This tutorial will teach you how to use social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to help promote your blog. Whenever you publish a new blog post you should spread the word by telling your friends. Two great places to do that are Facebook and Twitter. The first thing you’ll need to do is create accounts with both social networking sites. Let’s start with Twitter. Even if you already have a Twitter account, you could set a new one up specifically for your blog. Your username can tell people what your profile is about and the type of information you’re going to share. Here is how to signup with Twitter. Go to http://www.twitter.com and click on the “sign up” button. Fill out the appropriate information and click on “create my account.” Once your account is created you can personalize your profile by uploading a picture or icon, choosing a background image, and filling out your personal information. One of the most important things you can do is begin following other people who share similar interests with you. Your goal with Twitter is to get followers, and a good way to start collecting them is to start following people yourself. People you follow will often follow you in return, so this is a good way to start getting followers when you first create your account. You can find people to follow on Twitter by clicking on the “find people” link at the top of the page. Type in keywords that describe your interests (for example, “charity”), and click “search.” You can also click on the “browse interests” tab to search for people that way. Also, be sure to install a Twitter plugin on your blog so that people who like your posts can follow you easily. Refer back to the Plugins Tutorial if you need help doing this. Once you’ve set up your profile and started following some people, you can start tweeting about your blog. Whenever you publish a new blog post, be sure to mention it on Twitter. You say something like, “Just posted a new blog, check it out – www.website.com.” If you do not publish new posts often, be sure to tweet about other relevant topics as well, so that your followers always get consistent, fresh content from you. You should be tweeting on a regular basis, whether or not you’ve posted a new blog post. Make sure all of your tweets are relevant to the topic of your blog, though.

If your blog is about gardening, don’t tweet about the stock market. Always keep in mind who your audience is and what they are expecting from you. If you haven’t published a new blog post in a while, try tweeting a link to an informative gardening article, or a couple helpful tips about growing herbs indoors during the winter. Promoting your blog on Facebook is similar to using Twitter. The first thing you’ll need to do is create an account, so go to www.facebook.com. You can sign up for an account right there on the homepage. Simply fill out the required fields and click on “start connecting.” As with Twitter, you should spend some time customizing your profile, uploading your picture or icon, and accumulating friends and followers. Once you’ve done all of this you can begin using your Facebook account to promote your blog. Just as with Twitter, whenever you post a new blog you should announce it on Facebook. When you log into your account you will be taken to your home page. At the top of the page you’ll see a box that says, “What’s on your mind?” This is where you can type in your status updates. As with Twitter, here you can say something like, “I just posted a new blog, be sure to take a look! www.website.com.” Again, just like with Twitter, you should post to your Facebook account regularly. If you do not publish new blogs on a regular basis, you should still update your Facebook status often. You should post useful information such as links to relevant articles or resources, advice, tips, and so on. As time goes on your number of followers will increase and word about your blog will start to spread. One of the best things about promoting your blog through social media sites like Facebook and Twitter is that the traffic you receive from them is totally free, so it is well worth the effort. Plus, social media marketing can be fun! For more information about WordPress, websites, and web hosting, visit http://www.brainhost.com