Five years ago any SEO would probably laugh at you if you said social media likes and shares can boost your rankings. But the way search engines work is evolving. And these days more and more experts say social media matter for your SEO.
That is one of the key reasons why brands have started investing more time into growing their audience on social platforms. SMM doesn’t come down to rankings only. Interacting with your customers and leads on social media websites gives you a chance to get more connected with them, and ultimately increase brand loyalty. The trick is using each platform the right way, because what works for Facebook may be useless on LinkedIn, and vice versa. So what’s the specifics of the most popular social media websites?
Facebook and Twitter
A lot has been said on the subject of these super popular platforms. But there is no universal success recipe: what works for one business, falls flat for another. For many people, the problem with Twitter is the limited space that doesn’t allow you to say what you want and make it exciting enough. Facebook gives you more opportunities for engaging your followers. But this is a platform where most people are too busy liking photos and exchanging messages with their friends. To catch their attention, you need to challenge them, get them to participate and interact with you. Contests and unusual campaigns can be effective for that.
Being a professional network, LinkedIn is a more effective tool for businesses that target certain professionals. Like marketers or HRs – rather than consumer-oriented ones. Another peculiarity of LinkedIn is that its whole point is exchanging business ideas and valuable information. So plain self-promotion will not work here. You can get yourself noticed by participating in discussions, being active in groups, and sharing things that are useful for your target customers. The main thing is making sure your activity presents you as an expert in your field and a professional people would pay attention to.
Google+
Many experts believe Google favors brands that perform well on its own social media platform Google+, which makes sense. Like LinkedIn, Google+ is not the best place for targeting consumers, though it does get its share of attention from general public. To use Google+ effectively, make sure you have a good profile that highlights your expertise. An important benefit of the platform is its “circles” functionality that lets you make your posts more targeted and get more response as a result. Instead of posting the same information to all your followers. You can split them into more targeted groups and let them see only what will be interesting for them.
Social media platforms are not created equal, and not every business can be successful on all of them. By trial and error, you can determine which ones work better for your company, and eventually develop a unique strategy for every platform to get both great rankings and and an engaged audience.
Which social media work better for your business? Do you have a different strategy for each platform? Share your experience in the comments below.
