Let's Get Social (Media) Linky Party & Say G'Day Saturday Party {48}

Hello sweet friends and welcome to my very first

 Say G'Day Saturday 
Let's Get Social {Media} Linky Party!

I am so thrilled that you are here to get social with our bloggy friends from all around the world and link up your social media details.


Thank you for being here!

The reason why I decided to host this link up is because of the post I did a few weeks ago about the impact on social media on our lives. One statistic showed that in 2012 there are approximately 4.2 million Mummy Bloggers! That statistic alone got me thinking about how "Mom Bloggers' find the time to raise families, work in other paid employment and network and promote their blogs! After researching it I realised that blogging alone isn't enough to keep the lines of communication open with our blogging friends. We don't always have time to leave comments on each other's blog posts but it's so easy to let someone know that you are thinking of them by pinning one of their ideas, liking their latest picture on Instagram, hitting +1 on a great post they did, tweeting a link to their linky party, adding a link to a recipe that a bloggy friend posted on your own Facebook page or reblogging a pretty picture on Tumblr. I've discovered that there are so many easy ways to not only read each others blogs in a quick and effective way and to also stay connected with our online friends.

So, today I am sharing the various ways that I read all the blogs that I follow and the different ways that you can follow me, Natasha in Oz!

Let's Get Social {Media}!

The first social media platform I use is obviously the Google product Blogger. Google is the starting point for many bloggers. Some eventually move to other sites like Wordpress so they can have more independence and ownership of their blogs but I'm too familiar with blogger to give up on it just yet!

There is another important reason why I'm sticking with Google and that is because of  Google +, something that many people don't really "get", including myself! Having said that though, I don't really "get" Facebook either so I guess I am a bit slow! If you would like to read more about using Google + this is an easy read and I really think you should read it! 

There is one really big thing that I do understand about Google+ though, and that is that it is a Google product so it helps with the Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) for my blog.

The two main benefits of using Google+ is the seamless integration of other Google products and SEO optimisation.  The other benefit is that Google is really, and I mean REALLY pushing Google+. Google has linked all of its existing online services from Google Docs to Video (YouTube) and with so many people already using Google's free services like Gmail, Google Reader and Google Search it makes sense to stick with something used by millions of people!

Now, the secret to success with Google + is first adding friends to your circles and then, importantly, making sure you click the magic +1 button as a way of promoting blogs and ideas with the people who are in your circles.  

Search engine marketing firm, Tasty Placement, conducted a study to determine just how much of an effect Google+ and the +1 button promotion has on search ranking.

Here are their findings:

Infographic authored by TastyPlacement, an 
Austin SEO company, To view the original post, see the original
Social Media Infographic.

In a nutshell, clicking that little +1 button at the bottom of each of your posts does so much to help your search ranking because Google actually indexes Google+ posts and profiles and not the profiles of its competitors like Facebook and Twitter. 

So next time you visit me (and when you visit all of your bloggy friends) why not click that +1 button! I know that I will be forever grateful if you do that for me!

Now, let's talk about ways to read your favourite blogs!

Do you use Feedly?

“ Feedly is a news reader for creative minds, a simple and elegant way to read and share the content of your favorite sites” (Via Feedly!)

Here is how my Feedly page looks when I'm ready to read your wonderful blogs!



I like Feedly because it looks like an online magazine, you can personalize and customize the way you read blogs and it imports your subscriptions from Google Reader...see, another Google product! All you need to do is add the feedly button to your toolbar (I added mine via Google Chrome and it was so easy!) and then, et voila, it has added all the blogs you follow to your page! It is fully integrated with Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus and you can even use it on your mobile phone!

I have also been using BlogLovin for a while now and I also recommend it as a reader.It's easy to use, allows you the freedom to categorize the blogs you read and you can follow any blog, from anywhere on the internet, whether it be Blogger, Wordpress, or a self hosted site.

For those bloggers who are looking for an alternative to Google Reader Bloglovin’ offers a really simple feature for importing the list of blogs you currently follow into your profile. It literally takes less than 15 minutes to add an entire reading list into BlogLovin'! All you have to do is click “Import Blogs”, choose “Google Reader” and start moving your blog feeds to BlogLovin.

Just like Feedly, you can use a Google Chrome browser extension to let you know when you have unread blog posts on your reading list. 

  If you would like to follow me on Bloglovin just click the Eiffel Tower!

  How can we connect with each other in other non-blogging ways? 

Like many people I am totally addicted to Instagram, the free and amazing iphone app that allows you to edit and share your favourite pictures. You can follow me via Followgram by clicking here.

 If you are on instagram I am @natashainoz - please come and follow me and I will follow you! 

I'm sure you already know that I'm a Pinning Fool but for those of you who don't why not come and visit me over at Pinterest!

I've also started a new Tumblr blog - no words just lots of pictures! 

Have you heard of Hello Cotton?

Hellocotton started in Paris in 2008, with the idea that the web was blooming with talented women bloggers. Hellocotton connects these wonderful women bloggers and now more than 3 million users drop by Hellocotton each month.

I'm also loving Polyvore lately and if you visit me on Fridays when I feature my favourite links from my Say G'day Party you will see my favourite fashion finds (wants!) when I post a Fashion Friday post. Just click the picture to find me on Polyvore!

Find me on Polyvore

Just so you know, I also update my Facebook page and Twitter stream regularly, mainly because they are both synced with everything! I also try to highlight many of the great posts that are linked up to Say G'Day Saturday to Twitter, Favebook and Google+ each week.

You can also follow me via Bloglovin’and  Networked Blogs and of course my Linky Followers and Google Friend Connect widgets are all over there on the sidebar too! I've even got a YouTube Page but that is definitely a work in progress!

And don't forget to join in with Linky Parties! You will meet so many people and find so many resources. Just make sure you always try to Say G'day to as many participants as possible. If you would like to join my weekly Linky Party, just click the Say G'day Saturday button-I'd love it if you could join in!

Well, as you can see there are so many ways that we can stay updated on all of our favourite blogs and there are so many ways we can keep up to date with our online friends.

So tell me, how can I keep in touch with you? 

How can your bloggy friends find you when you aren't blogging away at your bloggy home? If you have prepared a Let's get Social {Media} post now's the time to link up and get social! Your blog post should tell us about all the different ways that you are social! Include all the details we would need to find you at all of your social media outlets. Provide us with links to your Twitter profile, your Facebook page, your instagram address, your pinterest boards, your Tumblr blog, your Etsy site...everything! I have decided that as part of my bloggy renovations this post will eventually be changed a little and used as a stand alone page on my blog for my contact details.

When you are ready to link up, link the page you would like us to visit, not your general blog address. If you don't have a blog but would like to link up your Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Google plus page that's not a problem! If you already have a stand alone contact page that you would like to link up please do! There's no need to link back to me but a quick shout out on your social network sites would be be very much appreciated!

I would love it if you could help me spread the word about this social media linky party by sharing this post on all the social media outlets that you use! You can use the hashtag #LetsGetSocial to share the details about this Social Media Linky party with your online friends.

You could tweet something like: Join @natashainoz for the #LetsGetSocial linky party. Link up your Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & Pinterest profiles!

Finally, please feel free to grab a button and add one to your post!

<a href="http://www.natashainoz.com/search/label/Let%27s%20Get%20Social"target="_blank" title="Say G'day saturday"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-XJ9G3_bVyac/T-wIhMSF1cI/AAAAAAAAJOc/MboA4K-Kl-M/s200/Social+Media+button.jpg" alt="Poofy Cheeks" style="border:none;" /></a>

Thanks so much for joining in with my Let's Get Social {Media} Linky party. Please don't forget to mingle (this is a party after all!) and meet others!

Let's Get Social {Media}!

By the way, when you do go and visit others don't forget to say G'day and click that +1 button!

For more blogging tips just click the Blogging Tips Button below.

Best wishes and happy socialising!

Natasha In Oz 

Please join me each weekend for the Say G'day Saturday Linky Party!

You can also visit me at PINTEREST, TWITTER, GOOGLE+

INSTAGRAM and FACEBOOK!