Social Media Marketing - 7 Top Ways To Get Results
Some social media marketing experts question whether small business web sites are really linkable, but the truth is they are.
While it will take some work to obtain a return on the investment small businesses will have to put into the effort, the payoff can be worthwhile.
The investment in question involves the time and/or money that can be required to create a successful viral marketing campaign.
Unfortunately, small businesses tend to not have much of either to spare.
Still, social media marketing can offers some decent returns.
For example, a successful campaign can increase incoming links to a small business site and improve traffic figures for a time.
Any business, no matter its size, can produce materials that are worth linking to and placing on sites like YouTube, Digg or others that offers a good match for the material at hand.
Coming up with ways to increase social media marketing potential can provide a way to diversify and lessen reliance on any single traffic generating technique.
Some of the best ways to put social media marketing to work include: 1.
Blogging.
This is not a new idea, but it's an effective one.
This form of marketing enables an open line of communication between you and readers.
This is excellent for creating trust and loyalty.
Start out slow, using free software such as Blogger or WordPress.
The more effort that you put in over time, the more likely it is your blog will pay off for you.
2.
Commenting on other blogs.
Taking the time to comment intelligently on other blogs can pay off with hits on your own site.
Be sure to use your URL and a name when you leave comments on other sites.
Also, posting quality comments is very important.
3.
Become a user of Yahoo! Answers.
Take the time to answer questions related to your field via this incredible site.
This will put you in the driver's seat as an authority, especially if you have a level of expertise in your field and you let it shine during your answers.
Be sure to have a blog or web site in place to refer people to for more answers to their burning questions.
4.
Get the camera rolling.
If you take the time to make videos for use on YouTube, your own blog or web site, the effort can pay off.
The investment required nowadays to create a usable video is rather minimal.
Decent video cameras don't cost much and a short video won't take too much production or editing work.
Ideas for videos that can help boost your traffic and presence include visual tours of what you do or sell or something fun related to your field of expertise.
You can also use Camtasia to record your computer screen and audio.
5.
Pictures can say a thousand words.
Using sites like Flickr for social marketing is always a good idea.
The effort and cost involved in doing this are very minimal.
Sharing photos with a Flickr group can net thousands of views.
Seek out the right group and go for it.
Just don't overdo! 6.
Stumble upon StumbleUpon.
This social site is excellent for its rate of return versus investment of time and money.
Just make sure to join groups that are directly related to your field and add friends from these groups.
StumbleUpon is a fast and easy service to use that doesn't require a ton of effort like Reddit, Digg or even del.
icio.
us.
Remember this site is more about traffic building that actually gaining links, however.
This is a great tool for raising awareness, subscribers and readership.
7.
Get into groups and get on mailing lists.
The key to social marketing is seeking out potential clients where they happen to frequent.
Chances are some of your existing customers and many potential ones use things like Google Groups, Facebook or Yahoo Groups to discuss their interests.
Get involved in the action and share your expert insights.
Albeit an indirect form of marketing, it can pay off.
Each and every social media marketing opportunity out there will have its own rules of the road.
Learn and follow them.
The one Golden Rule to always remember is to not overdo.
For example, don't flood Flickr groups with hundreds of photos.
Instead, use social marketing to tout high quality, interesting content that adds value to the community in question.
If you can get this down, you will have social marketed aced.
While it will take some work to obtain a return on the investment small businesses will have to put into the effort, the payoff can be worthwhile.
The investment in question involves the time and/or money that can be required to create a successful viral marketing campaign.
Unfortunately, small businesses tend to not have much of either to spare.
Still, social media marketing can offers some decent returns.
For example, a successful campaign can increase incoming links to a small business site and improve traffic figures for a time.
Any business, no matter its size, can produce materials that are worth linking to and placing on sites like YouTube, Digg or others that offers a good match for the material at hand.
Coming up with ways to increase social media marketing potential can provide a way to diversify and lessen reliance on any single traffic generating technique.
Some of the best ways to put social media marketing to work include: 1.
Blogging.
This is not a new idea, but it's an effective one.
This form of marketing enables an open line of communication between you and readers.
This is excellent for creating trust and loyalty.
Start out slow, using free software such as Blogger or WordPress.
The more effort that you put in over time, the more likely it is your blog will pay off for you.
2.
Commenting on other blogs.
Taking the time to comment intelligently on other blogs can pay off with hits on your own site.
Be sure to use your URL and a name when you leave comments on other sites.
Also, posting quality comments is very important.
3.
Become a user of Yahoo! Answers.
Take the time to answer questions related to your field via this incredible site.
This will put you in the driver's seat as an authority, especially if you have a level of expertise in your field and you let it shine during your answers.
Be sure to have a blog or web site in place to refer people to for more answers to their burning questions.
4.
Get the camera rolling.
If you take the time to make videos for use on YouTube, your own blog or web site, the effort can pay off.
The investment required nowadays to create a usable video is rather minimal.
Decent video cameras don't cost much and a short video won't take too much production or editing work.
Ideas for videos that can help boost your traffic and presence include visual tours of what you do or sell or something fun related to your field of expertise.
You can also use Camtasia to record your computer screen and audio.
5.
Pictures can say a thousand words.
Using sites like Flickr for social marketing is always a good idea.
The effort and cost involved in doing this are very minimal.
Sharing photos with a Flickr group can net thousands of views.
Seek out the right group and go for it.
Just don't overdo! 6.
Stumble upon StumbleUpon.
This social site is excellent for its rate of return versus investment of time and money.
Just make sure to join groups that are directly related to your field and add friends from these groups.
StumbleUpon is a fast and easy service to use that doesn't require a ton of effort like Reddit, Digg or even del.
icio.
us.
Remember this site is more about traffic building that actually gaining links, however.
This is a great tool for raising awareness, subscribers and readership.
7.
Get into groups and get on mailing lists.
The key to social marketing is seeking out potential clients where they happen to frequent.
Chances are some of your existing customers and many potential ones use things like Google Groups, Facebook or Yahoo Groups to discuss their interests.
Get involved in the action and share your expert insights.
Albeit an indirect form of marketing, it can pay off.
Each and every social media marketing opportunity out there will have its own rules of the road.
Learn and follow them.
The one Golden Rule to always remember is to not overdo.
For example, don't flood Flickr groups with hundreds of photos.
Instead, use social marketing to tout high quality, interesting content that adds value to the community in question.
If you can get this down, you will have social marketed aced.