What is Social Media? Why is Social Media Important to Your Business?
The term "social media" is very broad and can be used to describe many different internet-based tools that people use for sharing and discussing information. A few examples of the most popular forms of social media today are blogs, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, forums, podcasts, and social bookmarking sites such as Del.icio.us, Stumbled Upon, Digg, and Reddit. Research shows that 60% of all online activity involves social media.
Social media is also referred to as "Web 2.0." The long-term benefits of Social Media Marketing include "link juice" that helps increase search engine rankings with high quality links coming back to your website, it creates a "buzz" about your business, it generates more traffic to your site, and builds brand equity, which creates trust. Although Gold Rush Web Marketing recommends that every business have a website, even if you don't, your business can still benefit by having a Customized Facebook Fan Page that at minimum lists your physical address, phone number, and description of what you do or sell.
With Facebook's more than 500 million active users, it's a golden opportunity to have a free public presence on this popular site. Facebook offers more than a way to keep up with friends — it has the ability to keep you in touch with your clients, gain attention for your brand, and provide a more personal face for your business. It's an unobtrusive way of making your "fans" aware of what's going on with your business through regular postings.
Social media began primarily as a venue for personal communication between individuals. However, many social media platforms are used for business purposes as well. Sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter can be a great way to generate new business by beginning with your existing network of friends and expanding from there. As an example, Twitter advertises your brand to those who "follow" you, and if you tweet regularly enough, Twitter brings new visitors to your site. Depending on the username of your Twitter account, your Twitter page will naturally rank high in search engines for your company name. This gives you additional free visibility that your competitors may not be taking advantage of!
Social bookmarking sites can generate traffic to your website from articles that you post. Blogs and forums (posted by yourself and comments made by your website visitors) provide additional content for your site, and provide “spider food” (content that search engines can index) which will result in more traffic and give you the benefits of branding. Blogs attract new visitors to your site and keep them coming back as long as your blog posts are frequent and interesting enough.
While it is a bit tricky to track the exact results your business is getting from social media marketing, there are ways to tell if your campaign is working:
Social media is also referred to as "Web 2.0." The long-term benefits of Social Media Marketing include "link juice" that helps increase search engine rankings with high quality links coming back to your website, it creates a "buzz" about your business, it generates more traffic to your site, and builds brand equity, which creates trust. Although Gold Rush Web Marketing recommends that every business have a website, even if you don't, your business can still benefit by having a Customized Facebook Fan Page that at minimum lists your physical address, phone number, and description of what you do or sell.
With Facebook's more than 500 million active users, it's a golden opportunity to have a free public presence on this popular site. Facebook offers more than a way to keep up with friends — it has the ability to keep you in touch with your clients, gain attention for your brand, and provide a more personal face for your business. It's an unobtrusive way of making your "fans" aware of what's going on with your business through regular postings.
Social media began primarily as a venue for personal communication between individuals. However, many social media platforms are used for business purposes as well. Sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter can be a great way to generate new business by beginning with your existing network of friends and expanding from there. As an example, Twitter advertises your brand to those who "follow" you, and if you tweet regularly enough, Twitter brings new visitors to your site. Depending on the username of your Twitter account, your Twitter page will naturally rank high in search engines for your company name. This gives you additional free visibility that your competitors may not be taking advantage of!
Social bookmarking sites can generate traffic to your website from articles that you post. Blogs and forums (posted by yourself and comments made by your website visitors) provide additional content for your site, and provide “spider food” (content that search engines can index) which will result in more traffic and give you the benefits of branding. Blogs attract new visitors to your site and keep them coming back as long as your blog posts are frequent and interesting enough.
While it is a bit tricky to track the exact results your business is getting from social media marketing, there are ways to tell if your campaign is working:
- Check your website stats and analytics to see if any of your traffic is coming from social media sites.
- Ask your site visitors, callers, and customers how they found you.
- Keep track of your referrals to determine if your referred business is a result of your involvement in social media.
Get Started with Facebook and Twitter Today!
By its very nature, social media has a large number of followers, therefore, you may be able to get many potential customers shortly after an account is created and a few posts are made. Yes, social media can be time consuming (unless you automate your postings with Hootsuite), but if you're short on staff and time, Gold Rush Web Marketing can set up your basic Facebook Fan Page and Twitter account for $197 (click here for information on CUSTOMIZED Facebook Fan Pages). In addition, we also can make multiple posts and "ghost blog" on your behalf for a monthly charge. Other than an investment in hours, social media is FREE — you don't have to pay to have an account or pay for clicks on your links, yet you can strike it rich by attracting more traffic to your website! Contact Us to learn more and get started.
social media
|
|
