Online marketing is an art that is continually evolving. Both SEO and social media marketing play a role in this, yet many businesses fall into the trap of focusing on one side of the equation, at the expense of the other. The impact which social media has on public opinion is undeniable, yet with over 90% of all online experiences beginning in search traffic, it is critical to merge these two avenues. When one successfully establishes a balance between social media and SEO, the impact on the growth of your business is profound. Here we take a look at the most lucrative and innovative strategies to sync your social media and SEO strategies. Lift your online presence using these seven stellar solutions.
1) Diversify Your Social Media Reach
The more social networks that you establish yourself on, the more exposure you will reap. If you are using Facebook and Twitter, there is no reason not to expand to networks such as Instagram and LinkedIn. Content created for promotion on any particular platform takes but minutes to repurpose and optimise for other social networks. Each share, post or promotion should always take place on as many social networks as possible, so long as the platforms are relevant to your core audience. The use of favicons is a great way to encourage users to share your creations and interactive content is always a winner. Be sure to design on-page content which engages the reader and structure your social media posts intelligently. Use titles which shock, surprise or intrigue the reader. Less is more when promoting on social channels, so keep your posts short but striking.
2) The Open Graph Protocol
If you are not specifying open graph tags for your posts then you are likely not fine-tuning your featured image, title and metadata for social media. Open Graph tags allow you to specify the image, title and description for any post, as it will be seen on any particular social media platform. Social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram select how the share will be displayed from this information. An image in the correct dimensions should be specified and tagged for the appropriate network. There is no better way to boost the performance of your social media links.
3) Rank Your Social Media Profiles
Once you establish a familiar, authoritative presence online you have the benefit of consumer trust on your side. The way that your business is perceived makes a huge difference to your customer acquisition rates, customer retention and profits. Social media profiles are relatively easy to rank within search. For example, Google will pull your company information from your Google+ profile onto its SERP results if one is readily available (probably the most useful thing about Google +). Company social media profiles give you a way to convey the personality of your brand while also allowing for easy search engine ranking. Be sure to structure your social posts according to your brand’s keywords (brand name, slogan and closest associations) and start building some backlinks.
4) Merge Local SEO And Local Social Media
When you begin to laser target your social media campaigns, focusing on local pages and groups, you tap a huge market. It is a far easier exercise to rank your site within a given locality, rather than a broad country-wide demographic. In a similar sense, be sure to join and engage in as many local interest groups related to your brand as possible. From this niche-specific social media audience you will reap not only increased search traffic, but a viewer-base which is interested in your product or services specifically. The practice of capitalising on local SEO and social media opens the doors for extensive research into local preferences and demographics, increasing the performance of your marketing campaign.
5) Create Structured, Scannable, Engaging Content
SEO is no longer a matter of keyword density. Search rankings rather gauge the worth of your content based on the searcher’s intent. You thus need to develop content which includes keywords from the entire related word cloud to the idea or subject which you are addressing. You cannot keyword stuff or hyper focus on any single word or long tail. Your keywords need to reflect an understanding of the subject, not just a regular frequency of repetition. The easiest way to ensure that you are creating a reader and search-spider friendly article is to segment it into well-organised paragraphs, including lists, bullets and media resources such as images, infographics and videos. Once you have your content divided into scannable chunks, you will be able to better judge whether you have included the correct related keywords and phrases or not. Always keep in mind how most audiences browse social media in your niche, prior to designing content.
6) Jumpstart Your Marketing With Live Streaming
Social media is all about the power of now. People turn to social media channels when they want up-to-the-moment updates from their social circle. Platforms such as Facebook Live and Twitter Periscope are a huge asset to any business or marketer. Be sure to tap into these markets, ensuring that you stream during large current events which spur consumer interest. Similarly, promotions should all be taken to a live streaming platform to be rewarded with the biggest influx of subscribers and visitors to your website. Schedule posts only if there is no way to provide live-posting and social commentary. Social networks draw an audience that are focused on instant responses. The more current you’re marketing efforts, the more they will resonate among online communities.
7) Integrate Keywords Into Both Social Media Updates And Blog Posts
You need to make your keywords clear to search spiders. Always address the same keyword cloud in both your blogs and articles, and your social media updates. While the effect of social media on search rankings remains hazy, it does have an effect. Your viewers are also far more likely to recognise your content based on their keywords of interest, rather than leaving things ambiguous. Many marketers believe that social media users sharing or retweeting your content, also has an effect on your search engine ranking. High authority social profiles also typically have a greater content reach and a loyal following. This of course translates to better exposure if you can get yourself noticed and shared. The practice of including your keywords in your social media posts ensures that the point of your post never gets missed, increasing the chances of others seeing your content.
Grow Your Social Media Presence With SEO
Successful marketing is all about content, approach and appeal. Make sure that you repurpose your content to fit multiple social networks, while keeping a sound SEO strategy in mind, and your brand will thrive. The basic principles of design for social networks should always be kept in mind when creating new content. By ensuring that your creations are attention-grabbing and relevant to your audience, your social media strategy will grow both your customer base and your return on investment from marketing spend. Social media is a massive source of web traffic and leads in its own right, but its value as a brand building and SEO tool should never be underestimated. When intelligently implemented, all good SEO strategies will run parallel to a sound progression of customer engagement on social media. Without doing so, you are losing out on valuable growth for your enterprise.
