So is it time to jump on the bandwagon?

Well, if it’s just for your own personal use, sure give a try and see what you think. Not essential, but many folks really find it useful, entertaining, or at least otherwise amusing. Just don’t invest too much time in it or you might never come back.

But here’s the real kicker — if you have a website and you’re trying to build the traffic count, using Twitter to your advantage is a must. You might eventually gain just a handful of new visitors (but they’ll be very targeted if you do it right), or with a little luck, you might even be able to attract new visitors in virtual flocks thanks to your Twitter strategy.

Here are the basics of starting a new Twitter strategy like this:

1. Start a separate profile just for your website. As tempting as it might be to mix your personal and professional Twitter accounts, just don’t do it. Start a brand new account and profile just for your website.
2. Tweak your Twitter theme. Try and match or complement your website’s look by using appropriate colors and perhaps using your logo for your profile picture. Add a compelling one sentence description to your profile and be sure to include your website’s URL. Because space is limited on what’s shown on your profile page, be sure to skip the www and just get right to the point with sharing your web address.
3. Add an app to your website. If you have the appropriate place ready on your existing website, adding a Twitter app to display your most recent tweets right there is a good idea. This can be completely customized to really blend right in with your site, or if you’d rather take the easy path, Twitter does provide a plug and play app (just a snippet of code to paste in).
4. Make some friends. Now don’t get too ambitious here and just start following anyone and everyone. Keep it related to your niche and grow your followers accordingly. Start with perhaps your direct business partners and then follow others that complement your niche. Proud member of your local business scene? Tap into that network on Twitter. The thing is, the tighter you keep the follower base, the more valuable it can be — and at the same time, those who follow you will be much more likely to also be within or related to your niche.
5. Use it wisely. Active participation is the key to success with Twitter. You can’t just broadcast a message every day and expect that to do much good. But if you answer questions, participate in ongoing conversations, and share tips and advice, you’ll build up some "street cred." And then, you’ll be able to share a promotional message every now and then to a captive audience.
6. Get subscribers. A few online marketing gurus out there have found that using Twitter to grow your opt-in mailing list can be extremely effective. If you place a great deal of value on your email subscriber list, you’ll definitely want to experiment with this technique.

Follow this simple strategy to get started with Twitter. Before long, you’ll have more targeted followers than you’ll know what to do with!

Until Next Time.
George Chaney
President/CEO
SEO King, Inc.

The main thing here is that social network sites have user-provided content as opposed to website owner content. The most popular of these social networking sites include YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn. And of course, Twitter is also considered a type of social media network.

Here’s how social media marketing works…

Social media sites are a hot way for people to spread information quickly. Users post their own content and pass it along to other users. Because of this, social media marketing has the potential to reach thousands of people very quickly.

The idea behind social media marketing is to get people talking about your product or website. This leads to the distribution of information about your site without the need for you to do anything further.

What are the popular types of social marketing media?

Some of the most popular types of social media marketing include videos, photos, blogs and podcasts. These are created and posted to the various social networking sites where people will find them. Included in each of the initial postings should be a link back to your site. This will allow people who are interested to directly visit your site.

What about submitting content to social media sites?

There are some special links used to help you submit your content on social sites. Some of the most popular links include DeLicio.us, Reddit and Digg. These help you save and submit pages to social media networks.

People view your posts, and most importantly, can also easily pass the information along to others. This is the basic concept of social media marketing. The term “viral” has been coined and is used when a particular social content has a large following.

What to submit?

People use the internet as a way to find useful information—therefore, the best use of social media marketing is by posting blogs, articles, or videos that are instructional in nature. Choose something that relates to your product or service and create a short item about one aspect of interest to many people. When placing your post, be sure to include a link to your website where people can find more information and hopefully create prospects or conversions.

The bottom line on social media marketing:

The main thing to remember about social media marketing is that you shouldn’t rely on it as your main form of marketing. However, there is a place for it in your marketing plan, so be sure to include it.

If you need help with providing content for sites, always enlist a professional who can affordably provide high quality content that will help your Internet marketing efforts…SEO King, Inc. is ready to help!

Until Next Time…
George Chaney
President
SEO King, Inc.

One – Develop each web page with a keyword in mind. Visitors search by using keywords; search engines organize and rank websites according to their keywords.  Keywords really are the key attracting search visitors.

Strategy:  Don’t overdo it—make sure each web page is created to encompass a specific keyword phrase, but use that phrase wisely and sparingly.

Two – Remember the images. And be sure they’re optimally “marked-up” too.  Image searches are remarkably popular and will often bring visitors to your site when a normal keyword search does not.

Strategy:  Use images that describe a page’s written content and be sure that the image file name and Meta description are also contextually related to the content.

Three – Never underestimate the power of a good mailing list. Even with RSS subscriptions, good old fashioned email newsletters have a way of reaching out to subscribers and drawing them back to your site when other methods might as well leave your site out in the dark.

Strategy:  Use a quality double opt-in mailing list service to keep track of each email address and send timely updates.  Doing this keeps your list compliant with spam laws and also keeps your “brand” in subscribers’ minds.

Four – Use social media whenever it makes sense. Twitter, Facebook, and other similar social media outlets are a way of life these days for an ever-increasing group of people.  It’s not necessarily about trying to reinvent the wheel, but instead trying to connect with your customers in a way that’s most convenient for them.

Strategy:  Use social media proficiently, but don’t allow it to become a distraction.  Social media should usually complement what you’re doing, not become the primary focus.

Five – Build a blog (if you have not already). Blogs might have been all the rage before the whole social media craze took off, but that certainly doesn’t make them obsolete by any means.  Blogging is a great way to reach out to your visitors and customers—in fact, most visitors just expect a site to have a blog they can follow.

Strategy:  Blogs are perfect for sharing timely information, often in a less-than-formal format.  Use them to share your unique voice and stand out from the competition.

Six – Be professional! Nothing scares away potential customers like a website that comes across as amateurish or one that contains blatant spelling and grammar errors.  Don’t take any chances when it comes to coming across as a pro—after all, it’s easy and free if you just make sure every detail is checked twice.

Strategy:  Read each page of your site out loud and you’ll catch more “glitches” than you might ever have imagined existed.

Remember, it’s the little things that add up to make a big difference!

Until Next Time…

George Chaney

President

SEO King, Inc.

Often categorized as just another social media service, it’s no surprise that a great percentage of Twitter users use the service strictly for social purposes.  But micro blogging is also catching on with freelancers, businesses, and other organizations looking to improve their communication processes and attract more visitors to their web presences.  So the big question remains – To Twitter, or not to Twitter?

A Few Ways Twitter Can Help…

• It’s a great way to keep customers updated on the status of a project.
• It can be used to concisely relay important updates and news regarding your organization.
• Twitter is a simple way to build business by building friendships and social contacts.
• Micro blogging is a fantastic way to say something quickly without feeling the need to write a whole book on the topic.
• Twitter can be easily used to answer frequently asked questions (FAQ’s).
• It can be viewed as a marketing tool to help build awareness of your brand or site to a growing number of followers.
• The company makes it really easy to integrate Twitter with almost any site or blog.
• The tool allows you to participate in ongoing conversation about your product or service.

When Twitter Can Become A Distraction…

• When it is used redundantly for no other purpose rather than just to “tweet.”
• If it doesn’t mesh with the style or needs of your clients or visitors.
• When too much focus is put on the tool, instead of just using it for what it is.
• If regular blogging, the phone, or email are likely a more realistic and efficient means of communication for an organization.

In the end, it’s important to realize that services like Twitter (along with other social media platforms too) can help in a number of ways when they’re used to complement or enhance other existing methods of communication.  Some audiences will get it more than others – for example, tech-savvy professionals or freelancers are more likely to be receptive to services like Twitter than grandma or grandpa. Visit the Twitter website.

 
So it’s really up to you to decide it it’s worth trying Twitter to help your site or not.  It’s probably worth a try to see if it might actually drive traffic, improve communication, or build your brand.  But don’t be hesitant to bail if it looks like it’s becoming more of a distraction than a value-added service.