5 ways to social proof your blog

I’ll show you how to social proof your blog to vastly expand its influence.

Many bloggers don’t think this is so important to do.

They believe that if they just keep publishing great content on their blogs, they’ll attract an audience.

But the truth is, high quality rarely impacts an audience or prospects nearly as much as reputation.

And it’s almost impossible to build solid recognition without social proof.

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People trust bloggers that they see and hear about, over and over again, on social media sites.

So let me show you 5 simple ways you can social proof your blog to build the recognition and reputation you need to be successful.

1. Bragging is hard to do, but…

Now, I know, you might not have any social proof at all.

You could be new to blogging.

Or maybe you haven’t been very active on social media.

A lot of bloggers get all caught up in their own little blogging bubble, and never venture into other arenas.

Like Facebook, Twitter and all the others.

But you have to do that.

If for no other reason than SEO.

Google gives much higher ranking to blogs that have developed a good level of social proof.

But again, if you have none, or very little, where do you start?

Well, you start by generating your very own social proof.

Some might call it bragging.

You have to get involved on social media and toot your own horn.

Tell people what a great blog post you just wrote.

Or tell them about a key problem you’ve solved for people in your niche… and give them some sort of indication of that.

Maybe a video demo, or an infographic, or a quick case study of how you’ve helped just one person improve something in their lives, or in their business.

That can get the ball rolling in your direction, and get some people to take notice of what you’ve doing on your blog.

2. Media mentions are pure gold

Of course, if you can get people to like things you’ve posted, that’s great.

But the pure gold you’ve looking for is media mentions.

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Question: Why would people mention you, though?

Answer: Because you’ve been hanging out consistently on the social media platforms where they hang out.

You’ve taken notice of what they’re doing… maybe a video they posted, or a blog post they linked to.

And you took the time to mention them!

Not just once, but often, and over a period of time.

You comment on some of their social media posts, and hey, you could even follow them to their blog and leave a comment there.

And your mention could be linking to a blog post they wrote, with a short comment, something like… “this is a great way to build your email list… thanks to xyz.”

So now, they will start developing some sense of loyalty toward you.

Over time, you will see people beginning to give you and your blog media mentions, too.

That’s an incredibly powerful way to build social proof for your blog.

And here’s some excellent ways to build social proof for your business blog…

Read Moss Clement’s full article,
“13 Easy Ways to Build Social Proof for your Business Blog” (Moss Media .biz)

3. Demonstrate your worth

The best way to social proof your blog is to help improve people’s lives.

Your goal should be to do this for people in your niche, of course, so that they will come to value of your blog posts.

But here’s the thing about that.

If you tell people how good your blog is, or how you can help them solve problems and improve their lives, it means very little.

But if you can demonstrate how you can do that, you will get much more traction.

In fact, if you can demonstrate solutions to people’s problems, they will follow you to your blog, your social pages and anywhere else they can find you.

This is the very best social proof you can have.

Demonstrating your worth means you need to SHOW show them what you can do.

Case studies

Tell people about someone you helped.

Let them know what the person’s problem was (which should be one that they have, too).

Then show them HOW how you helped them solve it, and what the result was.

This is a very powerful form of demonstration.

Visuals

Beyond telling people, try showing them how you help others.

We’re all familiar with weight loss or skin care “before and after” pictures.

Well, that may not fit exactly with what you’re niche is.

But you can find a way with images, photos or videos to give a visual demonstration of how you help solve problems.

If you helped someone rank their blog post high in search through SEO, grab a screen shot of the post as it appears in Google search results.

A graph of specific, copy of a check your client earned… use your imagination and creativity.

Remember, you can talk all you want about how great you are, but a picture, image or video is worth a thousand words.

It will social proof your blog in a major way.

4. Influencers

Try to connect with influencers on social media.

Influencers are those people with large followings in your niche.

They are people that get lots of attention and are generally considered authorities on their topics of interest.

Now, I’m not talking about top models, movie stars and NFL quarterbacks.

I’m not even talking about influencers with a bazillion followers.

Try to find people in your niche on strong social platforms like Instagram.

Best if they have 10,000 to 50,000 followers.

That way, they have a strong influence, but they’re not mega-stars.

So they are far more likely to work with you, and… work with you for no fee.

Just start following them.

Comment on their posts and mention them to your crowd.

They’ll start noticing you.

After a while, you might ask them if you can interview them on your blog, or on a Facebook Live, or a webinar.

Just go where it leads.

But the point is this.

When you stay connected with influencers in your niche, it’s just a matter of time before their followers will start becoming your followers, too.

Just be genuine and sincere.

Being genuine with influencers is bound to social proof your blog over time.

5. Social shares

One of the most important things to do is get social shares from your readers.

When they read one of your blog posts, they should see social share buttons on your blog.

This will not only social proof your blog, but will simultaneously social proof your entire brand because people will see that you have some social media interaction going on.

And, of course, social media influencers will notice these shares when they visit your blog.

So one strategy overlaps with another.

Now, people will very rarely share your articles on social media unless it’s easy for them to do.

Make sure you have social share buttons on your blog.

I like to have them at both the beginning and end of each post, so they are highly visible and easily found.

And don’t overlook the value of asking people to share your posts.

At the end of each blog post, I always ask people to share it on their favorite social sites.

Even though everyone knows they can, this gentle reminder will result in far more shares than just passively embedding share buttons.

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When you write an article that helps people in some way, they want to reciprocate.

Clicking on the social share buttons is an easy and quick way for them to do that.

Numbers are not everything… but they help

These 5 methods will help you social proof your blog, for sure.

But you can’t escape the numbers challenge.

The more people that like your posts, or comment on your videos… the greater your social proof is.

So, yes, try to get the biggest numbers you can.

The most social share, the most Twitter followers, etc.

But don’t think that’s the whole game.

It’s not.

Social proof your blog

True, people are attracted to big numbers and tend to pile on where they see a crowd.

But what matters most is the relationships you build with others on social media.

I’m sure you’ve heard of people who actually buy social followings.

That does them no good.

Not just because it violates some platform’s terms of service, since most social media platforms strictly forbid purchasing followers.

But even more, because none of those “bought and paid for” so-called “people,” are ever going to interact with you.

The who purpose of growing social proof is to show a vibrant interaction among you and your followers.

So focus on developing that interaction, even if your numbers are small.

Those numbers will grow if you do this right.

So, talk to me.

Leave me a comment below.

Let me know how your social media strategy is going.

Do you have a vibrant social media profile?

Are you connecting with people who like what you’re doing and saying, and are eager to jump in on the discussion?

Or do you find yourself stumbling and struggling to get some recognition and following?

Which of the ideas I’ve discussed here do you think you need to get to work on in order to social proof your blog?

-Donna

PS: Please share this article on your favorite social sites!

• Bio
• Blogging Magic

Donna Merrill

Donna is a well known blogger and creator of "Blogging Magic" - an intensive guide to blogging. "Blogging Magic" is for beginners who are trying to figure out how to bring their blogs to life with tons of visits, comments and social media interaction. It's even for advanced bloggers looking to reach new levels of authority and engagement with their audience.