Using Social Media to Promote Your Blog

So, you want to get more noticed to be seen as a thought leader in your niche or perhaps you are just new to blogging and need more traffic to your site? Either way, social networking is an excellent, cost effective tool to accomplish this by.
Here are just a few examples of things if done regularly will make a difference in not only how many people read your posts, but also how you are perceived.
1. Tweet it out!You are going to post your new blog or article on Monday at 8:30 AM? Tweet it out at 8:45! And then retweet it as well later in the day. Statistics have shown that your best chance of getting read is 8-10 Eastern. So, you left coasters, keep that in mind J Never hurts to ask others to retweet it out for you as well!
2. Attend a tweetup!Tweetup's are not just for Twitter Heads. Think of it as the new age networking. A great opportunity to meet others who you have only known online, make new alliances and oh yeah...let them know about what you are doing J
3. Submit your post to an article directory! Part of getting your site known in social media circles is being seen. Show people you are an authority in your niche or industry, submit that article to an article directory (like ezine articles) and you will benefit traffic wise. Don't think you can put out a sales piece. But you can demonstrate you are a subject matter expert!
4. Auto-feed your new posts using social media tools like FeedBurner. You will have competition, so make your headlines stand out enough to want to get read because many of these feeds only show the article / post titles.
5. Make comments on other blogs/forums within your niche! Don't limit yourself to your tiny world. Get out there and get in the mix! Leave not just good or average comments. Leave great comments! What is an average comment? "Hey, nice article!" Don't be that guy (or girl). Don't be afraid to disagree or for that matter to agree. Just back it up and tell why. People will see them and come visit your site as a result!
6. Have your blog posts connect to Facebook using the Networked Blogs application.This does 2 things in my mind. Gets you a few more visitors to your site and it also automates your blog post onto your Fan Page. Anything you can do to automate makes your life easier!
7. Social bookmarking.Sites such as Digg, Delicious, Stumble Upon, Reddit can all provide additional exposure and thus more traffic.
8. Do guest posts! Find someone that is in your niche (but probably not a competitor) and ask them if they want to trade out guest posts. Let's say you are a Pet Sitter. You might go to a vet and ask them if you can write a blog post on the 10 Things You Should Ask A Potential Pet Sitter! The Vet could do something similar. You will get traffic from them and you will be perceived differently when you are "published" other than your blog!
9. BlogTalkRadio /LiveStream - One of the things that I tell clients all the time is that if they want to be seen as an authority, they need to be seen "with an authority". You will be surprised how many big name folks that I have been able to interview just by asking them.
10. Share buttons - One of the easiest and simplest ways to get visitors to your site is to let others promote it through the social networking site of their choosing.Do this by using a "Share" button that goes just below your post. Users can then spread your content and word about you to whomever and wherever they want. I strongly encourage you to use a plug in that accommodates more than the "Big Three" of Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. You would be surprised by the number of sites out there and who uses them, so don't limit yourself.