Grow Your Business With Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter

SEO Goes Hand In Hand With Social Media

Not long ago, when the subject of Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) was brought up, the discussion started and ended with keywords. Not so much anymore. Today, SEM and SEO rank depends on many factors. One important element that is not getting proper attention is social media marketing. Google now factors in social signals to rank websites. So now, not only can you engage with your audience on social media and get direct traffic, you can make such engagements count and benefit your search engine traffic as well.

But to really benefit from the immense reach and appeal of social media, you have to use them correctly. Let us take a look at the biggest players out there and try to understand the pros and cons associated with each. An understanding of these points will help you create a nuanced social media strategy for your business.

Facebook – This is easily the 800 lb. gorilla that lords over all other social media sites.

Pros –

• Almost 1.2 billion users. That is a lot of people to choose from. Your target demographic is definitely present here.

• Facebook makes it very easy to zoom in on to your potential customers via Facebook ads. Why? Well, where can you go that people freely tell strangers their likes and dislikes, where they live, and the types of friends they have?

• Successful Facebook pages cover the spectrum of business – small, mid, and large. Many of these have thousands of fans. You can earn business directly from you Facebook page or by sending the traffic to your website.

• You can showcase your product / service through video embeds, text, and images.

• Two-way communication on Facebook is smooth and intuitive. Private messaging happens in real time.

• You can cross-link your Facebook page nicely with your pages on other social media sites. Information update is a breeze.

• A number of Facebook apps exist that can help you with data analysis, jazz up your Facebook page and giving it more functionality, and a lot more.

Cons –

• The operation of creating a base on Facebook takes time. Be prepared for the long haul. It is best to come prepared with a strategy and a budget.

• Your audience invariably not in “buying” mode. Facebook isn’t that kind of forum. So, you have to spend time on building relationships and do a subtle pre-sell.

• Any kind of dishonesty with readers like deleting unfavorable comments can backfire massively. You really need to have your business in order before setting shop on Facebook.

LinkedIn – Ideal platform for professionals to network

Pros –

• It’s the place where you’d want to be to develop a career or business-related network.

• Groups on LinkedIn cover a wide variety of subjects; there are many great groups where you can pick up strategies and fine-tune your business practices.

• You can gauge business trends from the “Answers” section on the site.

• LinkedIn is an excellent site for background research on competitors and prospective employees. It’s a terrific site for collecting competitive intelligence.

• Testimonials on LinkedIn carry a lot of weight.

Cons –

• The free version offers limited functionality; if you plan on using LinkedIn for your business, consider subscribing to the paid version, which is not exactly cheap.

• The interactivity is limited; real-time chat not possible. LinkedIn’s platform inhibits quick data gathering and decision making.

• You cannot control who gets to see your updates, so you need to be careful about the content you put up.

• Groups are susceptible to a lot of spam.

• Advertising on LinkedIn is not as targeting as it is on Facebook.

Twitter – Cut the flab from your social marketing content

Pros –

• Brevity and precision in your marketing communication can be a big plus. The 140 character limit stokes the generation of creative content. Yes, it’s true.

• The number of twitter users grows exponentially by the day and currently stands at around 600,000.

• The city wise trends are a powerful indicator of what’s hot and if you’re alert, you can hitch your business to a relevant trend every now and then to gain eyeballs for your product / service.

• By the same token, you can quickly create communities with the use of hashtags. On no other social media platform have hashtags succeeded as wonderfully as they have on Twitter.

• Tweets are easy to create; you can schedule them to appear at regular intervals. They are easy to read and to digest by your readers. They’re great if you’re running an offer or promoting something.

Cons –

• You cannot connect one-on-one with your customers on Twitter, because there’s no chat here.

• The communication is pretty much a one-way street. Engagement with customers and prospects is more of a challenge as compared to what it is on Facebook.

• The information streaming on a Twitter user’s page can easily cause him or her to miss your tweet. Lists are an answer, but not a foolproof one.

That’s it in a nutshell. All three sites can help your business grow and prosper. Social media is here to stay. Engaging with prospects, customers, and clients will pay dividends now and in the future.