Blogging is hard. You create content. Edit it. Find pictures to use for social media. Put it all on your blog. And then what? Wait for someone to show up and accidentally read it? No. Now you have to share it through social media, in Facebook groups, on Twitter, and on Pinterest. The list goes on and on. But if you’re doing all of that…when do you have time to write content; which is why you started blogging in the first place. It’s time-consuming. and can get confusing and sometimes frustrating. Which is why I turned to a social media manager and found out how to rocket your stats with social media management.
Let me paint a picture of my stats before. I would start off the year on a high note of readers before dropping into the abyss known as February and March. I’ve seen other bloggers complain about this February/March drop off, so I wasn’t too concerned. But then it would take months to start growing again. By the time September rolled around I was finally seeing an improvement in visitors and would end the year on a high note. And then January would roll around and the whole process would start over again.
But this year, I decided to change tactics and turned to a Social Media Manager. Suzie from Suzie Speaks to be specific. Suzie not only runs a successful blog, but she also runs the popular Big Up Your Blog group on Facebook. She specifically manages Pinterest and Twitter. She’ll set up your profile if you don’t have one or adjust it if it needs improving. She organizes and optimizes your boards, descriptions, and keywords while also getting you added to group boards and creating your own group board. She does daily pins and tweets with hashtag link ups. And she’ll even create Pinnable images for you using Canva. I love the Pins that she creates. Some of the ones that she’s done for me are seeing very high activity on Pinterest.
I started with Suzie in February and If you’re wondering what kind of impact that she is having on my stats, here are the facts.
- My Pinterest traffic to my blog increased from 45% in January to 68% in April.
- From January to April 2017 (last year) my growth was 1.5%. From January to April 2018 (this year) my growth was 47%! Yes! You read that right. 47%!
- By April 22nd of this year, I’ve already had as many views as I did last year in July!
- January 2018 was my lowest month this year. I did NOT see a dip in February or March views, instead, they increased each month!
October Through April Stats
Above is what consistent month over month growth looks like. I’d never seen it before. What you see from October to December is my usual story. Go up one month, down the next. But since Suzie took over my Social Media Management in February, I’ve seen consistent monthly growth even during those traditionally lower months.
Pinterest is the game changer here. I’ve heard other bloggers talk about how much Pinterest traffic they get but I was always struggling in this area. A lot of it had to do with my consistency in Pinning. I would do well for a few days at a time and then forget to do it for a few days at a time and that was even happening while I was using Board Booster and Tailwind. Tailwind doesn’t work if you forget to load it.
Since Suzie took over managing this process for me, she is ensuring that Pinning happens daily and at various times during the day. She’s creating beautiful Pins that people want to click on and save. She even optimized my boards by creating some new ones and changing the names of some others. I thought I had cutesy and fun names, but they didn’t make sense to other Pinners. And if they don’t make sense to others, you lose traffic.
What I also like about Suzie is how accessible she is. If I have questions about what she’s doing or want to suggest a post to emphasize, she is right there. Available to chat within reason. Since she’s in England and I’m in the States, there is a time difference involved. But she always responds in a timely manner. Although she is doing most of the managing, I do feel like this is a collaboration to improve my overall results. And so far I’ve been very pleased with the results!
If you think a Social Media Manager can help you, then I recommend Suzie from Suzie Speaks. I think her rate is truly reasonable for the amount of work that she is doing for me each month.
There is so much to do once you have written the post Jennifer. Suzie sounds like an angel. Thanks for introducing her services.
She is an Angel. It’s amazing the impact she’s had in my stats.
Interesting post.
Thanks for sharing that! I have been thinking of joining PinInterest….
Yes. You should join. You’re blog is perfect for Pinterest
Thanks!
Wow! Sounds fantastic, Jennifer. Glad Suzie’s services are working for you.
Thanks, Corinne. She really is doing a great job with my Pinterest!
Great results. I must admit when I spend the time and plan my pinning I do see the advantage of it. Just have to keep at it daily.
That’s the key. Just have to keep at it daily…which is something I don’t do very well I guess. So glad someone else is helping me with that!
Sounds as though Suzie’s made a huge impact on your stats. So great. Must admit that of all the social media platforms I’ve never really understood Pinterest.
I live Pinterest because I find a lot of ideas there for every part of my life. But I can either be in it all day or never and that’s my problem. Makes it so much easier to have someone helping me.
Yes, I can understand that.
I love Pinterest and have used it since about 2014 but never really understood how to use it for marketing. Thanks for the recommendation for the group and for Suzi’s services
I was surprised by it as well but it does drive a lot of traffic. Pinterest isnt for connecting with people like other social media it’s more of a search engine to find things you want.
Being a BUYB member, it’s fun to read exactly what Suzie does! If and when I get even more serious with my blogging, this is something I would seriously consider. I’m sure that having someone manage some of the social media aspects of blogging would free up a lot more time for writing – the thing that originally brought most of us into the blogging world. Great post, Jennifer – very informative and enticing! Thanks. 🙂
It is allowing me more time to do some things, but honestly I was procrastinating doing some of the things that she does.
I totally agree with you…
Love the shout out for Suzie and BYUB. Like Unbound Roots above, I’m not quite ready for that yet but it definitely going in my to-do list for the future. Thanks for sharing your successes!
Those are some great stats there!!!!
The blog promotion part of blogging is SO exhausting to me! I struggle big time!
I feel the same way. Suzie took a load off my shoulders.
I love reading about what Suzie does and am so happy your blog is getting found by more people as a result of her strategies! Well done!
Thanks! She really does a great job managing it.
The improvements are amazing!! Suzie does good work, although you and your wonderful content probably made it pretty easy!
The social media side of blogging can truly be overwhelming, I understand why you would seek out someone like Suzia. She has her stuff together.
She really does.
Suzie is wonderful, as are your posts! So, perfect match!
Awww! Thank you very much Lorna!