Back to Basics: Integrating social media with your blog

With the popularity of social networks like Twitter and Facebook these days, integrating social media with your blog is a necessary strategy for helping readers find your content where they are. Whether you're a new blogger, coming back to your blog after some time away, or just want to make sure you're taking best advantage of Typepad's features, this "back to basics" post will help you cover all the bases.

Let readers know where they can find you

The first thing you'll want to do is make sure your social media accounts are prominently linked on your blog. Start at Account > Other Accounts and add all your social media profiles here. You can then add the Other Accounts module to your blog's sidebar by going to the Design > Content page. This module displays whatever accounts are set up at Account > Other Accounts, so as soon as you add a new account there, it will show up on your blog's sidebar (if you're ambitious and comfortable with code, you can even add custom icons). The Nimble Design Lab will also pull from Account > Other Accounts to automatically display social media icons in the blog navigation bar.

Make it easy for readers to share

Let your readers be your best promoters by making it easy for them to share your posts on their own social media accounts. Go to Design > Content and look for the Post Footer module. Click the pencil icon, which will open a pop-up window. Here you can configure the options for your post footer, and add social media sharing buttons. You can offer options to share to Twitter, Google Plus, Pinterest, and Facebook. Choose the ones you want then click OK in the pop-up window and save your changes on the Content page. How the buttons will look depends on what design theme you're using; the Nimble Design Lab offers an eye-catching colorful set of post footer buttons that you'll see right here on Everything Typepad (so don't forget to share our posts!)

Automatically post to Twitter and Facebook

Let Typepad do the work for you! After you've added your Twitter and Facebook accounts at Account > Other Accounts, head on over to the Settings > Sharing page for your blog where you'll be able to choose which of these accounts you want all your posts to be shared automatically to. While you're there, don't forget to enable your Twitter card.

When you're composing a new post, you'll see a Share This Post box along the right side. If you have automatic sharing turned on for one or more social media accounts, these will have checks by their names in the list. Don't want to draw attention to just this one post? Clear the check marks before you publish and it won't be shared. You can also choose not to have automatic sharing on, but still share on a post-by-post basis by checking the accounts you want to share to before you publish any given post. Pro tip: when you're ready to publish, customize the text promoting your link to Twitter and Facebook. Otherwise, the title of the post will be used.

There you have it! Whether you want to promote your social media accounts as a whole, let readers share your posts to their own networks, or automatically post to Twitter and Facebook, Typepad has you covered.

What are your best tips for integrating social media with your blog? Tell us in the comments!