There's a new phenomena called "social network marketing" which should become a part of your online marketing strategy. Some web experts are saying it could become more important than search engine optimization in driving traffic to your small business website.
What exactly is it and how can you get in on the trend?
I'm sure you're familiar with MySpace and Facebook. If you don't have a page on My Space, your kids do. My Space was the first in a series of websites where people go to network online, to share information, links, music, great resources and all sorts of things. Many of these social networking sites get millions–yes that's millions–of hits each day. Anywhere millions go, marketers and businesses follow.
Just imagine the power of posting your information, website, blog, press releases etc. on these sites! The search engines love them and crawl them often, because they contain tons of fresh updated content. In addition you're creating links back to your website or blog.
Besides social networking sites, there are social bookmarking sites, where people save their favorite webpages. These sites act like a revved up "My Favorites" file where you can save, store and organize your personal bookmarks. The catch is that they keep track of how many other people have saved each webpage. Bookmarking your webpages and blog posts on these sites, you're sharing them with millions of others who are doing the same. Make sure to open an account and bookmark your web pages and blog. Ask others to do the same.
Here's my favorite-social bookmarking site:
http://del.icio.us
Then there are social news sharing sites, where you can post press releases or relevant information about your business and direct people to your webpages. Every time you post to your blog, or write an article, you can post direct links to this fresh content on these sites, where millions of others can read them.
Social newsharing sites:
· http://digg.com
· http://reddit.com
· http://newsvine.com
Finally, here's a site where you can share your interests, passions, and business expertise by setting up a "lens," which is kind of a cross between a profile and a blog. You can also start a group for your industry and invite others to join. Some groups have over 10,000 members. Everyone who sees your lens or group will learn about you and your business and can click through to your website or blog.
http://squidoo.com
You're invited to join my group:
http://www.squidoo.com/groups/smallbusiness-entrepreneurs ?
To be honest I haven't done as much with my lens as I hope to do, but do check it out.
No matter what business you're in, pay attention to this trend. It's growing and provides a way to get free publicity for your business and can drive quite a bit of new targeted traffic to your website.
So what can you accomplish by using social marketing:
- More targeted traffic to your blog and webpages, which can result in more subscribers, leads and customers
- More links to your website
- Improve your search engine rankings
Remember that your goal is to get website or blog visitors to take action–sign up for your newsletter and become a client. So always direct visitors to a place where they are driven to take action. So use social marketing with a specific strategy in mind.
