Even though social media has grown in significance, and it has now become a necessary part of a businesses’ online strategy, it should not completely replace the traditional methods of online marketing. Social media has an important role in creating relationships, building brand and customer confidence in your business, product, or service. For most businesses, your website is still the main place where you would convert your prospects and network friends into customers.
You also want to keep in mind that you still want to spend your marketing dollars building up your own online asset (your website) instead of another’s online asset (your social networking sites). If you spend your efforts and energy promoting your Facebook page, Twitter account, or Youtube channel, in lieu of your own website, then you are putting your online presence at risk. If one of your social network sites closes down, or your account gets deleted, then you lose your main means of marketing your business online. Keeping the marketing focus on your own website allows you to maintain control of your online marketing.
That being said, how does the ever busy entrepreneur keep the appropriate level of focus on their own website while taking advantage of their social media networks to increase product or service awareness and create more clients and customers from this integration?
Well the first step is to be clear on what the focus is for each one. Use your social media accounts to generate awareness for your business and services and then use your website to convert them into sales and new clients.
Your social media traffic is different than the majority of your other traffic sources because it is what is considered warm traffic. These visitors already know you and are familiar with you so you don’t need to use your website to introduce them to who you are, why you are different and why they should buy from you. By being a member of your social network, your visitors should already have that knowledge. Your social media traffic should continue to reinforce your social image, yet your landing page should also add to their motivation to take an action now. For example, if you position yourself as an expert in public speaking on your social media networks, you would send your social media traffic to a page on your website for those that want to get more information, or training in public speaking. That webpage would then tie back to what you talked about in your social media site about getting training in public speaking.
Ways in which you can integrate your social media account with your website include the following:
1) Connect your blog to your social media accounts. Places like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+ will automatically publish your blog posts to your accounts. This is an easy way to keep your online networks updated and connected to what you are doing.
2) Place the social networking buttons on your website to encourage random visitors who may not want to sign up to your newsletter, to connect with you on your social network account. This is only useful if you intend to update your social network accounts on a regular basis. This is why it is beneficial to connect your blog to your social network account because it becomes easy to keep you in the minds of your social network members.
3) If you have a Twitter account, post your Twitter stream on your website. Your Twitter stream should be tweets that are related to your business, and not what you had for lunch that day, when you went to the bathroom, who you’re flirting with in the bar… etc. They should be tweets of business quotes, links to helpful related resources, useful blog posts that you feel will help your client base, and your opinion on news occurring in your field and other types of similar topics.
Integrating your Social Media marketing strategy and your web site marketing strategy will give you the best outcome in terms of creating more online traffic and business, while allowing you to build your own online asset to add financial value to your overall business.
