Social networking is an unprecedented online phenomenon that allows people from all walks of life to connect and share similar interests with each other. Whether for socialization purposes, business intent, or sheer entertainment, social media has transformed the way that information is used and distributed. At the same time, social media has opened the door to new opportunities for driving attention to your work and creating a large reader base that will help popularize your blog or website.

By connecting your WordPress blog to Social Media you will not only be able to share your content with friends and readers, but also enjoy the advantage of facilitated online marketing that will help promote and drive traffic to your blog or website. There are innumerous social media sites available for membership today, ranging from friend-based to professional to media-sharing networks and a WordPress blog can be easily connected to most of them.

1. Facebook

Facebook is likely the most popular social networking platform today and with a user base that tops 300 million networkers is certainly one of the most attractive vehicles to drive traffic to your blog. For WordPress blogs there are plugins available that will facilitate a connection to this social network and enable automatic updates on Facebook of new blog posts. Followers will then also be able to access the blog via a Facebook login. For a simple connection, simply access the ‘Dashboard’, choose ‘Settings’, and finally the sub tab ‘Sharing’ and ‘Connect to Facebook’.

2. Twitter

Twitter is the largest micro blogging network on the web and with its 140 character post limit provides a quick opportunity to update blog readers and followers about new information posted. Twitter connection is also possible via plugin or by connecting through the ‘Dashboard’. After connecting a WordPress blog to Twitter, new posts are tweeted automatically by title and with a link to the post.

3. LinkedIn

When looking to share blog posts with professional contacts, LinkedIn is the networking site to use. Connecting your WordPress blog to LinkedIn is just as easy as connecting it to some of the other social networking sites. Accessing the blog ‘Dashboard’, choosing ‘Settings’ and then the sub tab labeled ‘Sharing’ will provide the option to enable ‘Connect to LinkedIn’. After logging in to your LinkedIn account and completing the connection process, the WordPress blog will be connected to LinkedIn.

4. YouTube

While YouTube engages more in media sharing than direct social interaction, it still accounts for the largest online presence in video content sharing on the web. Video blogging has become a niche in its own right and when used in combination with a traditional blog can significantly increase blog or website traffic. A WordPress blog may be connected to a YouTube account by embedding videos posted on YouTube directly on the blog and then including a link to the blog within the video itself.

5. Tumblr

Tumblr is another social media site known for micro blogging and allowing its users to easily repost content, comment on photos and posts, and obtain easy access to composing brief blog posts. The WordPress blog is also connected to Tumblr via the ‘Dashboard’ option and by following the ‘Settings’ tab and the ‘Sharing’ sub tab to ‘Connect to Tumblr’. After confirming the connection by logging in to the Tumblr account, WordPress blog updates can then be posted to and shared on Tumblr.

Deciding which social media to connect to your WordPress blog depends on which networks may provide the greatest advantage for your specific niche and which on networks you plan on spending most of your time. If most of your readers utilize Facebook or Twitter, it may make sense to begin promoting your blog on these social networks first to continue catering to your fan base and possibly build readership through new referrals and link shares.

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