Are you looking for ways to boost your social media marketing? Guest blogging might be the missing piece of your strategy. When combined with your social media efforts, guest blogging can help you reach new audiences, build authority, and drive more engagement.
In this article, we’ll show you practical ways to use guest blogging as a powerful tool to support your social media marketing – and get results that matter.
Why Guest Blogging Works with Social Media
Guest blogging and social media naturally fit together. They’re both about sharing valuable content and connecting with audiences, just on different platforms.
The stats back this up too. According to recent research, brands that combine guest blogging with social media see up to 3x more engagement than those using either strategy alone.
Here’s why this combo works so well:
New audience access: Guest blogging puts your content in front of people who might never find your social channels otherwise.
Authority building: When you appear on respected blogs, you can mention these appearances on social media to boost your credibility.
Content multiplication: One guest post can be broken down into multiple social media posts, giving you more content to work with.
SEO benefits: Links from quality guest posts can improve your website’s ranking, making your social profiles more visible too.
Setting Up Your Guest Blogging Strategy
Before you start writing guest posts, you need a plan that connects to your social media goals.
1. Find the right blogs to target
Look for blogs that:
- Have readers who match your target audience
- Allow author bios with links to social profiles
- Have active social media presence themselves
- Share guest posts on their own social channels
Quick tip: Check a blog’s social sharing stats before pitching. If their content rarely gets shared, you might want to look elsewhere.
2. Create content that serves both platforms
Your guest posts should:
- Address topics that align with your social media themes
- Include visuals that can be reused on social media
- Contain quotable sections that work well as social media snippets
- End with a call-to-action that mentions your social channels
3. Set clear goals
Ask yourself: What do I want to achieve?
- Grow social media followers?
- Increase engagement on existing platforms?
- Promote a specific social media campaign?
- Build authority in a particular topic area?
4. Build relationships with blog owners
The best guest blogging opportunities come from real relationships:
- Comment on their blogs regularly
- Share their content on your social channels
- Engage with them on social media before pitching
- Offer genuine value, not just self-promotion
5 Ways to Connect Guest Posts with Social Media
Now let’s get into specific tactics to make guest blogging work harder for your social media marketing:
1. Promote guest posts across social channels
When your guest post goes live:
- Share it on all your social platforms
- Create platform-specific versions (video teaser for TikTok, image quote for Instagram)
- Tag the host blog in your posts
- Ask your team and close connections to share it too
2. Include social proof in guest content
Within your guest posts:
- Reference your social media campaigns or results
- Include screenshots of social media conversations or polls
- Mention social media feedback that inspired the post
- Incorporate testimonials from social media followers
3. Convert blog readers to social followers
Make it easy for readers to find you:
- Put your social handles in your author bio
- Include a reason why they should follow you
- Mention exclusive content available on your social channels
- Create a special hashtag for blog readers
One blogger saw a 47% increase in Instagram followers after adding a simple “Join the conversation on Instagram” line with a unique hashtag to their guest posts.
4. Use social media data to inform guest content
Let your social insights guide your guest blogging:
- Write about topics that perform well on your social channels
- Address questions you frequently get on social media
- Reference popular conversations happening on your platforms
- Use language that resonates with your social audience
5. Repurpose guest blog content for social media
Don’t just share a link – transform your guest post into:
- Quote graphics with your best lines
- Short video summaries of key points
- Poll questions based on the post topic
- Behind-the-scenes content about writing the post
Measuring Success
How do you know if your guest blogging is helping your social media marketing? Track these metrics:
- Follower growth: Spikes after guest posts go live
- Traffic from social to your site: Are guest post readers checking out your other content?
- Engagement rates: Comments, shares, and saves of posts related to your guest content
- Mention tracking: Increased mentions of your brand across platforms
- Conversion rates: Guest blog readers who become social followers
Tools you can use: Google Analytics, Hootsuite, Buffer Analytics, and BuzzSumo all help track these cross-channel metrics.
Case Example: Fitness coach Jamie T. wrote guest posts for 5 health blogs over 3 months. By tracking links and mentions, she discovered her Instagram follower count grew by 1,200 and engagement increased 76% during this period.
Common pitfalls to avoid:
- Not tracking the right metrics
- Focusing on quantity over quality of blogs
- Failing to customize content for each platform
- Getting discouraged by slow initial results
Advanced Tactics
Ready to take things up a notch? Try these advanced strategies:
1. Build content hubs
Create a central theme or campaign that spans both guest posts and social media:
- Develop a series of related guest posts across multiple blogs
- Create social media content that fills gaps between posts
- Link everything back to a resource page on your site
- Use consistent hashtags across all platforms
2. Create multi-platform narratives
Tell stories that unfold across different channels:
- Start a case study on a guest post
- Continue the story on Twitter or LinkedIn
- Share visual elements on Instagram
- Wrap up with a live Q&A on Facebook or Instagram
3. Leverage guest blogging for influencer connections
Guest blogging puts you in the same circles as influencers:
- Mention relevant influencers in your guest posts
- Tag them when sharing the post on social media
- Use guest blogging opportunities to connect with influencers who contribute to the same blogs
- Propose collaborative content after establishing a relationship
4. Use social listening to find guest blogging opportunities
Social media can help you identify where to guest blog next:
- Monitor conversations about websites in your industry
- Notice which blogs your followers share most often
- Watch where your competitors are guest posting
- Track hashtags related to your industry to spot active blogs
Conclusion
Guest blogging and social media marketing aren’t separate strategies – they work best when they support each other.
By creating valuable guest content, strategically connecting it to your social presence, and measuring the results, you can build a more cohesive marketing approach that grows both channels.
Start small: pick one blog to target, write an outstanding post that connects to your social media themes, and track what happens. You might be surprised by how much this integrated approach can boost your overall marketing results.
What’s your next step? Choose one tactic from this article and try it this week. Your social media marketing will thank you.
