Though I rarely dive into blogger-specific topics (besides monthly updates and goal check-ins during my monthly round-ups), I feel as though there’s one topic that deserves my attention. Social media, I’m looking at you.
Since starting my blog last year, I have realized that the best way to build, reach, and engage with a diverse audience is by using social media. I have various platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and a rarely-used Pinterest account (it’s just hard to keep up with, and so easy to fall behind).
By the way, here are the details for those accounts. #ShamelessPlug
Twitter: @ NelsoSav
Facebook: @ SunshineWithSavannah
Instagram: @ SunshineWithSavannah
Pinterest (if you’re still interested after that endorsement): @ SunshineWithSavannah
Here’s my guide to navigating social media as a blogger, and my hot-takes.
Twitter is Key
Overall, the platform that I have had the most success with has hands-down been Twitter. Though it seemed a little intimidating to crack into blogger niches at first, it has become a very useful tool for connecting with other bloggers.
Note: other bloggers are probably going to be your biggest audience. They get it. They want to read other people’s stuff, and most importantly, they’re not afraid to engage. Nearly 99% of all my likes and comments are from other bloggers. People I know in real life probably don’t have Word Press accounts, and aren’t usually compelled to do more than like a Facebook post. Bloggers are the best at letting you know how they feel about your work.
Get Jiggy with Blogger Share Groups
Here’s how you use Twitter to your advantage: blogger share groups. There are a ton of Twitter accounts that exist purely to connect bloggers with each other. I’m talking about pages with names like “The Blog List,” “The Clique – Bloggers RT,” “Blogging Babes RT,“ etc. There are literally so many out there that I never know what they’re actually called, and can hardly keep them straight.
They serve an excellent purpose, though. These accounts post daily or weekly chains, where you get to post your recent link or social media handles, and other bloggers do the same. You go back and forth with the replies, reading other bloggers’ stuff, and hoping that they return the favor.
Pro-tip: my key to success is always replying to tweets with my own link. Here’s an example of what I say: “Great post! I liked and left a comment. 🙂 Here’s my latest as well: (link to my content). This holds them accountable, and also makes the process easy for them, rather than having them dig through my profile to find a link.
Make Friends
Twitter is also a great place to meet other bloggers and develop relationships. When I first started, I never thought that I would get there. Bloggers already seemed to have their niches and it felt like an uphill battle to get myself known in the community.
My best advice is to interject your work as often as possible. Follow bloggers. Reply to chains. And reply to tweets. If someone wants to read new blogs, reply with your link. Join someone’s thread and have a conversation.
Most of all? Be supportive. Comment with kindness on blogs, regularly. Share people’s blogs on Twitter and tag them. Retweet their shares. Do this, and make it known that you support them and enjoy what they have to say. This is how you build a virtual relationship. It’s part of what makes blogging so great, at least to me.
Shout out to my blog buddy Bill, who was the first connection I made. John Rieber is a great blogger, plus a loyal reader and commenter. Jenny is a pro at blogging and I love reading her work. Read their stuff!
Instagram Can be Fun, Maybe
To me, Instagram is hit or miss. I created a Sunshine with Savannah account in hopes to build an audience and challenge my creativity. I try to create content that relates to my writing, and draw fellow users to click on the link in my bio. I don’t think that happens very often, though.
It’s kind of a labor of love. I find that authentic bloggers—not influencers or fashion ‘bloggers’—have a harder time building a following, especially if they are niche-less, like me.
Instead, I mostly do it for me. I like to be creative and challenge myself—with photography, captions, editing, making fun stories. I try to have fun with the Gram, without buying too much into it.
I’ve made some connections with some wonderful accounts (some of my faves are Jeri from Normal Girl Chronicles, Rosie of rosieculture.com, / @ rosieculture, and Ha of She Who Works). I’ve slowly but surely worked my way up to 815 followers, though it’s definitely taken a large chunk of time.
Pro-tip: find fellow bloggers, and support the hell out of them. I like to spend a chunk of time every day liking and commenting on posts. If nothing else, it just might make someone else’s day a little better.
Facebook is for Family
My Facebook page is filled with interactions mostly with people I know in real life. Family, friends, acquaintances, former teachers, colleagues. I created a page, then invited almost my entire friends list to like it. About 15% of them did.
Sometimes my links stir up traffic, but not usually a ton of engagement. I’ve noticed that pretty pictures travel farther than other types of media.
Pro-tip: use the publishing feature to plan out your posts ahead of time. I schedule content ahead of time for almost every post, and that alleviates a lot of time and pressure.
On that note, feel free to give me a follow! 😉
Pinterest…You Tell Me
Though I have a Pinterest account, it definitely requires a lot of upkeep. My key takeaways are to look into Tailwind, Tribes, and various online courses to learn more. (Someday I’ll devote more time to this and hop back on the wagon, but that is not today.)
Pro-tip: when you make shareable content, make sure you have a Pinterest-friendly graphic. For example, my monthly roundup posts always have a vertical graphic that would look great on someone’s Pinterest board, saved for later. I use Canva to design these.
If you have any pinning tips for me, feel free to share.
Blogger Social Media Guide
So there it is: my insider tips for bloggers trying to navigate the basic social media sites to grow their audience and further engage with readers.
Please let me know if you have any further insights. Thanks for reading!

Agree with all of your insight…I have found that Twitter groups and Facebook fan pages really have an impact – as long as someone does’t abuse it and truly interacts with the groups…that is key
I’m totally with you! I have found that lately only about 15% of the people I interact with will reciprocate, even when there are posting rules. I need to start keeping track, because although I enjoy reading their content, it can be a waste of time and also not quite fair.
Also, I updated the post to include you as a blogger to follow and I want to make sure you know; you are consistently a great source of content and also wonderful at engaging. I really appreciate you stopping by! Thanks, John!
Thank you for that – I appreciate it!
Thank you! I’m almost certain you were my first blogging buddy as well! I also love the little blogging community we’ve formed!
It’s the best! So nice to be able to read each other’s stuff and share the support.
After Twitter, Pinterest gets me the most blog clicks. I think I’ve only ever had 1 person go to my blog through Instagram. So I’d recommended people put in the effort on Pinterest to get traffic to their blog
This is great advice! Thank you both for reading and sharing.
Hey, always happy to be a blogger friend if you need one! love this post, keep writing x
That’s fabulous! Thank you for stopping by and for your kind comment. x
Thank you so much for this helpful post! I always struggle with social media, but I will try and do better!
You’ve got this! I feel like it’s so easy to fall behind, but I really do enjoy getting involved on social media when I commit to it. Thank you so much for reading and commenting!
I love all of this! Twitter has been so helpful for engaging in the blogging community!
I also love Pinterest as it’s my top source of traffic. But luckily I didn’t have much trouble with it since I’ve been using Pinterest for years haha (it’s my favorite platform for sure.)
Thanks for sharing such a helpful post!
Thank you so much for your feedback and perspective! I definitely need to just dive in and recommit to Pinterest—I know how valuable it can be! It’s also pretty fun and engaging. 🙂