You knew it was just a matter of time before the search engines truly used Social Authority as part of their algorithm to rank websites. So, the days of ignoring social media are in the past. If you haven’t yet integrated Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ into your website marketing – you can’t wait any longer.
I just finished reading this great article – 3 Steps to Using Social Media to Improve Your SEO in Search Engine Journal. It’s a quick and easy read so I encourage you to do it. But basically, it emphasizes the need to get out there and make some noise (in social media that is).
The 3 main steps the article outlines are…
1) Increase Your Social Shares
This just means to increase your posts, tweets, etc. In other words, get out there and start talking. (Typing and texting actually). But the point is to engage in social media. Spring time is here, do you have specials to announce? Are there new employees or clients that you can boast about? Is there something new happening in your industry that may be of interest to your clients? Are you pondering a question that your clients may be interested in (and maybe help?). Anything that is related and may be of interest to your customers, is worth talking about. And if you can talk about it to someone in front of you, there’s no reason why you can’t talk about it on a social media platform.
2) Grow Your Audience To Build Authority
A great quote from the article, “In this digital age, it’s important to remember that everything you say and do contributes to the overall perception people have about you.” What you say online gives your readers a visual picture of who you are and what you stand for. It’s part of your branding.
I borrowed this graphic from the article but it explains how it’s all connected.
Portraying the image that want others to see (and hopefully it’s your true image) – you’ll attract others of authority who will want to listen to what you have to say. You’ll build a following. That’s the point.
3) Engage With Authority Users
I know, this is the clincher, the factoid that usually closes the deal. You actually have to USE social media. What I mean is you can’t just open a Twitter account, write one tweet and then walk away. Just like websites, social media is meant to be used and changed on a constant basis. When someone walks into your store, or you go to a networking group to meet others, do you say the same exact speech? Do you wear the same exact clothes? No. You’re not a robot. You’re human (hopefully) and your social media accounts should reflect that. So, that means ENGAGE! Talk with your readers. Listen to their comments and respond. As much as you can.
I remember years ago when I was doing the whole business networking thing between chambers of commerce and business groups, the one thing they all kept repeating was that what we did today will come back to us eventually. In other words, all the marketing and efforts we put out today may not yield in a new client or new business today but it will eventually. And they were all correct. It’s been 6 years or more since I’ve attended any of those types of groups and I’m still getting referrals and business from folks I met back then.
The same is true for social media. Just because you post a note on your Facebook Wall today, doesn’t mean your business is going to grow instantly by next month! So, be patient, be persistent and be social!!
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