This guest post is by Bridget Sandorford of Culinaryschools.
Social media marketing is a powerful way to promote your blog and your business, and there are literally hundreds of social networks to help you do so.
There are the major social networks that appeal to a wide audience, such as Facebook and Twitter, and there are dozens of other smaller social networks that focus in on specific niches.
Besides the major social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn, there are a few newcomers that you have a profile on to promote your blog.
Here are my 4 top picks:
1. Pinterest
Arguably one of the top players in social media now, Pinterest is the fastest-growing social media network in history.
Pinterest is a visual bookmarking tool that is responsible for more referral traffic than YouTube, LikedIn and Google+ combined.
Although crafts and cooking projects dominate the site, all types of businesses have been finding ways to use the site to drive traffic to their own websites.
Some possibilities for using Pinterest include sharing photos of products or customers using your services, create style boards for your brand, showcasing inspiration, or even sharing infographics.
2. Instagram
Recently acquired by Facebook, Instagram is a fast-growing social network that is also focused around photo sharing.
However, on Instagram, users are uploading and sharing their own photos, not just bookmarking photos they have found online.
Businesses can use the same photo ideas on Instagram, creating stunning photos of products or customers using their services, snapping inspiration shots, or even welcoming customers to share their own photos of products and services.
3. StumbleUpon
StumbleUpon allows users to discover new websites related to their interests by “stumbling” onto random sites.
You can submit pages of your site to be stumbled and can promote them to users who have identified your niche as an interest.
As more users like the submission or share it, it will gain ranking on the site and will be promoted more widely.
You can also encourage other users to stumble your pages by including “stumble it” buttons on your pages and posts.
The more submissions or likes your site gets, the higher influence it will have on the site and the more exposure it will get.
4. Digg
Similar to Reddit, Digg allows users to vote news stories up or down so that other users can find the most useful or interesting stories currently on the web.
You can use the site to promote your blog by submitting your latest stories and encouraging readers to vote them up.
These four social networks are continuing to grow and gain prominence, and they offer businesses a number of opportunities to promote themselves and to reach new customers.
If you aren’t already on each of these sites, you should consider joining them now.
Do you use any of these social networking sites to promote your blog?
Share your experiences and your tips for success in the comments!
Bridget Sandorford is a freelance writer and researcher for Culinaryschools, where recently she’s been researching best cooking schools. In her spare time, she enjoys biking, painting and working on her first cookbook.