You can’t watch television without seeing a company’s Facebook page or Twitter account listed right beside their website URL. The question is how can you take advantage of it? How can YOU combine your social media presence with your online marketing strategy to drive traffic to your website?

Check Out Your Competitors

• See what your competition is doing with social media. Look at the content they are posting. Does it capture your interest? Does it make you want to visit their website for more information? If not, move on to the next one. Good content always leaves you with the desire to learn more. Pick the content you find most compelling and emulate – but do not copy – it in your social media updates. Quality updates will lead people to research your website.

Utilize Keywords

• Just like you would optimize your website with good keywords; do the same for your social media profiles and updates. Effective keyword usage makes you findable. Use keywords when describing your latest blog post, or use them as hashtags with Twitter. The SEO advantage you can gain from good social media updates and profiles is immense.

Don’t Throw Fastballs

• Social media is personable. Don’t inundate people with advertisements or pitches about your services. Ask an intriguing question, provide a good answer, or back up your statements with a link to more information. Give people a serious reason to check out your blog or website and they will.

Format Wisely

• Aggressive formatting like ALL CAPS or links with no supporting text isn’t enticing at all; it’s sensationalism. Don’t try so hard to land a sale that you alienate people by creating aggressive content. Provide just enough of a tease that they want to visit your website.

Keep Separate Profiles

• On sites like Facebook and Twitter, it’s imperative that you create separate accounts for your business venture. You need to brand yourself as a professional and comments from your mom/sibling/best friend don’t come across as very compelling. You need real interaction with people that have used your service or profited from the knowledge you’ve shared.

The world of social media is complex, but it’s not that difficult to understand. Approach your contacts as friends. Friends share information and provide insight. A good friend doesn’t grab you by the back of the arm and twist until you do what they want. If you want social media to work for you, just be a good friend.

Chris Darling and Methodic Pages…I work with service based business owners who struggle with getting search engine optimized websites to represent their business online and want to benefit from standing out from their local competition.   I bring you a rare talent that integrates overall site layout, presentation, and on-page SEO with every project.   In working with me, my clients receive an interactive, highly optimized website that lays the perfect foundation for any online marketing strategy you decide to put into action.   If any of this speaks to you or your online business goals contact Chris Darling to get a free project based quote.

Related posts:

1. 4 Creative Social Media Plug-ins for WordPress