Last week I mentioned a couple of ways in which you could redistribute your blog in order to gain a little bit of visibility for your published articles. It’s fair to say that basic redistribution of your content is only the tip of the iceberg. Another way in which you can make your blog work for you is to establish your presence so that people keep coming back to your blog on a regular basis. There are several other things you can do across the social web in order to establish your presence while also establishing your validity as a resource.

The reason why establishing your presence is so important as a blogger is because it’s the online interface for your reputation. Your presence sends a signal out to your audience and potential readers that you’ve become a validated contributor to the larger pool of content found on the web. Even if you’re not the highest authority on your topic of interest, making yourself known is an important aspect of becoming a trusted resource, as readers know that there will be content accessible on your site.

Before I list a few ways in which you can establish your presence across the social web, I should note that providing accurate information in a well-thought article should be a primary focus for you as a blogger. This is an important way in which to become a validated resource. Your web presence will merely aid in getting people to your website. Giving those people a worthwhile reason to stick around is the other responsibility you have as a blogger.

Sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and other niche social networks have groups that pertain to various topics. Select a few that you’re comfortable participating in, and offer up your two cents on a regular basis. Think of these group contributions as appearances across the social web, giving you small promotion opportunities to build your reputation.

The reason this helps you establish your presence as well as gaining return traffic to your blog is because the activity you conduct within such social networking groups translates into visibility. This is especially true in the case of sites like LinkedIn, where you may not have a direct necessity to connect with others on a professional level but you can still benefit in the professional sense by providing yourself as an accessible resource. Now you have a piece of leverage through which you can redirect your contacts made on LinkedIn back to your website.

Even though you already have a blog on your area of expertise, you shouldn’t close yourself off from other people’s blog content. Reading the articles from others writing about your topics of interest will keep you abreast of what’s going on in the industry, while offering some perspective that you can use in the future. So while you’re there, go ahead and leave a comment.

There are a couple things you’re doing when leaving a comment–expressing your opinion and supporting your particular industry. Simply contributing to the larger discussion will help you establish yourself as a trusted resource. Including a link back to your site will also help you establish your presence. This link gives other readers an access point back to your site.

Social bookmarking sites are great ways in which to find content that’s been recommended by others. If you can make your site and its content accessible through social bookmarking sites, then you’re likely to be able to use this as a way to get return traffic back to your site.

As a resource that’s been recommended on a social bookmarking site, you essentially enable your blog to become helpful on a site that is a resource itself. Increase your validity and your traction potential by nurturing this presence on the social bookmarking sites. Many of them support comments, so a great deal of industry-related conversation can be extended on such bookmarking sites. Use this in turn as an opportunity to express yourself, even if you’re only commenting on a bookmark for someone else’s site or web content. Participating on social bookmarking sites is yet another way in which you invest time into the growth of your reputation as well as your web presence.

Twitter has several search engines being built around its content, mainly within the realm of real-time results. Offer up some words of wisdom through Twitter and you’re widening your reach while establishing yourself at the same time. Even if you don’t include a link back to your site with every tweet, you ca become a valuable resource on Twitter, which will indirectly convert into traffic back to your site if you’ve included a link in your bio.
Be sure to engage in conversation with others on Twitter, as this helps you grow your presence and make yourself known to other users. The more active you are within the Twitter environment, the more your profile will be seen. As I’ve mentioned several times before, remain as genuine as possible with your Twitter activity, as this will help others distinguish your content as useful and not distracting.