23/01/2017
Meet the Social Networks, and how they can drive traffic
You probably use one form or another of social network every day. This year, Facebook hit one billion users in a single day -this is crazy when you think that it translates to 1 in 7 people in the world use the platform to interact with their friends and family. Other platforms have seen such as much traffic with Twitter now having over 316 million monthly active users. These statistics show just how big an audience your brand could have on social media - but how do you harness this audience? Here are some helpful tips.
Facebook
One of social media's big names, Facebook has multiple ways in which you can use it as a platform for your business. One of the simplest ways is to set up a page for your business which will act much like your personal profile, allowing customers to interact with your posts and images. As Facebook is such a big player in the market there are plenty of analytical tools you can use to ensure you are getting the most out of your companies page such as targeting posts to a specific audience, or paying to 'boost' a post to increase its visibility. Another method of using Facebook is to use Paid Social methods to advertise, these will automatically target people in a specific audience you deem relevant, but might not have yet heard about your company.
Twitter
Many companies choose to use Twitter to help with their customer care as it can be an efficient method of ensuring all your customers are satisfied with their service and products, however you can also use this platform much like you would Facebook. It's a great place to launch a 'trend' as you can easily run social media competitions using hashtags for example. You can also use Twitter advertising which allows you to pay to either boost your overall account or a specific tweet. Another bonus of Twitter is how it can help your SEO backlinks, with Google now recognising these as part of your back linking profile.
Pinterest
Many businesses have started to take Pinterest more seriously in recent months due to the platform's recent 'buy' update in America. The new scheme sees users being allowed to buy products from a pin directly on the site - without the need to go on to a third party website. Similarly to Twitter, Pinterest is also good for backlinks as long as you have the 'pin it' button installed on your products, every time somebody pins something from your site to their board it is another backlink to boost your SEO value. It's a great way to showcase your products in a less conventional way if you create seasonal or themed boards, and you can also use this platform to run competitions from.
Linkedin
Often seen as the more corporate social network, LinkedIn is great for getting involved in business discussions and interacting with various thought leaders. Slide share is another great way of learning what is going on within the market and getting to know what other companies similar to yours might be doing. It is also a great method of recruitment as you can see potential employees CV and boost your vacancy through your own profile.
Instagram
The most visual of the social media platforms, Instagram is a great way to showcase your products and your company. A study by Simply Measured this year found that 59% of the world's top brands are now active on Instagram - a number that is certain to increase. You can opt to connect via your Facebook account and link up your profile so that each time you post a picture on Instagram, it will also be shared on Facebook. This is a good method if you're looking to get an increased number of followers on Instagram as it allows you to re-target your existing audience. Like Twitter, Instagram also uses hashtags and this is another great way to interact with users, whether you choose to get on the back of a popular global trend or run a competition.
Google+
This platform is really great for sharing good pieces of content you have on your site, along with securing ownership of said content. It's clever authorship ability means that even if people came along and scraped your ideas, the original content would still be accredited to you - great if you've spent hours crafting the perfect 'how to' guide. Google+ is also great for if you have numerous stores, as Google+ Local pages are indexed so people searching for your company can find their nearest store. Although many people often forget about Google+ because they may not use it as much on a personal level, its key not to forget about the one social media platform made by the search engine giants.