"Is your website search- and social-media-friendly?" inquires a recent post at the Online Marketing Blog. According to Lee Odden, search is the most efficient and effective way for consumers to discover content. However, focusing on standard SEO tactics, such as keyword usage and links, is not enough to remain competitive, he says. Odden stresses that increasing demand for fresh, live Web content, as well as consumer expectations to interact with information in search results, require today's Web marketers to complement SEO with social media.
Here are a few tactics Odden suggests to help incorporate a social-media strategy with your overall search-marketing plan:
Provide always-fresh content. Provide updated RSS feeds or widgets so that website visitors can access additional forms of information and interaction with your company.
Offer social content. Add a blog, reviews, forum, or even a social network to your site. Provide opportunities for consumers to interact with other brand fans as well as with your company.
Make everything easy to share. Use "share this" options that make it easy for readers to share content at social sites like Facebook and Twitter—and just about anywhere else.
By adding fresh, interactive, and easily shareable content to your website, you can improve online word-of-mouth, stimulate conversations with prospective customers, and expand your market reach, Odden concludes.
The Po!nt: Balance your Yin and Yang. To extend your reach and facilitate engagement, make sure your content strategy factors in the value of search and social media.
Source: TopRank Online Marketing Blog. Read the full post here.
Looking for practical help in building an effective blog marketing program? Check out SmartTools: Blog Marketing, an online service from MarketingProfs that will help you rapidly create an effective blogging program for your firm. All of our SmartTools are free for MarketingProfs Premium Members. (Upgrade today to get access to all of our Premium resources to make your job easier).
by Christina "CK" Kerley
Comments
by Jasper Blake Mon Jul 6, 2009
What if you could combine search optimization, social media, messaging and email -
something from which you can also generate email lists that are tagged with customer/client interests for targeted email campaigns -
something that allows multiple moderators to access and contribute to one online system? You should be able to combine all these things into one seamless system that allows you to monitor, engage and analyze through the whole customer/client engagement funnel, from branding, research, marketing and sales, through one holistic and measurable system.
Well, you can - check out Social-smart at http://social-smart.com - and request a demo. This is how all social media will be integrated and efficiently managed in the future.