Whether you sell ceramic kittens or Steeda parts, you can’t consider online marketing without taking social media into account. Twitter, Facebook, and their ilk can have an incredible effect on your website traffic and customer retention. A few small tweaks to your website or blog are all that’s required to harness the power of the social media juggernaut.
Share Everything
Remember when your kindergarten teacher taught you it was good to share? That advice serves you well in today’s social media-heavy world. Every product page on your website, every video, and every blog entry should include a set of social media buttons for sharing.
Think of YouTube as a prime example: a single share button under the video screen allows users to share the content on their Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ pages. The potential exposure is amazing, especially if a video goes viral.
Make it as easy as possible for site visitors to share your content on their social media pages. Place social media “share” buttons prominently at the bottom of your content. The more people share your content, the better.
Display Your Own Social Media
Sharing content is great, but it’s also a two-way street. If you have active social media accounts for your business you should (and believe me when I say you should) display buttons for those accounts on your website.
Tweets, new Facebook posts, and LinkedIn updates can all be displayed on your website, providing an easy way for regular visitors to stay up-to-date on your activities, and offering an ever-changing stream of information that livens up your home page.
Of course, only link to active social media that you use frequently. If you update Twitter daily, but haven’t made a Google+ update this year, it stands to reason which site’s buttons should be on your site.
Take Advantage of Applications
Blogging site plug-ins and social media applications help you cross-link between websites, blogs and social media sites. If you use WordPress for blogging, for instance, you can use the site’s Twitter Tool to post links to new blogs directly on Twitter. WordPress also has a tool that lets you post blog updates directly to LinkedIn.
Similar tools exist on social media sites. Even though Twitter and LinkedIn are, ostensibly, competitors, LinkedIn has a Tweets application that allows you to tweet a LinkedIn update. If you want to update Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter from a single location, consider using a service such as Hootsuite.com.
If you link to social media through your website, remember to stay current. Social media terms change quickly, making your website’s social media buttons obsolete. While there’s really no difference in function between a Facebook “Like” button and the old “Facebook Fans” buttons, out-of-date buttons make a negative impression on social media-savvy site visitors.
Used correctly, social media links enhance a business website. Even if you really know your market, you may be surprised how many people on Twitter have a love of ceramic kittens or need shocks for Mustangs.
This guest post contributed by Michael, a social media enthusiast, knows how to get the online buzz going for your company, whether you sell interior décor or Steeda parts for cars.
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