You can probably guess our take on this here at WMG. We’re social media fanatics. And we know from experience that it’s worth it. The question for you is - do you care about your website’s SEO?
If you answered yes to the question, then you should also care about social media. It may not have been clear in the very beginning when social networking sites first launched, but trust us when we say that social media and search engine optimisation are long term bedfellows. But their romance doesn’t stop there, and we’ll soon see a complete marriage of the two when more and more websites experience improved rankings from social media outreach.
Open Your Mind to the Social Media World
In no way can social media replace your marketing strategy. It should be a part of it. If you’re still reserved about the whole social craze, let us open your mind to the possibilities and give you some practical ways to apply your time to a social networking website. After all, we know that time is precious.
1. Branding – this is scary word for many businesses, because it’s very difficult to quantify. It’s not as measurable as an email campaign and it’s a long term exercise that could or could not work. But that doesn’t mean it’s any less important. If anything, it’s the most important part of your business because it sets a very crucial foundation for your company's reputation, now and in the future.
2. Research – market research isn’t free. So why not tie it in with your social media campaign? Why not ask what the micro-blogging, internet-savvy social networkers of today think of your new product? You can get real time feedback about your services – and whether it’s good or bad – social media gives you an opportunity to turn it around.
3. Promotion – online competitions are a great way of gathering data and they are a great way of getting people excited about you and your products. Facebook and Twitter can help you spread the word about discounts, giveaways or special offers, and you can host entire competition promotions through these sites.
4. Link Building – although Twitter links and Facebook links are automatically no-followed, links shared on social networking sites can directly impact on rankings. This was confirmed by Google and Bing in December 2010. Not only that, but outreach to encourage natural linking to your blog posts and interesting content is so much easier with social networking connections. Social media is a portal to link building prospects, such as guest posting opportunities or reciprocal linking.
5. Traffic – you have to target the right people and know who to follow if you want social media to improve your website traffic. You also have to be realistic about your expectations because social media is about much more than just driving traffic. But any traffic that you do get, could potentially have better basket value (better conversion) than search traffic because it’s so targeted.
Face the Truth
So we’ve listed the ideas for practical application with your social media time – how you want to divide your time is up to you. Building the ultimate social media strategy will depend entirely on your business, your brand, your industry, your USPs, your business goals, and your approach.
The truth is, social media today is the UK’s biggest traffic driver. There are almost 600 million people on Facebook, and more than 200 million on Twitter. That’s bigger than some countries. The facts are there. So our answer is, “Yes. Of course it’s worth it.”
The real question is whether people are approaching it in the right way.
Learn more about The WebMarketing Group’s approach to Social Media Optimisation.
Tagged with :