When you’re trying to attract a new audience, boost engagement, or market your brand, it requires a combination of quality web design and a strong social media presence. The two can work harmoniously together with a bit of extra attention.
There’s no denying that your web presence and social media presence are likely very different. Your website is where your audience will go to learn more about your brand, do some shopping if applicable, find where you’re located, and look into your company history. However, many people are turning to social media first nowadays when it comes to looking up brand information.
They might not get as much detail as they would from your website, but they will quickly see how often you engage with your audience, the tone of your brand voice, and much more. Your goal should always be to drive web traffic and encourage people to get to know more about you. So, why not use social media to your advantage?
Building a social media presence can help create a natural flow of traffic to your business’s website. As a result, you’ll see boosted site metrics and, potentially, a greater ROI. Let’s take a look at the importance of social media for businesses and how a strong social following can have a positive impact on your website.
Which Platforms To Use
There’s no right or wrong when it comes to signing up for different social media platforms. Feel free to create accounts wherever you’d like and play around with different features. However, setting up separate accounts on all of today’s available social media outlets can end up being overwhelming and stressful. Plus, not every platform will make sense for your business.
Focus on the ones that do. Today’s top social media sites are:
- Instagram;
- YouTube;
- Facebook;
- Twitter;
- TikTok;
- Pinterest;
- Snapchat;
- LinkedIn.
Do you have to have a presence on all of these platforms? Not necessarily. Consider who your audience is and how you can engage with them the most. For example, if you run an e-commerce business and your target audience is under 40, Instagram should be your top priority. If you want to promote entertainment and education with your products or services, you should be using YouTube and TikTok. If you’re mostly interested in creating a community, focus your efforts on creating a Facebook page for your brand.
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The more you focus on the right social media platforms, the easier it will be to grow your audience, boost engagement, and eventually capitalize on social SEO to attract visitors to your website.
How To Create a Strong Social Media Presence
No matter which platform you use, the next step in making a social media presence work for your website is to boost that presence. Don’t simply create accounts on multiple platforms and let them go dark for days.
If you’re new to social media or you aren’t sure how to use it for a business, there are plenty of ways to be active and boost engagement quickly. First, take the time to familiarize yourself with whatever platform you’re using. That will make it easier to understand and follow current trends so you can quickly get effective content ideas. That doesn’t mean you should mindlessly follow any trending topic, but there’s bound to be some way you can integrate your brand and your voice into what’s currently viral.
Once you get more comfortable with your platforms and start to find your voice, use some of the following strategies to boost engagement:
- Create posts with video and other visuals;
- Ask questions;
- Stay relevant;
- Stay active;
- Pay attention to customer service;
- Interact with your audience.
One of the great things about social media is that you can easily look at and track your analytics. You’ll see which posts are performing well and with which members of your audience. The more you start to analyze your data, the easier it will be to create more effective content that people want to interact with.
Most importantly, don’t be afraid to let your “human” side show. Social media should be just that — a place to be social with your audience and make them feel more comfortable with your media. While having a solid strategy in place is important, don’t compromise the heart and human nature behind your content.
Bridging the Gap
So, you’ve set up all of the right accounts and you have a steady following on your platforms. Your audience is engaged. You’re building trust and fostering relationships. How can you carry that kind of success and loyalty to your website?
First of all, social media will boost your brand recognition. It’s one of the most cost-effective ways to advertise your business and draw attention to who you are and what you do. The more engaged your audience is on your social media platforms, the more likely they are to visit your website.
As you start to foster relationships with your audience on social media, you can use link building to your advantage. Share information, media, and interesting products or services with your social media audience by creating posts that link back to your website. Make sure you’re not trying to directly sell them anything in those posts. Consumers are smart, and they don’t come to social media to see traditional advertisements. They want to feel like the brands they trust are old friends, not salespeople.
Social media can also benefit your business by boosting your referrals and “word-of-mouth” advertising. Every marketer knows that kind of free advertising is worth its weight in gold. Social media is like a big digital community. If you do a solid job interacting with your audience, they’re going to share what they know about your business with their friends and family. That might draw new people to your social media platforms, but it will also send them to your website so they can learn more about you for themselves.
Finally, you can use social media to appeal to different demographics who might not otherwise know about you. For example, Gen Zers aren’t as likely to look up websites on their own, but they are incredibly active on social media. When you have a strong presence, you could get their attention and eventually direct them to your website for more information, growing your audience in new and effective ways.
Nowadays, having a solid social media strategy, as well as a strong web presence, is crucial. Don’t assume one is more important than the other. While they are very different things and can provide different types of information, you can use both of them to build your audience, establish trust, and foster customer loyalty.
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About our Guest Author: Katie Brenneman is a passionate writer specializing in digital marketing content. When she isn’t writing, you can find her with her nose buried in a book or hiking with her dog, Charlie. To connect with Katie, you can follow her on Twitter.
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