11 Jul, 2009
Social Media Marketing: The Ins and Outs
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Working as an SEO consultant means I have to give people advice regarding their website and general marketing strategy, and ‘social media marketing’ is something which seems to be cropping up more and more lately. The term ‘social media marketing’ refers to the use of tools such as blogs, social media websites and social bookmarking websites. This article further explores the use of each of the aforementioned tools.
Blogs / Blogging
What is it?
A blog is a regularly updated form of website often focusing on a specific subject area. Blogs are usually informal, and encourage visitors to participate through the use of comments on articles.
Why use it?
To update visitors of news, talk about a new product/service, evaluate something or just to talk about something random.
How can I do it?
WordPress is recognised as the most popular blogging software. You can either download the package and install it on your own web host, or sign up for a free blog on WordPress.com.
Social Media Websites
What is it?
Social media websites (or simply ‘social media’) encourages users to interact via messages, replies and friend lists. The aim of social media is to allow people to create a profile and become part of a community.
Why use it?
Promote yourself or business to people with similar interests, get to know people, and discover new information from other users.
How can I do it?
There are many different social media websites, and getting involved is as simple as signing up for a free account. My favourites include Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.
Social Bookmarking Websites
What is it?
Similar to social media, social bookmarking websites allow users to sign up and interact for free. The difference with social bookmarking is that users add links to interesting articles or websites for everybody else to view.
Why use it?
Promote your website by adding links to new articles or services in the related category, and hope to see increased web traffic to your site.
How can I do it?
StumbleUpon, Digg and Delicious are among three of the most popular social bookmarking websites. Sign up for a free account and submit a link to your latest article, or simply your website address.
Try it for Yourself!
Still unsure whether you completely understand social media marketing? Give it a go and find out! The best way to learn how to do something is by testing it for yourself, and that is how most people have grown to love some of the tools mentioned above. If you have a new business social media marketing is a fantastic way to generate some immediate interest in your website, and hopefully allow you to reap the benefits through increased traffic and returning visitors.
