Having a blog for your small business is an excellent place to share your knowledge on subjects relevant to your field. Not only does this help add credibility to your brand, it also can help your search engine rankings by consistently posting new content to an otherwise static website. A blog can be a great tool to build a professional reputation and gain the trust of customers, but writing a great blog post is really only half the battle. 

When you write a new blog post, of course you’re promoting it on the big social media sites, like Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. However, promoting on other platforms, and via other means of communication, could help you reach a new demographic, resulting in new customers you would have otherwise missed out on. Give these tips a try to get new traffic to your blog and get people talking about it! 

Instagram: Upload an image related to your blog post and share it on Instagram. Add relevant hashtags, tag relevant people or companies, and attach a link to the post.   

Pinterest: Create a board on Pinterest for just your blog posts. Each time you write a post, pin an intriguing image and link to the post on your special blog board, along with a few relevant hashtags to help other pinners find it.  

Vine: An intriguing and unexpected way to promote a post is to make a Vine video. Vine is an iPhone and Android app used to create 6-second videos. Make a Vine that gives viewers a short teaser about your blog post with a link to your blog in the description area.  

Email: Share your blog with your email subscribers. Include a photo and a few lines from the post that will entice people to go to the full blog post. 

Guest Posts: Having guest bloggers on your blog is a great way to get a different perspective, as well as seemingly free promotion (the guest blogger is likely to promote their post on your blog.) Additionally, be a guest blogger for popular blogs related to your business. This is an effective way to gain exposure and credibility. 

Outreach: Reach out to other bloggers that are relevant to your company, products, or services. Leave comments, add to discussions, and contribute to popular blogs. 

Promote Older Posts: Don’t be afraid to promote older blog posts. Many of your readers might not remember the post or might have missed it when it first was published. 

Marketing: Make sure your blog URL is on your marketing material and is clearly visible on your business website. Make it easy for people who are trying to find your blog and recent posts. 

Share: Having share buttons on your blog posts makes it easy for readers to share your blog. If nothing else, add a Facebook and Twitter share button. 

All of these methods will further your reach, lead more people back to your blog and drive traffic to your website. As you continue to grow your blog presence, try to incorporate a few of these strategies along the way.