When it comes to an SEO campaign people tend to focus on site optimization, content creation, and link building. They look at search engine ranking, keywords, and conversion rates. But one thing that is often left out of the conversation is social media.
For those that are from a generation that grew up without social media, it can be easy to dismiss it. Social media is often looked at a form of entertainment, not for professional businesses. Even with the rise of social media advertising and product endorsements on those platforms, people turn their noses up at it.
There are multiple ways a company can use social media to benefit their SEO campaign. There are also multiple reasons a company should use social media to boost their SEO campaign. Here are the reasons why you should consider adding social media management to your SEO practices.
Time & Frequency
About 1 in every 3 minutes online is devoted to social media. Not being a part of that market means you are missing out on valuable online time. With programs like Hootsuite, managing social media sites is becoming easier than ever. There is no excuse not to be a part of the social media landscape.
Approximately 97% of adults online visit at least one social media site a month with most visiting sites multiple times a day. Again, not having appropriate social media profiles on these sites means that you are missing out on a vital market of eyes.
Increased Visibility
Social media sites will increase your company’s visibility in a number of ways. For one, having a profile on a relevant site will mean those eyes focused on social media have a chance of seeing you. Secondly, the more profiles you have the more your name appears in search engines.
Imagine someone searches for your company name. If you don’t use social media your company’s website will show up and possibly a few other directories. Now if you have social media and someone searches you name that means that more links show up. What both of these things do is increase your brand and company’s visibility and online presence.
User Interaction
A huge benefit of social media is the two-way communication it allows for. On a standard website, the only way communication is one way through posts made by the company. Comments and contact pages might allow for some two-way communication but it is limited and most users don’t utilize that.
With social media, you have an opportunity to interact and build a relationship with users. Direct messaging and responding to comments are great ways to do this.
Increased Traffic
Well-run social media sites will attract users, engage them and then send them to your main company website. Think of social media like the bait. If users like what they see in the snippets they will be intrigued to learn more. By attracting them through social media you skip the searching step and jump right into increased organic traffic.
Link Building
One of the defining features of SEO is link building. Basically, that means having links back to your own company website on quality and relevant websites. This is usually done on related blogs or directories but social media provides another opportunity for this. You can link back to announcements, blog posts and updated information on your website on your social media profiles.
Brand Building
Social media sites will build up your brand in terms of authority and reputation. Having a well run social media site tells your users you know what you’re talking about. Consistency and accuracy are key here. Posts about relevant topics and make sure your information is correct.
Which Sites Should You Have?
The key to social media and SEO is only relevance. It can be tempting to see all these benefits and signing up for every social media site there is. Doing this will only hurt your company and brand, though. Only create profiles on relevant social media sites.
There are a few social media sites that every company should have a profile on, though. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ are all must haves. These sites let you build a profile, link to blog posts, interact with your users and create an online presence. They are good sites for any company due to their ability to host a variety of knowledge and companies.
You may wonder about the other popular social media sites, though. Instagram, SnapChat, YouTube and Pinterest all have huge markets. However, not every company will have a use for these sites. This is where hiring an SEO company to do your social media management comes in hand. An SEO company will be able to select which sites fit your company best and run them well.
Conclusion
Social media and SEO will only benefit each other. Social media can help increase visibility, ranking, and links but it will also make it easier to interact with users and build up your company brand. Make sure the sites you pick are relevant and we highly recommend doing research first. Search to see if companies similar to yours are using those social media platforms first. It never hurts to ask a professional SEO company for help and advice either.