, it is really good for writers who just want to have a diary-like blog or just want to write anything you fancy without the hassle of having a blog and designing it and all whatsits. Glipho already has a nice design which is universal to all users. No need to stress about that. Also, you don't need to start looking for ways to get people to view your posts or articles as there is already a budding community waiting to read about you and your posts. All you need to do is get a profile and you are ready to start Gliphing. If you are a blogger, this is a nice way of interacting with other bloggers and writers while also publishing your posts and learning new things everyday.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) Techniques/Benefits
I think this is one of the most useful benefits with joining Glipho. Before joining Glipho, some of my popular blog posts ranked like first 10 or sometimes 15 in Google search. On joining Glipho, I have found that many of my blog posts which rank high on Google are from Glipho. I am not sure what and how they do it but it is really helpful for pulling traffic to your site. Also, Google Analytics and Blogger stats show a good number of my viewers are referred from Glipho and it is one of the top 5 high traffic source for my blog posts. Isn't it brilliant to have an additional social media platform that helps you build an audience, get traffic and meet other wonderful Gliphers without much ado..



Apps for Iphone and Android
The best part of it all is Glipho has gone mobile. It is available on the Glipho app for Android and Iphone (most recent) which is very useful for me because 70% of my blog posts are written on my Iphone usually when I am commuting to work either on the tube/bus/train. Having Glipho as an App on my Iphone was one of the best news I received a few weeks back. I actually squealed when I saw an announcement on their Instagram page and quickly went to download it. At the moment, you can't use the desktop features so you can't publish a post via the mobile app but you can do other things like see your profile, check out recent gliphs, interests and writers. I am pretty sure they are planning to improve it. They also have a similar App for their Android users.

Need for Improvement
Definitely, any viable business strives to always be better. I am sure there are working to build their followers and members of the Glipho community. It would be nice to allow some customization on the  Glipho profiles and  newer ways to share posts with other social media platforms. However,  I think for a new social publishing engine, they have done an amazing job and I know they can only get better.

So, what are you waiting for? Get your Gliph on...You can sign up to Glipho here...it is absolutely free and you can check out FashstyleLiv Glipho profile page here... Some of my favourite Gliphers; Mark Prime (Prose and Poems), Teddy (Fun Stuff) , Maria Nichol (Celebrity News), and of course, the Glipho Team check them out and say hi too :-)) If you are already on Glipho, leave me a comment and I would check you out on Glipho and if you are just joining, holla as well and I would check you as well....I hope you enjoyed this post...see you in my next post...toodles...xxx