Social Media Tips For Food Bloggers

I’m going to preface this by saying that this is not a how-to guide. If you want to know how to use various social networks there are plenty of tutorials out there. However, if you are a food blogger/business and would like to make the most of social media here are some tips for you.

What/Which Accounts To Use?

I believe in using 3 social media accounts well, and then having a number of other peripheral accounts that you can link to others to make the most out of them. There’s nothing to say you can’t succeed as a food blogger while using just 1 social network, but if you’re going to do that you’ll need to strong concept. Most food bloggers use Facebook (Pages), Twitter, and Instagram to drive traffic to their blogs, but also hold additional accounts on Pinterest, Tumblr, Snapchat, YouTube etc.

Be Social

It speaks volumes when a blogger constantly churns out blog links and there is very little interaction with their followers/fans. Social media is by its very nature; social. It’s a two-way street, if you want people to return to your site again and again, then you’ll need to invest time in responding to queries and comments. If you cannot keep your primary social media accounts sustained, or you can’t engage with your readers, then I’d suggest you deactivate at least one of your social media accounts.

Sharing Is Caring

Do you care about your blog? Then share other people’s content on your social media accounts. In fact, share far more content by others than your own. Share blog posts, images, news articles; content that is interesting to you and related to your blog. Where appropriate mention and credit the author of the original content. People love good news and positive stories and applauding the success of others is infectious.

Work Clever

Plan ahead, schedule your blog posts, and some of your social media. This does not mean you can leave your blog and social media accounts alone. This means if you choose, you only have to check in for responses to your scheduled content.

Be consistent and regular with your posting. Particularly for a platform like Facebook, unless you use your page regularly your reach will decline.

Lick The Screen

There are just two ways to make somebody stop and look at your blog. Food writing, which unfortunately is hard to communicate in short-form social media such as Twitter, but easier when you can make the most of the text limits on Instagram and Facebook. The primary reason for driving traffic on your social media will be an image. Make that image so delicious that people will want to lick the screen.

The primary image will draw people towards your blog, afterward, your writing and other images will do the hard work.

The Numbers Don’t Count

A food blogger with 3,000 followers on Twitter is no better or worse than a food blogger with 300 followers on the same platform. These numbers are vanity scores. The best measure of a food blogger’s success is whether people have actually followed their advice. Has their recipe been tried successfully by a follower? Have their followers dined out on their recommendation? These two things are far more important than the number of followers.

Further Reading

• Last week’s blog post on this series: Resources For Food Bloggers
• Susan Jordan’s post on How To Hugely Boost Your Facebook Reach For Free
• This album with fantastic advice on DIY Product and Food Photography

The next post in this series will be published this day next week (Tuesday 5th July) and will offer advice on working with brands, what they look for, and how to get noticed.

What qualifies me to give this advice?

I’ve been blogging for nearly 7 years now, with this particular blog being over 4 years old. My first cookbook was published by Mercier Press in 2014. I’m a regular contributor to the Irish Independent and work freelance as a writer/blogger/social media advisor, with a particular emphasis on developing thrifty recipes and homegrown food. I’m no expert, I never claim to be; I do know what I have learned and I’m happy to share it.