A website is also the perfect vehicle for marketing products and advertising your brand. To increase the popularity of a site, most business websites feature attractive themes and friendly layouts. However, even with these measures, without the use of social media, marketing your products or services is going to difficult.
Why you Need Social Media
Social media is an invaluable part of any marketing campaign. Unlike television commercials, it allows businesses to break through the 'third wall' and actually interact with their customers. This personal connection encourages the formation of deeper bonds and increases the likelihood of your followers sharing your products or website with their friends and families.The close connection also gives business owners an effective way of monitoring the experience of their customers.
Integrating Social Media to your Website
Thanks to the advancements in the web, integrating social media to your website has become easy. But in order to do this, you will need to reach a decision on the social networking platforms that you want to use, and then work out an effective marketing strategy.With so many options to choose from, this can be tricky. Social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Tumblr are popular choices, because of the size of the network and the wealth of tools that they offer. But there are dozens of other platforms that you can consider. Understanding the different feature and benefits offered with each, will help you in making the right decision.
Working with Share Buttons
Adding share buttons to your website is a simple, but incredibly effective way, of encouraging sharing on your site. Once you have decided on the platform, that you want to work with, it is vital that you include share buttons on your page.This way, visitors who like something on your website, can easily share it or recommend it with their friends. For the best results, they should be placed on parts of the page that are easy to see. A good tip is to place share buttons after a blog post or product.
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Facebook Vs Twitter
So which should you choose Facebook or Twitter? The straight answer is both. Facebook and Twitter are two different kinds of social media platforms that function in completely different ways. Of more importance is the fact that they address different marketing needs.Twitter, is an excellent choice for viral marketing. Its short content makes it a great vehicle for quick updates and announcements, and starting conversations based on trending topics. However, if you are looking for a social media platform that will help you forge a deeper relationship with your clients, then Facebook is a better option.
To understand why both platforms are so important, consider the following U.S statistics. (You do not give stats on BOTH platforms. Also, please cite your sources)
- There are 500 million Twitter users
- There are over 340 million Tweets every day
- 15% of adults use Twitter
- 15% of Female Adult use Twitter
- 14% of Male Adults use Twitter
- 8% of the U.S population use Twitter everyday
- There are 8,900 tweets every second.
- There are close to a billion Facebook Users
- Half a billion people log into Facebook everyday
- 53% of Facebook Users are Female, 47% are male
- There are over 200 million Facebook users in Europe
- Every 60 seconds, over 500 comments and 135,000 images are posted and uploaded on Facebook
Spreaker
Another way of integrating social media into your website is with the use of podcasts. Podcasts offer added benefits to your page content. They also increase the value of your website.A quick search online will reveal that nine out of ten business websites have Facebook and Twitter share buttons installed. However, very few businesses offer podcast. In the competitive world of online marketing, podcast are a great way of improving your visibility, especially if you need an edge over your local competition. That is because:
- Podcast are easy to listen
- Podcasts can be heard on computer, tablets and mp3 players
- Podcast offers on-demand content
- Podcasts create a more personal connection
- Podcasts can be shared via social media
Adding a podcast to your website is not difficult. All you need is a quality mic and headphone set and a free podcast application like Spreaker. You can also encourage subscription by including share buttons on your Spreaker page.
The Wrap
Keeping your site optimized for social media is an unending process. Although it is important to integrate your website with social media, you are not obligated to connect your website with every single social media platform that you are part off.Instead, only choose the platforms that you have the most activity in. That way, your customers do not end up with a Facebook profile that you never visit.
Benjamin BakerAbout the Guest Author:
Part writer, part research hound, Benjamin Baker spends a lot of his day surfing through sites such as www.openwebsitetutorials.com. During the weekend, or the days he is not working, he loves fishing or going camping with his family. He lives in Denver with his wife, and is the father of three teenagers.
