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As a Blogger You Don’t Control Your Publishing Anymore

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December 9, 2021

Reading Starbuck’s founder, Howard Schultz’ book, Onward, I was struck by Schultz observations of the advent of social media.

Google paying over $1 billion for something called YouTube, his children using smartphones to text and exchange pictures and a website called Facebook inviting anyone over thirteen to sign up for a page.

Starbucks, thought Schultz, could no long control their own message. People would tell Starbuck’s story for the company and to the world.

I was reminded that the concept is true today with your blog publishing, how your publishing is distributed and how you are viewed – your reputation, as a result of your blog publication.

You, as a blogger, need to be taking social media every bit as serious as your publication itself. You need to to be publishing your blog posts or, at a minimum, their message on social media. Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. 

These places represent the “morning newspaper” to many people. You can’t say I don’t do this or that.

You, as a blog publisher, also need to partake in these social media. Share, comment and like. 

Doing so you establish trust and authority, via the social media algorithm. This generates blog readership. Active social media participation greases your blog distribution skids.

Thursday afternoon I complemented a law school communications professional for the outstanding work she and her team were doing.

I particularly cited just how good a job she was doing in delivering news and stories – inspiring stories – across social media.

On LinkedIn and Facebook, her stories were always at the top of my feed. “Algorithms and a social media effort,” she said, “work very well in the distribution of getting our stories out to our audience.”

As a blogger, the days are gone where you control your publishing and distribution. 

People tell your story via social media. You get your story out and the algorithms driven by your activity and the activity of others drive your distribution and reputation, which builds readership.

Sure, your blog will always be your home base. But the field’s expanded, to the benefit of bloggers.