How Social Media Helps SEO

*Special Guest Blog post by Sachin of websudasa.com

Social media is one of the most popular marketing trends these days. Social media can easily help anyone to raise brand awareness as well as to generate more targeted visitors to your website. Have you ever thought how social media can help you in SEO? 

Let’s explore some of the most famous websites in social media like facebook, twitter, YouTube, digg and many more. Click here to find list social networking websites. Yes, there are hundreds of social networking & bookmarking websites available which can help you in SEO. 

Generate Quality Links with Social Media

There are so many SEO activities we do for link building but social media is in one of most effective ways to build genuine one way links. As you know one-way links are of utmost importance in search engine optimization. 

Here’s an example

You can do a search on knowem.com for your brand.

“Search over 575 popular social networks, over 150 domain names, and the entire USPTO Trademark Database to instantly secure your brand on the internet.”

Let’s talk about some of the most famous websites. How these websites can help us in SEO, see the image below for your reference

We actively started focusing on some of the most popular social media sites to generate some quality one-way links.

So let’s talk about some of the most famous social media sites.

How to use facebook for SEO

Some of the activities we follow to generate quality one-way links from facebook

1.       Submit website link in facebook business page

2.       Website link in facebook profile

3.       Write facebook notes to generate some targeted traffic and links

4.       Share one or two links or status update in profile or business page

How to use twitter for SEO

1.       Create your company/blog business profile & add your website link in profile

2.       Share your blog or website links on twitter. As soon as your tweets became popular or get a good number of retweets, they become good links.

How to use YouTube or other Video Sharing Websites for SEO

1.       Create a company profile or personal profile where you can easily add your website link.

2.       You can keep adding some of the videos related to your products or. Add your product or website link in descriptions.

How to use Social Bookmarking Websites

1.       Create your personal profile as well as company profile on most of the social bookmarking websites.

2.       Maintain your account by adding some friends to your network.

3.       As soon as you publish any post on your blog you can bookmark those articles on these websites.

4.       You can exchange articles with your friends to submit different articles from your account.

5.       You should get some votes for your articles to get permanent links from these websites or they will remove your link after sometime.

How to use Webmaster to Track Social Media Links

1.       Login to your Google webmaster account.

2.       You can check traffic -> links to your site - >more where you can see all domains that have links to pages on your site.

3.       Here you can easily find social networking and bookmarking websites.

4.       You can click those websites for more details & found what kind of content is getting maximum links. Write that type of content for your blog.

As many genuine and targeted one-way links as you can generate for your website will give you higher chances to get top ranking for your keywords in search engine.

Author Bio: - Sachin Bhutani, Internet marketing consultant and founder of SEO company in India. Writes articles related to SEO, PPC, blogging and making money online. Email info@websudasa.com if you’re interested in having Sachin write a guest article for your website.

30 Marketing Experts to Watch

These marketing experts really hit the mark. Yes, I realize it may not be practical to follow 30 marketing experts, but from this list you should be able to find at least a few that you really like – and that’s what’s important. I’ve divided them by where I follow them, although most can be found on multiple networks.

Blogs

1.      Directory Journal’s Search and Social Media

2.      Fluent Self – motivational

3.      22Michaels.com – marketing articles written by an entrepreneur (shoe store owner)

4.      Adsoftheworld.com – very visual view of new ads

5.      Dailyblogtips.com

6.      Guerrilla Communication Blog

7.      Brian Solis – technology, culture, business

Twitter

8.      Jennifer Mattern – blogger, business writer

9.      Pete Cashmore - @mashable, enough said

10.  Chris Brogan – social media blogger

11.  Julien Smith – coauthor with Chris Brogan of Trust Agents

12.  Liana Evans – social media marketing expert

13.  SocialMedia Revolver – tips for SMM

14.  Direct Marketing News

Facebook

15.  Wildfire Interactive – for SMM

16.  Duct Tape Marketing – for small business

17.  imFORZA – web design and internet marketing

18.  Mirror Communications

19.  Prime Social Marketing

20.  Marketing Savant

21.  TMA E-Marketing

Google +

22.  Jason Falls - Social Media Explorer

23.  Ann Smarty – My Blog Guest

24.  Google + for Business

25.  Rand Fishkin – SEOmoz

Pinterest

26.  Penny Sansevieri – author marketing expert

27.  Isabelle Duarte – follow her marketing infographics

28.  Sara Wingfield – PS Web Design, boards for infographics, brochures, branding, etc.

29.  Lori Randall Stradtman – social media humor, online reputation management

30.  If you made it all the way through this list, congratulations! Reward yourself by following me on Twitter @TerraLFletcher, Facebook.com/FletcherFreelance, LinkedIn and my blog.

Why Facebook WON’T Help Your Business

Yes, you read that correctly. This article is about why Facebook won’t help your business. I’ve been meaning to write this blog since I wrote, Why Twitter Won’t Help Your Business. And many of the reasons are the same. 

Overpopularity, Noise, and Content

There’s just too much noise. It’s hard to sort between the useless “I’m just getting out of the shower” and “I’m having an omelet for breakfast” and actual useful morsels. Because so many Facebookers update from their phones the site is becoming even more bogged down. No one cares about the mundane details of your daily life! (Or maybe that’s just me. I guess if you like reality TV and wouldn’t mind reading it instead of hearing it…)

Many businesses believe that Facebook is just about the numbers. It’s all a competition to see who can get the most likes. In my world, it is quality that counts, not quantity. Everyone knows that the closer you get to your target market, the higher your conversion rate will be. Why waste your time broadcasting to the world when you could be having smaller conversations at a deeper level?

Popularity is a double edged sword. When something is really popular, it isn’t cool anymore. Facebookers have a tendency to assume that everyone reads their every post. This can result in a faulty, inflated sense of self. People also forget that it is quite possible that everybody did read their post (reminder, check your privacy and security settings). So, you thought you were having a conversation with a couple of close friends? Nope, I read about it, too.

Time Waster

Let’s not even discuss the time waste factor. There is a huge learning curve and Facebook is always changing. Many marketers will tell you that most of the network’s changes are not in favor of business pages and marketers.

You can have success with Facebook. Anyone who knows me understands that I’m a firm believer in the power of Facebook for business. Just ease into it, get to know the pace and rhythm. Learn the rules, written and otherwise. You have to use the tool properly for it to work for your business. The more powerful a tool the higher the risks.

If you have found success marketing your business on Facebook, I’d be happy to hear how you did in the comments below.

Stay connected to Fletcher Freelance by liking our business page, following us on Twitter, or sign up for the Marketing Monthly newsletter (over there -->).

New Facebook Pages

If you haven’t heard the announcement from Facebook yet, here’s the news, “Coming Soon: New Facebook Pages On March 30, 2012, all Facebook Pages will get a new design. Preview your page now to see what it looks like and try out the new features.” Learn more by visiting https://www.facebook.com/about/pages/.

What’s Changing?

As some marketing experts had predicted, business pages are taking on a look very similar to Timeline for personal profiles. If you don’t know about Timeline, visit https://www.facebook.com/about/timeline.

Business pages will feature a cover photo, allow you to highlight new posts on the top of the page each week, and show recent activity and private messages (to admins) at the top of the Page. You can star posts by hovering over a story on Timeline and clicking the star. The post will then expand to widescreen. Friend activity will be more prominent. Insights have also been restored after being down for awhile.

To turn on a preview of your new page you can do so at https://www.facebook.com/about/pages/. Pages that have already undergone the change include Zena Caffee, Livestrong, and Hyundai.

Confused? Need help updating your page? Please call or email Fletcher Freelance at 715-584-6773 or terra(at)fletcherfreelance(dot)com.

Jumpstart Your Google+ Page

In case you haven’t heard, Google Plus Pages are here! If you’re ready for a quick how-to to get your page going, you’re on the right blog! Create your page at plus.google.com/pages/create. Please note: not everyone will be able to create a page yet, but soon everyone will be able to. 

Your Plus Page will look much like a profile and have a lot of the same features. Make sure you add anyone who has added your brand to a circle to your Page’s circles. Remember, this is why we like Google+, you can share the right info with the right audience. You may wish to distinguish between potential clients, past clients, and your network of resources.

Follow the prompts from Google Plus “Get Started.” Fill in as much content as you can; think “keywords” while you type. To toggle between your personal and business pages, find the drop down menu below your name and profile picture. You can go back to “Get Started” to finish where you left off. Notice the useful Admin section where you can get codes, badges, and locate your URL.

Be sure to link your website and your Plus Page. You’ll be ready for the Direct Connect feature when it becomes available to general pages. And make sure you add useful links to your About page. You’ll find this under “Edit Profile” “Recommend Links.” 

Add photos to the Scrapbook at the top; people are very visually inclined. If you are your brand, upload pics of yourself. You can even click and drag from an open folder elsewhere on your computer. (How cool is that?)

This is so new, I don’t have much else for you today, but add my page to your circle and stay tuned! And if you need help in writing your social media marketing plan for 2012 (or your general marketing plan) let me know. Call 715-584-6773.

Social Media Marketing Checklist

Who

The first consideration is the human one. Who will make the social media team? Consider your executive sponsor and who is already active in social media. Not everyone will be an asset to reach your objective. How will social media marketing best be carried out?

Listen

What is the brand perception? How do consumers refer to the brand, products, and services? What topics are of interest to your target market? What questions are being asked by prospective customers? You should be listening to your competition as well. Look for similarities and opportunities.

Have a policy to handle customer service issues, sales opportunities, and other important conversations that happen online. Messages need to be taken to the appropriate person/department in a timely manner.

Your Audience

Identify who your listeners are. Look for preferences in engagement and what information they need. What channels or medias are they spending the most time in? Who are the most influential of your fans?

Goals

Track your level of engagement, frequency of updates, and watch the dashboard. Goals should always include developing relationships, learning from customers, and gathering contact information. Set goals for likes, mentions, tweets, fans, friends, followers, etc. Watch for trends and revisit goals regularly. Place this metric next to the frequency and type of communication. You should be able to tell if videos are most popular or if your customers like helpful tips.

Plan

Your Social Media Marketing plan should be a subset of your marketing plan. SMM needs to be documented. What content will be shared and how? Will you lead conversations or react to them? Define the brand’s online persona. Set goals based on potential for prospecting conversations. It is also wise to set social media guidelines for employees.

For help in defining your social media marketing plan, call me today. 715-584-6773

How to Integrate Social Media for Business, Part II

Of course, you’ve read last week’s blog. You’ve followed the tips to observe, have an objective, join conversations, watch your analytics, and are now building relationships (or at least know how to). Part two takes things a little further. Remember that community is an investment in the cultivation of affinity, interaction, advocacy, and loyalty. You need to do more than create a social profile.


Reach Out

There are ideal social media participants who are key influencers. Proactively reaching out to engage potential ambassadors will go a long way in building a rich and rewarding network, full of valuable information and quality connections. Remember that the average person can have thousands of loyal followers.

Adaptation

Social media should be used to listen, respond, and adapt to ensure a company’s place in the market. Social media introduces new roles, necessitating organizational transformation to support social media objectives. Effective engagement, production, and brand/product evolution requires human resources. Improving products and services in response to community feedback requires internal collaboration.

Organizational transformations may include the support of Social Customer Relationship Management programs or sCRM. A company will realize that all departments can be impacted by social media. A network of internal brand ambassadors must work together. The company may work from top down, starting with social media policy and education; then empowering its employees. The organization will recognize that relationships with all people, not just customers, are equal.

Metrics

If you’ve been following this blog you’ve seen my 2010 internet marketing predictions. And if you get my newsletter you've read my 2011 internet marketing predictions (email "subscribe" to terra(at)fletcherfreelance(dot)com or sign up from the blog). Over the course of time between these two, my opinion on social media metrics changed. While I initially expected executives to be expecting measures of the true return on investment of social media dollars spent, I later recanted.

Most companies now recognize that this is just what needs to be done. However, if you are reporting to superiors not interested transparency or authenticity, you’ll need to further measure your efforts. The goal of such “higher-ups” is to steer the company toward greater profits. And I did previously mention that any social media strategy needs to include a clear goal and objective.

In order to measure the positive effect of social media, you need numbers. While you may not be able to measure explicit ROI (of course, companies with Super Bowl ads, don’t either), there are plenty of numbers to track. It is essential to measure data that correlates with activity. Track the number of fans, follower, and likes. Calculate the percent of engagement (2% feedback is good). Watch how many followers are active. Identify your biggest influencers. Strive to understand the volume, locations, and nature of online interaction. As you get more involved, the important metrics will become more clear.

For help with your social media strategy call Terra today at (715) 584-6773.

How to Integrate Social Media for Business, Part I

Corporate culture and specific marketplace conditions will impact social media success. Social media integration will happen in stages for both companies and consumers (and for some industries it’s easier than others). When you’re ready to immerse your business in social media take the following steps for an improved success rate.


First, Observe

Track what’s already going on. Eavesdrop a little before you walk into a circle of conversation and try to take center stage. Enlist the aid of Google Alerts, Twitter Search, or other listening devices. On Facebook, take some time to follow other businesses. Pick a few in your area. Pick a few in your industry (outside of your area). See what works well for them and be inspired. If necessary, devise a report for higher-ups to make informed decisions to proceed.

Your research should help you form an objective and a plan for your social media integration. Don’t just start publishing content. Create official presences. Use custom URLs, usernames, and/or page names that match your company name or brand. Track how quickly connections increase.

Join the Conversation

Start by responding to any early participation. Highlight events, activities, or announcements. Pay attention to the reaction of your audience. Respond and improve content over time by watching for emotional activity. Do your fans respond to humor? To what do they lend positive support? Do they have “hot buttons” to avoid?

Watch your analytics. Being aware of the number of fans, views per comment, and frequency of consumer engagement will help you gauge your effectiveness. If the network provides you with a chart of these metrics, note which comments of yours were at the peaks and the valleys. As you get more adept at understanding what your audience wants, you’ll be better equipped to humanize the content and let your personality (brand image) shine through.

Make it Count

Hear and listen, observe responses and mannerisms. Only by doing so are you able to understand points of pain, source ideas, foster innovation, gain inspiration, learn, and feel for your audience. Observe overall trends in social media to ultimate behavior. Look for answers to questions; where to concentrate activity, how frequent to comment, and with what tone?

Of course, you cannot do everything – nor should you. Focus your online presence where you would be missed. Search for places where influential dialogue transpires. Remember that the average person can have thousands of followers and a huge influence.

Remember your objective. Aimless chatter is not as effective as strategic communications. Building trust and loyalty takes effort. Captivating content will only come by shifting to purposeful, strategic communication with a persona worthy of attention and affinity. Only such communication will lead to action.

*Be sure to check out the business page Facebook.com/FletcherFreelance!

Two of My Favorite Sites Right Now

For those that know me, you know that I’m a bit partial to Facebook, but there are plenty of social networking opportunities out there. If you’re looking to add to your repertoire, consider these two sites that I highly recommend for my local clients to improve their online visibility.


Merchant Circle

MerchantCircle.com touts “Free Online Advertising. In just 5 minutes, we'll get your business more exposure on the Internet.” I’m enjoying “the largest online network of local business owners.” I can’t say for certainty yet how much business it has directly generated, but it has surely helped with “top of mind” among local business owners. And I’m pleasantly surprised at how far (geographically) my connections have reached. And the potential is huge. (If only I could get off Facebook and spend a little more time here.)

Merchant Circle is accredited by the Better Business Bureau, has about 1 million businesses, and a strong reputation. Merchant Circle promotes local shopping, extols the expertise of local business owners, and believes that local business is key to jobs and a strong economy; they run their business that way.

What should you do? Create a profile on Merchant Circle. It’s free! Upload pictures, publicize events, post updates, and connect with local businesses. Don’t forget to answer questions related to your industry. This is prime opportunity to show yourself a subject matter expert. Shoppers can circle their favorite businesses to receive news from them, write and share reviews, and create lists of their favorite merchants.

The Bubbler

TheBubbler.com is a little-known Wisconsin secret. The design leaves something to be desired, but the site “promotes Wisconsin businesses, organizations, people, and places with passion and commitment.” The forums are useful for both consumers and businesses. The directory listing of businesses is free and well organized.

What should you do? Sign up! Create a profile, upload a picture, add a link to your website from the signature, comment in the forums, and give a shout-out to your Wisconsin city/county.

Don’t be afraid to widen out in your online marketing. Take advantage of link building opportunities and the potential to prove yourself a subject matter expert. Set a designated time each week to devote to online marketing. Soon more people will be finding your business online.

And if you want someone to do it for you... call me... (715) 584-6773

Email List-Building Tips

You realize there are still significant benefits and a high return on investment potential from email marketing. How do you grow your list to tap this potential? Make sure you do the following.


People to Add

    • Customers

    • Clients

    • Members

Get New Names

    • Have a monthly drawing for a gift certificate, good at your business. Entry forms should include an email address line and a check box allowing permission to be added to your list.

    • Ask every caller if they would like your newsletter.

    • Request email addresses at point of sale, online, or at the checkout.

    • Use comment cards and surveys to gather emails.

    • Have a small display sign near the checkout, reminding them to ask for your newsletter.

    • Bring signup sheets to all events you attend (networking, presentations, tradeshows, etc.).

Make it Social

    • Collect email addresses from your social media followers.

        o (Yes, I can help you get an attractive Facebook landing page and make it compatible with your email marketing program.)

    • Add a “Join our List” button to your blog and website.

    • Make your email “sharable.” Add buttons for all major social media tools.

    • Share your emails from your personal and professional social media accounts (where appropriate).

    • Ensure that your newsletter is easy to forward.

P.S. Join my mailing list by clicking the button on the right of this column or email "subscribe" to terra(at)fletcherfreelance(dot)com.

Did you see me? I was on WFRV Channel 5 News.

This is one of the three clips I was in that aired yesterday.  Thanks Channel 5. (It's the one about Owens)



Too bad they spelled my name wrong. I'm not "Tara Fletcher."

Linkedin

I recently joined Linkedin. I just thought I'd let you know.

If you are on Linkedin and we've done work together, please be sure to let me know.

Thanks!

Marketing Tips: Your Employees as Billboards

Corporate apparel

Just think of all the people that walk through your door to come to work each day. Their apparel can improve morale, establish dress codes, and blur psychological barriers between staff. That is - if you have a uniform. In addition, quality corporate apparel boosts your professional image and increases brand awareness. (Isn’t that what marketing is all about?)

Custom embroidery in particular portrays quality, but even a simple screen-printed T-shirt can have positive results. Scenario: After work your employees go shopping, pick up their kids, or run other errands. If you have 100 employees and ten people see them with your logo in a week, that’s 1000 pair of eyes!

In addition to caps, jackets, and shirts consider giving gifts with corporate branding as sales or safety incentives. Pens, coffee mugs, and key chains are appropriate for smaller achievements. Totes, luggage, briefcases, and padfolios make nice gifts.

Social media

A great way to get your employees to spread the news about your company is through a contest. (We are all motivated by an appealing prize!)

Employees compete in creating the best commercial for your business. Give a few basic rules such as: a slogan they must include or a product they must feature. Mention the contest on your company website or blog. You might even want to set up a facebook page just for this purpose. The better the prize and more creative the advertisements, the more likely you are to increase awareness of your company and products/services.

YouTube’s contest channel is a free and fun way to showcase the commercials. Not only will employees talk about this contest, they will want to make sure all their friends and family vote for them. Your employees will blog and twitter about your company and their own ads. There will be mention of the ads on your employees’ social networking sites such as facebook or myspace.

Happy employees make for one of the best advertisements. Bonus: “Employee Billboards” cost very little, but have a high return on investment. Make sure you consider your employees as an asset in your marketing plan. Don’t have a marketing plan? Call 715-584-6773 or email Terra today.