We have recently made some COOL updates to our Facebook page (www.Facebook.com/TotalMerchantConcepts) and our team is currently investigating the impact that Social Media has on businesses- stand by for great tips, advice and offers coming in the very near future AND- enjoy this great article we found!
By Anthony Godley in Social Networking
What is social media, you ask? Think Facebook? Think YouTube or Twitter? Think fundamental shift in how businesses reach customers and how organizations connect with constituencies. Think outside your traditional marketing box. Web 2.0 is alive with conversations, and Internet marketing isn’t just about email blasts anymore. The social media train is leaving, and you don’t want to get left at the station.
Think you know what we’re talking about?
Social Media is a phrase being tossed around a lot these days, but it can sometimes be difficult to determine and identify how best to utilize and integrate The Power of Social Media into your personal or business strategy. However, make absolutely no mistake, Social Media, Social Networking and Social Interaction is the future of Business Marketing and should be exploited to its fullest potential.
Think about it… Facebook www.facebook.com currently has more than 700million users, a quite staggering statistic. Twitter www.twitter.com is closing in on 200million users.
IMAGINE THE POTENTIAL
Create a Social Brand and Corporate Account on Facebook, Twitter ALONE and deliver hourly, daily, weekly or monthly messages, information, content and news to tens of thousands or even millions of users all over the world in an instant. Never before has there been such a comprehensive tool in reaching out to the masses in a direct sell of your business, product or news.
Social Media has arrived and not only is it here to stay, it is the future of how WE communicate, how WE generate new interests and business opportunities and how WE market our brands to local, national and international communities.
Social Media, SEO and Google.com
Google recently announced a change in its algorithm which allows for increased visibility and SERP (Search Engine Results Page) Ranking based on Web2.0 and Social Media interaction. Google’s increased emphasis on the importance of Social Media presence means it is more important than ever to really start using Social Media in your internet marketing strategy. Social Media should already be a part of most search engine optimization strategies and almost every marketing campaign, but now it is essential to have more than a passive interest. And not just for the potential backlinks, but for all the other reasons social networking is great for business – more personal interaction, the ability to listen to and better understand your customers, and of course exposure to your potential audience where they spend most of their time.
Google will now recognize chat, hype and activity of your BRAND name, PERSONAL name or KEY SEARCH TERM directly within the Social Media sites. Google will recognize this activity as positive and will encourage a vastly improved Google Page Ranking. It is just a matter of time before the other key search engines update their algorithms to perform similar functionality.
In summary it is more important than ever to include Social Media into your marketing strategy as SEO becomes more and more integral to company performance, revenue and recognition.
What are some of the KEY Social Media Websites?
The Power of Social Media can be strategically driven to a key business marketing tool with relatively little effort but because Social Media is such a broad term, it covers a large range of websites. The one common link between these websites is that you are able to interact with the website and interact with other visitors.
Here are some examples of important Social Media websites:
Social Networking:
1. Facebook www.facebook.com Approximately 800million users
2. Twitter www.twitter.com Approximately 200million users
3. Bebo www.bebo.com Approximately 120million users
4. MySpace www.myspace.com Approximately 100million users
5. Friendster www.friendster.com Approximately 90million users
6. Hi5 www.hi5.com Approximately 80million users
7. Xanga www.xanga.com Approximately 30million users
8. LiveJournal www.livejournal.com Approximately 12million users
9. StumbleUpon www.stumbleupon.com Approximately 11million users
10. Tumblr www.tumblr.com Approximately 10million users
