My official title is SEO/Online Marketing Coordinator. It’s my responsibility to get my client’s website ranking higher in the SERPs and generating more quality traffic, which then turns into more leads and eventually more sales. In addition to the on-page SEO (code, content, site structure, etc.) I do, I’m also responsible for the off-page SEO and general online visibility. When I talk with my clients about starting with social media marketing I get one of two responses:
“We had the receptionist do it for awhile, and it didn’t impact sales.”
or
“It’s a passing fad for college students and teenagers. Our clientele doesn’t do Facebook.”
Frustration of an SEO
After being stymied on multiple occasions by multiple clients, I’ve come up with a list of responses to make them understand why, for most businesses, social media marketing is no longer an option – it’s an integral part of any marketing and SEO strategy.
- Social media is where your customers are. According to an article by the Huffington Post, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/27/email-connects-the-world_n_1381854.html 62% of people worldwide are on social media.
- Social media marketing is already being done by the competition. At this point, I’ll show them the research I’ve done on their competition’s social media efforts.
- Social media marketing has become a critical piece of SEO after the Penguin and Panda updates. Shares, follows, +1s and likes, in addition to spreading your website’s online visibility, are all known to impact a website’s overall rankings in the SERPs positively.
- Social media marketing brings backlinks. One of the main factors in SEO and your website’s position in the SERPS is link building. The old school tactics of link building with directories, article submissions and blog commenting were demolished with the Penguin and Panda algorithm updates. Meanwhile, the new school link building from relevant and above-board sources has become more difficult. By using social media, businesses can market their expertise and knowledge to the world – gaining exposure, improving visibility and earning backlinks.
- Social media content is very shareable. It takes less time to hit the share or retweet button than to email a link to your friends. And with social media, those shares and retweets are going to a lot more people than an email.
- Social media is instant – allowing for real-time interaction and feedback.
- Social media lives forever – your Facebook Page and Twitter Feed will be there for clients to revisit and read.
- Social media is one click away from the buy button. If your website is also your store, by interacting with people on social media, you bring them one step closer to hitting the buy button.
- Social media allows for building a community and relationship with customers. In today’s marketplace, people want to buy goods and services from companies and people they can trust and identify with – not an unknown entity.
- The search engines now crawl Twitter.