Social Media for Search Engine Visibility
I’ve heard marketers express frustration with building their brands online, saying that effective branding strategies conflict with effective SEO strategies. We’ve all seen sites that are heavily optimized that look ridiculous, like a giant page of keywords, while beautiful sites (some) struggle to make the important first few pages on Google. Enter social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Social media sites provide an opportunity to extend your brand’s visibility on high traffic sites, while strategically crafting a SEO friendly brand experience.
It sounds like the perfect combination - social sites rank well on search engines, anyone can create a social network profile, and Myspace and Facebook combine to provide visibility even the SuperBowl would envy (since the SuperBowl only happens once a year, and the average Facebook/Myspace user spends an average of 10 minutes per day on the site according to Nielsen Net Ratings.)
While social media has provided an entirely new model for brand building and search engine visibility, companies can’t forget that the web moves quickly. Blogs have proven that success comes with valuable content and frequent updates, and social media is extending this model. A Facebook profile isn’t enough, it’s critical to think about a strategy for reaching the right people on social networks, just like you do with any other kind of marketing.
Here are my top 5 ways to leverage social media to build your brand:
1. Ask your customers where they are online. It’s a great place to start, and my experience is that they are more than willing to share.
2. Myspace isn’t the only answer. There are other social networks that are growing rapidly.
3. Make it part of your day. Check email, check voicemail, check profiles - now reply.
4. Link back to your site. Don’t forget, the more high ranking links to your site the better.
5. UPDATE…UPDATE…UPDATE.
Tags: Search Engine Visibility, Social Media Marketing, social-marketing, social-networking