Web Marketing with Social Networking Media Sites: The Basics
Websites still dominate as the major means to market over the Internet because of the sheer number of websites throughout the world (over 2 billion and growing) which contain massive amounts of "search worthy" content. In addition is the relationship between websites and the advertising revenue they generate for the three major search engines (and those less frequently used). Right now, they remain THE best means through which one can find general information on a wide range of topics - especially business related information.
But at the same time, more and more people are involved with Social Networking Sites - and information from these sources are starting to show on search results. So, in addition to developing and maintaining a "sticky" website, you need to be involved, at least to some degree, with Social networking media sites in order to optimize your branding and content results on search engines for the best Internet presence into the future.
Using Social Media Sites to Help Generator
There are "presently" 4 major social networking services most suitable for businesses. They are; Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube (Google owned). There are many others, but we won't mention them because they've either reached they're "critical mass", or are primarily local in scope.
I didn't mention Myspace because it is a social network in disarray as of this writing (03-11-2010). Their monthly visitors have declined 7 percent from this January to last (to 120 million users worldwide). They have also just had a top-level shake up and promise changes to the site. Since their core users are now 14 million artists/musicians, who put songs and videos on their "space", and has "friends" listed on their space. The company plans to focus on core users by improving how fans can interact with artists, by giving artists more control over their profiles, and by including tracking tools in their accounts. The site is also going open up its platform for games, add a movie fan page, and reward users who act as evangelizers of its content. So this is all good if you are a musician. But a lot of unknowns remain.
Over the same January to January time frame (according to Internet tracker comScore Inc.) Facebook grew to 471 million visitors worldwide - a 100 percent increase, while Twitter grew 1,100 percent to 74 million visitors. Facebook and Twitter's rapid user/visitor growth, includes thousands of different groups; including businesses, college alumni groups, individuals, and those who support various charitable and non-charitable causes.
LinkedIn is less known to some, but remains a fixture on the business side of social networking. Why? Well, their ranks include professionals from all types of businesses, and their are many ways that you can network - for a recommendation, to list other professionals you may want to assist and professionals you can even hire.
To have your own page on any of these social networks you first need to setup an account - which includes a profile. Many questions are quite personal - and can be found and followed by others if you don't know how to setup a business versus personal site space.
After you've setup an account, you'll then need to navigate an often confusing maze of links that lead to many operational functions and other capabilities that should not be ignored. You then need to figure out how to make your "space" look the way you want it to. And this is not always as easy as it might seem initially on most of the social networking media sites. But we can help you here, since most small to medium sized businesses find the process too time-consuming and prefer to work with a web design company - to learn all the "ins and outs". The social networking services of Twitter and Facebook are only moderately difficult to setup. However, recent phising and hacking incidents on these services mean you cannot afford improperly administering them!
Finally, there's YouTube - for video postings. Accounts here are not very difficult to setup and YouTube accounts are typically GREAT for distributing video-based information to the world 24/7. However, a solid knowledge of video file types is advisable. If you have no knowledge of video formatting CODECS, then what you "think" you're loading for the viewing public will likely end up looking like garbage.
Most importantly though, to achieve the full benefit of utilizing any of these social networking media sites, it's best to also utilize special applications that tie posts from customers and individuals into all your accounts. There other items like "share" buttons and hashes (on Twitter), and there are even more. The point is for you to optimize the usefulness of every service for the benefit of ALL users.
You can also open up and moderate discussion forums, conduct surveys, rate products or services, and speak with "tweeters" or posters to an account. Once again, some clients may find that to be more "work" than they counted on. But remember that it's worth it - in order to build a community, build your brand, increase search engine rank potential and generate better leads that can lead to sales more readily!
Blogs and Blogging
Blog accounts are quite different than other social networking media sites. Per Wikipedia, a blog is more like a website, and is usually maintained by an individual. It contains regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, as well as other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. Also, the term "blog" can be used as a verb - as in, "I love to blog!"
Blogs provide commentary, news, product info and updates on a specific subject - like a personal online diary. The "typical" blog is comprised of a combination of text, images, and links. And, as previously mentioned, blogs are intended to enable its readers to leave their own comments interactively. Blogs were initially ALL textual; although now many focus on art, photography, audio and video (see podcasting). It's also best to setup a blog so that posts can tie-in to company Facebook and other social media sites. This ensures that the blog has its greatest reach.
NOTE: Since blogs are an essential means to keep customers informed and interested in new products, updates and/or services, ALL businesses should have one! And when they're connected to other social networks, business blogs can truly have a powerful impact on your customers and the way they "see you". There are a host of great online tools and tricks we can help you with to get your business blog up and running for maximum buzz and reach. We can show you how to maintain best practices for blogs, and how to avoid common mistakes.
Final Comments on Dealing with Blogs and Social Media Sites
With a blog, once all the setup work is complete, the blog name (topic focus) needs to be added and then fresh content needs to be added on a regular basis - content that helps your clients see you in a positive light. This is critical, since when you post excellent content over time, you will establish increasing interest about your blog - and more and more people will likely check it out and regularly comment. This can lead to links to you site and a positive impact on search engine ranking.
In addition to text, you should add links to your main website - as well as video (which can be difficult or impossible on some social media sites) and also RSS feed subscription links to Atom, Bloglines and Google's Feed Reader service. This is made possible by the use of the plugins on your blog and by program wizards and video converters on social media sites. With blogs as with social networking media sites, you'll have an administrators page that includes links to various adjustable features. On a blog, you access this area usually through a link on your main page. you then use your own username and password. For social networking sites, you log in, and then you automatically enter the "content management"page(s).
Most social networking sites and blogs use a templated approach for page design. But for this market, this is a good thing - especially for the "non web developer". This is because it enables you a quick way to put various media information right onto page(s). Also, there are now ways to optimize blogs for search engine rank. But once again, the mainstay of everything is still a website!
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