There are a lot of travel blogs out there, more than can be counted. Large to small, insightful to self promoting, luxury to budget. Great posts to poor posts. Most of us have had some stinkers when we just started and we’re still learning. With a constant change of technology we are all still being educated as we go, there is always more to take in. There are so many social platforms to help promote ones blog that the bar of share buttons is becoming more colorful than a bag of Skittles candy. What is the etiquette…?
You write a post you are proud of and share on Facebook, Twitter, Google +, etc, etc. Still, you have checked your stats and grow frustrated with the results. Are others clicking your share buttons? Do you share other bloggers posts on various platforms? Let’s take Twitter as an example. Do you tweet up other travel bloggers posts? I have a few thousand followers on Twitter and I admit the circle of friends that I share posts of is much smaller than my follower number. Say a follower tweets one of your posts, do you take the time to visit their site and reciprocate? We have all seen this scenario. You post a bloggers article to Twitter, you later see that this person then RT’s your tweet of their own post, any reciprocation? How long do you tweet other bloggers posts and help promote their blog when the favor is never returned? Of course there are just great bloggers out here and I would tweet their posts every week regardless if they ever posted any of mine, they’re just that good! But for the most part how long do you help promote another blogger when they don’t help promote you? Is there a number? I came up with ten. Yes ten times. I don’t have a reason behind this number, I just decided one day that after I have shared another bloggers post at least ten times, and never receive any support back it is time to stop helping promote them. I guess, that they have become successful enough where helping promote is no longer needed and my time is better spent sharing another bloggers story.
As seen here, a lot of traffic was from Twitter, friends and “re-tweeters” can make a huge difference.
We all have a busy life in the blogging world, many hold down full-time jobs and dedicate all our spare time to our blogs. I make an attempt to spend a couple hours a week going through many travel blogs and sharing the ones I enjoy and/or find insightful. I make comments even if they are short just to show thanks. Do you offer a chance for a link? Plugins such as Comment Luv are a great way for your readers to allow a link to their latest post to be shared. These blogs are free and informative and someone is working hard to share their experience. Let them know you liked their post or picture. Tweet up a good read!
Do you have a “rule of thumb” ? Is there a cut off? Do you decide at a certain point to stop supporting and promoting? Is it selfish one way or the other? Have an opinion? Let’s hear it 🙂
Well said 🙂
I hope so….. Lol 😉
I also think it’s important to thank people who share your posts on Twitter. I’ve stopped sharing certain bloggers posts because not once did they acknowledge or thank me for doing so. I know this can get tricky if you’re getting a lot of re-tweets and shares, but I think it’s an important thing to stay on top of. It’s just good etiquette!
Rhonda @ Travel? Yes Please! recently posted…Strasbourg- Charm, Romance and One Incredibly Tall Cathedral
I agree. I recognize it will be difficult to thank and/or share everything that comes our way, but I believe there is a case for etiquette here and I was curious what everyone thinks. Thanks for chiming in.
I totally agree with you. Re-sharing & giving thanks in social media, there are basic good manners. I do the same. I follow, engage and re-share but only those who re-share back. Usually it’s the smaller sites who are nice enough to come back and re-share. Only a very few larger bloggers or curated sites ever thank, much less RT. Thanks for the advice! Sharing this 🙂
Betty Ann @Mango_Queen recently posted…How to Bake Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Fudge Icing
Thanks for your opinion. I agree the smaller for sure seem to reciprocate better. I think when I 1st started out I shared a lot from Huffpo travel, a lot! Until I realized I should be seeking to share the smaller blogs who are just as informative and more social. Thanks for commenting.
As a travel writer like you, I find it odd when people do not even try to reciprocate. I am amazed at your Twitter traffic – though I also have a healthy following, Twitter doesn’t play much in driving traffic. Organic search is always king for me, somehow! Keep writing (I enjoy your posts!), keep reading – and be selective!
Raul (@ilivetotravel) recently posted…Snowy Scenes from My Window Seat
That had been an exceptional Twitter day, lol. I agree though, with that post I learned how to be more selective.