If you’re an experienced online marketer, you know the old saying of; “If you build it, they will come”, is not a reality. You will always need to be making an effort to build your brand online if you want to see significant results. Simply having a great website with lots of good content isn’t enough.
Social media offers an incredible opportunity to increase your online presence, website traffic, and ultimately your sales (without the costs of online marketing methods such as pay-per-click advertising). However, making your social media efforts produce results requires ongoing effort, and you should be prepared to set aside at least an hour a day to actively participate in your chosen social media activities.
Your social media efforts should be focused on encouraging others to share in positive interactions with your brand, such as ‘Liking’ you on Facebook, and other sharing methods such as ‘Repinning’ your products on Pinterest. Keep in mind that the more the search engines see others interacting with your brand via social media, the more favorably they will view your site.
Social media can also provide more results for your brand in search results. For example, when someone searches for your company name, they could find your website and your social media profiles such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, your blog, and more. This can be very valuable in gaining new business from people who aren’t familiar with your brand. Searches for your brand name that result in links to your website and your social media profiles can go a long way in instilling trust in your company with potential new customers. This can also result in more ‘Likes’ on Facebook, ‘Follows’ on Twitter, and other valuable social media interactions. All of which further shares your brand with others and tells the search engines that people are talking about you, which will ultimately help your search engine rankings.
The more you participate in social media, the more places there are for people to discover your brand, visit your site, and possibly become new customers. If social media isn’t already a key element in your online marketing mix – it needs to be.
What are you doing on a daily basis to increase your online presence?