social media strategy - Express Writers

Does Social Media Actually Have Any SEO Impact?

December 31, 2020May 5, 2015 by Adam Oakley

Social media is becoming more and more a necessary value instead of a commodity. But still, many people question its necessity and validity. Some think that it can work well for certain businesses but that it might not be a tool that other businesses, including their own, will need. However, social media can be a great way to drive website traffic and bring in more clients and create long-lasting relationships with customers. One of the main questions that people bring up when asking about social media for their company is if it has any impact whatsoever on their SEO and just how much of an impact it might have. How Does Social Media Impact Your SEO? When it comes to search engine optimization (SEO), we are all looking for new and improved ways to help get our content noticed. I’ve talked about the many different changes to SEO over the last few months, especially Google changes, and the one thing many people wonder about is if social media has any impact. It might not seem like it has much of an impact, but you might be surprised when you get into the nitty-gritty of new SEO tactics. According to a Business 2 Community author, the reality is that social media does impact SEO and it helps to bring out great success for your website, content, and products. I am going to reference this article throughout this blog to give you some great reasons on how social media can and will impact your SEO. Does This Mean You Really Need Social Media? If you haven’t jumped on the social media bandwagon, now is the best time to do so. Many people wonder if they really need social media for their business because it seems like such a “young person club.” Many businesses that don’t reach out to younger demographics often question its validity, but it should be noted that many younger people started out with social media because their parents were on there, too. This means there is a wide age demographic throughout social channels, which can help you reach out to any age, not just young to older Millennials or even younger generations growing up. Which Social Sites are the Best to Boost SEO? There isn’t one specific site that truly boosts SEO the best. Google Plus is a great option to get ranked on Google, but again, it is not the only one that can do so. What you need to do is play around with social media and try the holy trinity of Facebook, Twitter, and G+ in the beginning. You can branch out from there at a later time, but get your feet wet first before diving fully into social media. Once you’re more established or understand a bit of the social media game, then it is time to get working on other channels if they will benefit your company. 12 Ways Social Media Actually Really Does Impact Your SEO Now that I have looked at why you need social media and that it can impact your SEO, you are probably wondering just how it does. I am also going to take a look at how you can use it to further your web content and business. Social Media Profiles Rank on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). In the Business 2 Community article I shared earlier, the writer mentions that social media profiles do rank on the SERP. When someone searches for a product or service, your social channels have a high likelihood of ranking in those search results, which can lead people to your business. This is why it is important to optimize your profiles fully before it is too late. Social Shares Can Give Your Webpage More Inbound Links. While you don’t always want to focus on inbound links, the Business 2 Community article points out that it does create great, organic inbound linking. These links will help to validate your website, and can help you become an authority with Google. When this happens, your website is more likely to be ranked higher than ever before, which is exactly what you are aiming for if you’re reading this blog. In short, your social channels and links will help create more visibility for your web page, which is a tremendous help to bring in new customers and more revenue. Mixing Social Media and SEO Increases Your Online Presence. Just like with blogs, social media, combined with SEO, can help increase your online presence, making it larger and more accessible. A larger Internet presence might seem daunting, but this is something you should be aiming for. If you do not have a larger presence, you are less likely to be found organically, which means more money being spent on advertisements to gain new clients. Traffic From Social Media is Organic Traffic. According to the Business 2 Community article, about 95 percent of all links created in traditional link building techniques aren’t very effective. They don’t bring in organic traffic nor do they bring in enough of your targeted audience to bring about the revenue and success you want to see. However, by using social media, you are much more likely to drive organic traffic from your links because it will come from your followers. This will bring in great quality visitors that are likely to turn into customers and they in turn can share your information bringing in even more customers. Social Media is the Best Way to Bring in Mobile Users. April 21st has come and gone, which means that Google’s latest, and largest, update has been in effect for a few days. This update makes it vital for all businesses to have a website that is mobile friendly, and what is the best way to bring in mobile users to your new, or freshened up, mobile friendly site? Using social media. You need to have a social media presence to bring in your mobile clients, and as we can all see, mobile users … Read more

When Should You Post Your Social Media Content? Is There A Magic Time?

January 1, 2021July 11, 2014 by Adam Oakley

How do you successfully get the most views to your social media updates? It seems almost impossible and can be a major letdown when you see someone randomly go viral. Just how does one do that? Did they use a different word than you? Or, did they simply find a magic time to post to social media? When it comes down to it, many people realize that they need to find that social media time sweet spot, but it is, yet again, something that seems unattainable. In this blog, we are going to talk about the various social media networks and when is a good time to post to each. When Should You Post To Facebook? Facebook is something we all know as a social site that helps us waste time when we no longer want to be in the office or to pay attention to things going on around us. Many office workers find that they will start to peruse Facebook when they are in a workday slump, especially towards the end of the week, according to Buffer. In fact, engagement rates on Facebook are at about 18% on Thursdays and Fridays – you know, those pesky days that stand in between you and the weekend. This is an optimal time to post your information because it has a higher likelihood of being seen. Buffer also points out that 86% of posts are made Monday through Friday, with a few posts on Saturdays. Buffer does say that another study points out that while actual posting is down on Saturdays, engagement with businesses is up to about 32%. These statistics show that the optimal time to post on Facebook is towards the end of the week. When Should You Post To Twitter? Twitter is a hard social media network to pin down when it comes to optimal posting times. It seems more people use Twitter on their mobile devices, which gives them quicker and easier access to view tweets. Because of this, many people will check their accounts multiple times a day. Regardless of this difficulty, Hubspot was able to get a decent amount of statistics together to help find optimal posting days for Twitter. It seems Twitter gets the most views Mondays through Thursdays around 1 to 3PM and the worst times to post are every day after 8PM and Fridays after 3PM. While this is all up in the air depending on your client base, Hubspot also points out that they can truly say what brings about more interaction – posting photos. Here are some fun stats about tweeting photos: You have a 36% increase in clicks. A 31% increase in site visits. A 41% increase in retweets. A 48% increase in favorites. A 33% increase in changing visitors into leads. A 55% increase in leads. While you’re working to find that sweet spot for timing, know that it is solid fact that you will bring in more views and leads simply by posting a photograph. When Should You Post To LinkedIN? Because LinkedIN is specifically used for businesses and business professionals, it is oftentimes used right before the workday begins and right after it ends, according to Entreprenuer.com. Entrepreneur also says that it is often used on Tuesdays and Thursdays around those times. If you make a post during normal working hours, it is less likely to receive views or bring in any clicks and visits. Try posting your LinkedIN material on Tuesdays and Thursdays specifically at around 7-8:30AM local time and avoid posting Mondays through Fridays between 1 and 5 PM. When Should You Post To Google+? G+ is yet another social media site that is best posted to in the morning. On the same infographic provided for Twitter, Hubspot says that the usual time people are on G+ is 9 – 10AM. The best time to receive the most engagement on your G+ updates is Wednesdays at 9AM. You will get more interaction and +1’s for posts made on those days. The worst time that Hubspot found for posting on G+ is very early mornings when people are either commuting to work and are too groggy to function fully or in the evenings when they are spending time with their family. An important fact about G+ and demographics is, according to Hubspot, it is growing rapidly with people between the ages of 45 and 54 years old. Keep this in mind as you post to G+ and make it friendlier for that demographic. Learn Which Times Work The Best For Your Social Media While these statistics are really helpful, it is wise for you to learn what times work the best for your specific audience. You can give the above a try, but if you notice you have little to no engagement on the suggested times, you should start to tweak it. Try earlier, if that doesn’t work, try later. The times vary for each business and person. Some people have more luck with posts made late at night because their audience is still awake while some have luck with early morning posts. Either way, you have to make sure you know what your audience wants and when they are online. You can find this out by looking at your analytics, or by simply asking your clients what times they are usually online. In fact, this is an integral part to having a successful social media strategy; your clients can help you improve everything regarding your social media presence. Try these times out and start tweaking until you reach the time slot that works the best for you!

20 Tips To Create A Winner’s Social Media Strategy

January 1, 2021February 14, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Go anywhere these days, in fact don’t even leave your home, and what do you find? No, it’s not infomercials for the next great cooking gadget that solves a problem that never existed. It is references to social media. Every company, business, person, dog, cat, and mythological creature has a social media presence. A few years back parents were mad at their kids spending countless hours on a certain social “space”. Well it has expanded from that and now the parents and grandparents aren’t questioning kid’s social media usage, they’re sending the kids stupid jokes and photos. Yeah that’s right, social media has spread to the masses. You have it, your grandma has it, your nephew has it, your employer has it, and your favorite store has it…notice a trend? A recent article by Fast Company about social media usage statistics provided some staggering figures. Some of the facts like “Social Media has overtaken porn as the No. 1 activity on the web” are just funny, while others like “93% of marketers use social media for business” show us the direction commerce is going. Regardless of if you are using social media for personal usage, to promote yourself, or to promote your business, it is an interracial part of the way people relate and communicate and is here to stay. So how can you use one of the most powerful communications ever to your benefit? Read on and find out. 20 Tips For An Awesome Social Media Strategy 1. Integrate your web presence with your social media content Let’s face it, you have your email address, perhaps you have ten email addresses. They are easy to get and free. You also have a web site. These days you can build it yourself for free, no knowledge necessary, or you hire an HTML expert to do lots of confusing stuff and build a site that dominates all. So how exactly do you get the customer or client from your email or web site, to your social media? Let’s face it; you and your business don’t look so stellar with only 12 followers. People judge this stuff, if a teenage girl has 300 followers, than your seemingly successful business should have tens of thousands. Establish an email newsletter, or if you have one, great. Now be sure that each issue not only provides links to your social media content but also references it. Tell the readers that if they go to your page and complete some function there is an incentive. Say this “visit us on ____ (insert your page info) and comment on _____ (whatever creative thing you come up with) and receive a 30% coupon code.” Now you are enticing them to go to your page and rewarding that effort. Try it. 2. Open up your perspective You’re not dictating to the board of directors here, you’re talking to the everyday average Joes and Janes that frequent your business. Sure they’re smart but social media is about being social, not suit and tie stiff in the board room. 3. Give them a path to follow Add buttons and links to your site. Every social media provider has predesigned HTML buttons that you can customize and pop in your site in seconds. Don’t hide them on some random subpage. Put them right there on the main page of your web site. Go ahead and do it, I’ll wait. All done? What you have just done is invited your customers and clients to join you. People love to feel like they belong. Getting them to join in on your social media content makes them part of your business and not just a client. And think of it this way, if one person likes your page their friends will see it and be lead to check you out as well. They are called followers for a reason. 4. Relate, don’t dictate to your followers Nobody will ever doubt the power of advertising. However, social media is more of a relaxed media. Relate to your customers. Be one of them, not a dictator. In fact, Social Media Examiner talks about accessing and knowing your audience. Seeing as they are not just a number, make people feel welcome at your business and make them want to return. Let’s say you own a restaurant, if you actually own one even better. Ads talking about your new dish or sandwich are great. However putting up a post about it and discussing it is better. Tell them the process behind it, where you came up with the idea. Show them a video of you making it. And post photos! People love photos, why else would Instagram exist? Get creative with some photo editing and include power words in your photo. Show them the sandwich with bold words talking about its attributes. The point here is not to lay down a sales pitch; people know when they’re being baited. Relate to them, imagine you are your customers and share with them. 5. Involve your entire workforce Are you a one man (woman) show or do you have an entire staff at your disposal? Your social media content should always be fresh and up to date. Who has gone to a page for their favorite restaurant or store only to see their last post was six weeks ago? If you are too busy to stay atop it then consider enlisting a social media content person. As a primary or additional job function they will make daily posts about sales, specials, and everything that’s breaking news for your business. People enjoy fresh content and they enjoy interaction. 6. Know what they know There is a chance that people on your staff have special skills you didn’t even know. Is the guy in the mail room a part time filmmaker? Well enlist him to make some video content. Does your waitress dabble in graphic design? Ask and you may be surprised. These are assets … Read more