I recently tasked one of our interns, Adam Lang, to write how SEO and social media were intertwined. I thought his response was very well done and am posting his reply in it’s entirety on our blog.

Making the most out of Social Media… The Intertwining of Social Media and SEO

If I told you that a small company trying to rank higher in the SERPS than that of a competitor who is three times the size would be much more difficult, you would probably agree with me. Now what if I told you that the smaller company spent a little more time doing some keyword researching and applying some other on-page search engine optimization techniques to their website, while the much larger company just sat back and only had a basic website?  Before you decide, take that a step further and combine the efforts of the on-page SEO with some off-page SEO such as integrating social media tactics and the small company with a few employees now looks as if they were the much larger company.

Social media transforms people from content consumers to content producers. It encourages participation: sharing, voting, commenting and linking. Social media can take many different forms, including Internet forums, weblogs, social blogs, microblogging, wikis, podcasts, pictures, video, rating and social bookmarking.

SEO considers how search engines work and what people search for. SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, video search and industry-specific vertical search engines. With the rise of Facebook, Twitter and other new medians of social media it is much easier to share viral information with your network. Reading a blog or seeing an interesting tweet and then retweeting it or linking it into your newsfeed increases that blogs’ chance of getting viewed substantially.

Combining search engine optimization with social media tactics can be greatly beneficial for the underdog. Making an effort in this can increase the discovery of your company in the social networks while also improving SEO by attracting links. Another example of this is when a customer is looking to buy a product physically at a store they are most likely going to stop by the larger store first. Now take that concept and apply it to a search engine and the company that shows up first and more so in the search rankings the more robust and reputable that company looks and the more likely it will have at obtaining that customer.

When writing blog or other social media content it is important to follow some of the same rules that apply to websites in terms of SEO.

• Editing the content to increase its relevance to specific keywords
• Optimizing the media such as the images, videos, etc.
• Removing probable barriers to the indexing activities of search engines
• Obtaining back links and inbound links from social media mentions
• Linking back to the company website for a smooth transition to key pages throughout the company website
• Keyword- rich anchor text
• Use social bookmarking sites like Digg and Stumbleupon to increase natural and influential inbound links while your social content goes viral.
• Create and optimize micro sites to use as hubs for specific social media campaigns.
• Create and optimize social media assets (Blog, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc) along with your website to ensure that you are taking up most of the space on the first page of the search.
• Tweets, retweets, and “likes” are having their effect on linking patterns and the SERPs that bring readers to blogs
• Follow others on Twitter, @ reply them, and retweet so there is a mutual engagement.
• Add applications within your blog to make it easy to share between various social bookmarking or networking sites

Intertwining SEO with social media cannot only help increase the page views of your blog or such but as well extend the value of your time and investment. With time that smaller company will look bigger than the company three times the size and will appear more in the search results. All of this effort will ultimately improve the traffic back to your website resulting in more sales.

Recently we were referred to a growing author and successful business man to generate buzz and awareness for his upcoming book and tour. After several interactions with him it was clear that he was viewing social media as traditional “push” marketing. The points below were articulated to him in an email…specific aspects of the email relative to his business were stripped away for this post, however I thought it would still be beneficial to share this information as it may help others better understand social media and how it can help grow their business.

1. Social media is not sales

Social media creates an environment for sales to happen, but social media itself is not sales. If you go into a social setting and “sell” it is frowned upon. Selling in social media is like pushing your products in church…People go to church, just like social sites, for a purpose and it’s very interrupting to “Sell” and push a message at them…It’s better to engage with them and participate in conversations. This doesn’t mean that you won’t meet and start your relationship with your best and most profitable customers at church.

2. Word of mouth marketing is the most powerful form of marketing

When people make a purchasing decision they often ask others what their experience has been with that brand or person through a social interaction. Think of social media as Word of mouth on steroids. There are over 400 million people on facebook and millions on twitter…talking with friends, associates and family members. Crafting a solid social media campaign with a little oomph can spread this Word of mouth of your brand virally throughout each person’s social circle.

3. Growing Awareness & Respectability is Key

The key to social media is connecting with people through content and meaningful interactions and revealing your expertise and thought leadership in the process. Once people know and respect you as an expert in what you do increased business and sales will follow. Think about Donald Trump, his personal brand is synonymous with business success (even though he has failed many times, as most successful people have). But the key is when Donald Trump puts out a book, tie or anything else with his name attached sales will often follow because people are aware of his his brand.

Which brings me to my next point….

4. Build a commnity

People often buy from people or brands they have a relationship with. Building up a community of loyal and engaged advocates will never hurt. It’s called herd marketing….Once you have a herd (engaged audience) you can lead them where you see fit. Part of this is building your communication touch points and customer contact information….Facebook, twitter and email addresses.

5. Social Media ROI

If people are engaging with your brand and spreading the word through their social circle you’re getting far more value from a well crafted social media campaign then “traditional advertising”. Social media is also not measured like typical advertising…We can measure it on a profit and loss statement…but as mentioned social media is not sales, it creates an environment for sales to happen and helps you connect with your current and potential customers to break through the clutter. You measure ROI for social media over time on the overall company profit and loss statement, because it’s difficult to measure where a specific sale generated from word of mouth actually came from. In social media you measure the word of mouth, communication with the brand, shares, web traffic and other key performance indicators.

—
If you have any additional ways that you feel help people to better understand social media feel free to leave a comment below.

If you’re interested in learning more about how you can take advantage of social media to help grow your business feel free to give us a call. Our team offers a free initial consultation and would be happy to assist you in finding success through social media.

David

Did you know there are over 400 million active Facebook users?  How about the fact that there are over 50 million tweets every day?   When you mix in YouTube, LinkedIn, blogs, Yelp, and hundreds of other social, review or community based sites what does this mean to your business?  It means people are talking.

Potential customers as well as existing or past ones are talking about your business and those of your competitors.  They are talking about what they like and don’t like, what problems they face and if you listen closely enough…what they are looking for.

Many businesses are aware of social media and have heard stories of the power it has to significantly impact their business for better or for worse.  They have heard the buzz about Facebook, Twitter and the power of the blogosphere.  But how does one measure the success of a social media initiative?

This is a hot topic of discussion within the industry.  There are many ways to measure a social media campaign.  Some of which include relatively straight forward and traditional metrics such as:

• Increase in web traffic
• Increase in sign ups, sales or leads
• Increase in fans, friends or followers
• Increase in video views (youtube/vimeo/etc)
• Increase in customer engagement (comments, replies, brand mentions)

There however is a much more powerful way of measuring social media.  That way is on the profit and loss statement of the business overtime.   A profit and loss statement (Income statement) is a very basic financial instrument used to determine the financial position of a business within a given time.  It’s basic formula is the core of any business–> Sales – expenses= Profits.

There are two ways to make more profits….which is generally the goal of any business….Number one save costs and number two increase revenue.

Lets take a look at how social media can do both for your business.

How Social Media Can Impact your Bottom Line

Top of Mind Awareness Leading to More Sales

By engaging with your customers online you are remaining at the top of their mind.  Engaging doesn’t mean spamming.  You simply need to interact with them, participate in conversations with them, wish them a happy birthday, etc.  By keeping frequent contact online with your current and potential customers when they are ready to purchase your product or service you’ll be the first company they think of resulting in more sales.

Save Marketing Dollars by Embracing Brand Advocates to Market For You

Word of mouth is the most powerful form of marketing that exists.  By rewarding your brand advocates or simply interacting with them publicly those in their social circle will be exposed to your brand. Social networks, blogs and twitter are all very viral in nature.   If you are interacting with a current customer through one of these channels…their friends will notice.  A simple example is when someone “likes” or “becomes a fan” of your business on Facebook this update is published in the news feed of that person’s friends.  This inexpensive form of marketing is very powerful and effective.

Utilize Social Media as a low cost Customer Service tool

In some cases social media is great as a customer service tool.  Since your consumers are talking if they have an issue show them that you are listening and respond to them promptly as possible to resolve their issue.  This will keep customers happy and show them you value their business increasing the life time value of the customer.

Distribute Coupons, Special offers and Discounts to Socially Connected Customers

It’s no secret that customers like deals.  Offer deals specific to fans, followers and friends on your social sites to keep them spending their dollars with your business.  Create fan only content on Facebook such as whitepapers, images, videos, etc to increase your social circle of influence.  If customers have a time sensitive offer or great deal the chances they are going to buy will exponentially increase meaning more revenue for your business.

Less expensive Market Research via Social Media

Social media is a powerful market research tool.  With it you are able to monitor consumer sentiment, desires and problems and adapting accordingly.  Market research firms can be expensive often charging tens of thousands of dollars for focus groups, survey distribution, etc…Social media provides a free focus group 24 hours a day/7 days a week.

Use Social Media to Gather Cost Effective Competitive Intelligence

Chances are that your competitors are on social media.   Social media offers you an easy way to keep tabs on your competition and not only see what promotions they are offering, but what consumers are saying about their products and services.  Social media can keep your team aware and on their toes…always two steps ahead of the competition.  This competitive intelligence can be used in a variety of ways which will favorably impact your bottom line.

Save money by Connecting with your Industry Online

Trade shows, industry networking events and training seminars can all be very expensive venues to attend.  There are many industry specific directories, groups and lists on linkedin, twitter, facebook and dozens of other community sites.  Engaging with industry professionals online can save you the cost of travel and also keep you up to date on industry trends without attending conferences, educational seminars, etc.  These relationships may also lead to favorable business development relationships opening up channels for new customers, cross selling, joint purchases for cost savings, etc.

And More…

In addition to the cost savings and revenue generating benefits of social media above there are some aspects that are more difficult to measure than others.   For example….

What if a consumer finds your brand on facebook then becomes a paying customer.  He then tells his neighbor down the street or friends at the gym and they call you directly.  You may not know where this consumer came from…all he may say is “Bob recommended you”.  Well Bob would not have found you and neither would his friend if it wasn’t for social media.

Social media is like physical networking on steroids.  Just as you may meet potential customers or friends at a networking event you can do the same online and so much more.  The beauty of social media is that you can also empower your brand advocates or brand champions to easily share their good experiences with your brand.

If your not utilizing social media or ignoring it…know that these conversations and interactions amongst your customer base are still happening.  It’s vital to be aware of them and get involved….If not your competitors will.

Contact us today for a free social media consultation.

David

Social Media can be utilized in many ways outside of standard interactions and basic communication.   Some additional ways that social media can be used that people often don’t thing about include market research, customer service, participation marketing, reputation management and as the title of this post suggests….Developing customer reward or customer loyalty programs.

The transparency and openness of Social Media makes identifying your brand enthusiasts very easy.  Word of mouth is the most powerful form of marketing there is.  Conversations are happening online all the time whether it be on established social sites like Facebook or Twitter or rising ones such as Yelp or FourSquare.   Identifying customers who are passionate and talking about your business or service within their social circle and rewarding them with bonuses or perks can do wonders for your business.

According to a new study customers are more likely to recommend a product, service or brand if they have good experiences with customer reward programs.  The Colloquy study, “Measuring Word-of-Mouth Activity Among Reward Program Members”, reveals that customers who have good experiences with customer reward programs are 70% more likely to recommend that product.

Of the 7000 respondents who participated in customer reward programs, 55% describe themselves as “brand champions”. A huge 68% of these “brand champions” say they will recommend a program sponsor’s brand during the year.

Here are a few examples of ways Social Media can be utilized to implement your customer rewards program:

1. Rewarding the Mayor of your establishment on FourSquare with a special offer or perk.
   Four Square helps people earn points and unlock badges for discovering new places, doing new things and meeting new people.  Nearly every retail business, bar or restaurant can be found on FourSquare.  The person who “Checks In” the most at that establishment is dubbed the “Mayor”.  Mayors in real life get perks and often the good graces flow back…why not reward your establishment’s social mayor on FourSquare?
2. Build a Facebook Fan Page or Group and send out messages with Discounts or Freebies
   When someone becomes a fan of your business or a member of your group on Facebook an update is shown to all of their friends.  This is free advertising and exposure for your business.  Once you have an audience connected with you on Facebook cultivate this connection by offering discounts or Freebies for being a Fan.  You can also craft a contest of some sort that engages your customers with a task centered around your product or it’s theme and reward the winner(s) with a prize.
3. Direct Message The Accidental Spokes Person a Coupon Code for Helping Spread the Word
   As mentioned people are talking about your brand online.  If someone talks about how they had a great experience with your establishment why not surprise them with a Coupon Code or small gift for their next purchase.  This small gesture and investment will pay off dividends.  This will form a bond with your customer and causing them to be even more exited to share their experiences with others in their social circle.

The first step in developing these customer rewards programs through social media is to reach out to your existing customer base and ask them to connect with you on their favorite social site.  Next determine where your other current, present or past customers are communicating with one another online and uncover what is being said about your business.  If it’s negative or you can’t find anything being said, you could use our help extending your social foot print or identifying these conversations through our brand monitoring service.  Finally figure out your brand champions who are sharing their good experiences with others and reward them!

There are millions of blogs, forums, social networks and other social sites that people congregate and discuss their experiences with businesses and brands just like yours.  Contact us today to be your guide in navigating this social landscape.  The team at Brand Advance will help you identify your brand champions, monitor your brand, craft a customer rewards program and fully harness the power of social media.

Thanks for reading!

Social Media can be an extremely powerful way to grow your business if utilized correctly.   There are many aspects of your business which can be improved by integrating social media into your marketing strategy.  For example social media can be used as a customer service channel, a tool to conduct market research, a way to strengthen relationships with existing customers, a platform to build relationships with new customers, a tool to increase brand awareness and so much more.

Below is a great video of Best Buy’s CMO Barry Judge talking about how Social Media is utilized by Best Buy.  The video also touches on Barry’s thoughts on social media as a whole.

Brand Advance is excited and eager to assist you in crafting your social media marketing plan.

One thing to remember is that if you’re not utilizing social media to connect with your target audience/consumer, chances are your competitor will.  Contact us today for a free consultation.