All forms of internet marketing have one primary purpose – to generate traffic to your website – or your blog (and thus create sales).  The more visitors you get who are interested in your products and services, the more successful your online business will be.

Social Media Marketing is a proven method of attracting more targeted traffic to your website or blog.  If you have the right social media profiles and strategies in place you will see a significant improvement in your online results (sales, leads, enquires) and an improved return on your internet marketing investment.

OK, so it all sounds good but how do you do it?  How can your business use Social Media Marketing exactly?

First of all your business has to have online credibility and this will take some time to build.  Social Media provides you with many excellent platforms to build and enhance your online credibility by exchanging views and providing advice to your customers and prospects that will help them resolve problems and add value to them.  Social Media done well is about creating and maintaining a dialogue – not a monologue.

What else should be considered?

Choose your Social Networks Wisely

There are literally thousands of social networking sites on the web as well as various forums, blogs, picture sharing and video sharing platforms.  Our advice would be to seek out those that are most relevant to your own industry or niche.  By actively participating in these channels you will be seen to be active and have a view about your own business sector.  This will allow you to become noticed quite quickly and if the quality of your posts / comments is good you can establish your reputation as an ‘authority’ on your subject quite quickly.  This is an excellent way for you to attract potential customers as you will be corresponding with them directly.

Participate regularly and be consistent

Make sure that having joined the most appropriate social networks that you take part in the online conversation regularly.  Make sure also that your comments posted on one network are totally consistent with any comments you may have posted on the same topic in another network – avoid giving mixed messages!

If you cannot devote the time to post comments regularly yourself make sure that others within your business are tasked to do it and make sure also that everybody is giving out the same message.  People like consistency – it builds trust and confidence and demonstrates that you actually know what you are talking about.

Keep on Blogging!!

Regular readers of this blog will know that we are total ‘blogaholics!’  All UK businesses should have a blog – it is an essential tool that should be part of every social media marketing strategy.  Try and keep you posts interesting for your readers – who will hopefully be your target market.  Your active participation in other blogs will keep you up to date with what is topical to post about and help you identify your own blog post topics.  Do, however, write new, original posts yourself and do not simply regurgitate what has been posted elsewhere.

Links to your website

Links from the social media websites and your own and other blogs are very valuable in terms of the weighting the search engines attach to them when determining your search ranking.  By producing good quality original content you will be surprised just how quickly you can improve your search rankings.

There is not just one correct way to use social media marketing for your business. What you need to do will be largely dependent upon what your direct online competitors are doing, however, the key is to get involved and start networking online with others!

If you would like more information about Social Media Marketing and how it could help your business please leave a comment below or visit WSI IMS – WSI Digital marketing Services for Business in Surrey, Sussex, Kent & throughout the South East of England