Using Social Media Web 2.0 Technologies To Generate Web Traffic

Published By Martin Aranovitch

Whether you are aware of it or not, social media and internet technologies are changing standard business practices. In our current economic climate, it’s important to embrace and take advantage of new social media Web 2.0 tools ...

What Is Social Media?

Social Media in it most basic form is simply a bunch of web technologies that allows people to share and connect with others. 

Social Media can also be described as being “conversational media” in all of its interactive forms including text, video and spoken words - whether face to face, over the Internet, over the airwaves or via mobile technologies such as iPods and cell phones. 

One definition I particularly like, is that social media and Web 2.0 are umbrella terms that define the various activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and content creation. Social media use the "wisdom of crowds" to connect information in a collaborative manner online. 

In other words, social media bonds networks of people with a digital medium and enables them to interact with the content in many ways. It is a space, therefore, where friends and people who’ve been given permission to enter into discussions about common interests can share information and converse. 

Social Media And Web 2.0 – Business Uses

Social media is a must if you own a business and should be part of a long-term communication strategy to build relationships with your customers and increase your reputation and brand loyalty.

Social media marketing utilizing Web 2.0 technology is increasingly becoming one of the most cost-efficient and effective ways of generating traffic to your website.  You can reach out to large numbers of people in a very short period of time using social media platforms like Wikis, blogs, podcasts, social bookmarking/tagging and other multimedia, both audio and visual. The key is to do it properly. If you plan your strategy well and execute it properly, you can attract new visitors to your website and significantly increase your number of repeat customers and members.

One of the most important things to remember when creating your social media marketing plan is that you need to offer quality content.  The best marketing plan in the world, social media or otherwise, will fail if you have poor quality content on your website.  You will drive traffic to you website, but they won’t stay long and they will most certainly not come back.

Use the social media networks to enhance your profile among your target market.  Develop a habit of regularly making new submissions, keep it relevant to your target and always remember to make your website address visible, whether it’s in a video or blog post.  You can’t drive traffic to your website if you keep your destination a secret. Become a contributing part of the communities you’ve joined; while it may seem a daunting task, the benefit in increased website traffic will be worth it.  

Also, when you post anything new, make sure you send emails to your targets to let them know that new and interesting content is available.  One of the touchstones of social media marketing is almost constant communication.  It’s one of the few instances where you won’t alienate you mailing lists by over-communicating. In the case of social media, it’s expected. Just make sure that you have something worthwhile to say.  Without fresh information or something new and interesting to promote, it will just be spam. Don’t set yourself up for failure by having people not trust you. 

Much like SEO, it is possible to optimize your site to social media. There is even a new term coined to describe this … SMO, or social media optimization.  Increase your website traffic by submitting your content to sites like Digg, Reddit, Stumbleupon, and Delicious.  If you have video content, put it up on Youtube and make sure you add a link back to your site in the content description.

Social media is far more powerful than you can imagine. For example, if you place a story, video, or image on a site like Digg.com, you will not only generate a lot of traffic and a nice link from Digg itself, but if your content has value, the interest it will generate can have long-term positive consequences for your business. 

Lastly, remember that while social media tools are extremely useful in driving traffic to your website, if your only intention is to gain advertising benefits, your campaign will fail.  Social media was founded on interaction. It requires, therefore, that you make an honest effort to communicate and interact with like-minded people (your target consumers).  

Much as you expect people to read your posts and check out your links and submissions, you must also do this for other members of your groups. Though time-consuming, utilizing social media can reap many benefits, including increased website traffic and higher search engine rankings.

Social Media – Conclusion

Social media can and does work when it’s used as a tool to help you get work done, not when it’s used as an excuse to get out of work, or not do work at all. 

Although it may seem like a lot of work in the beginning, once you make it a regular habit, the exposure your business will get online from marketing strategies using social media Web 2.0 technologies will really pay off dividends in the long run, both in terms of the lead you will gain over your competitors, as well as the increased traffic you will receive to your web site and/or blog, resulting in more sales for less cost.

Don't hesitate ... start putting social media to work for your business today!

I hope you have found this information useful. If you’re interested in learning more about ways to grow a business using Social Media, Social Networking Sites and Web 2.0 technologies, I recommend you take a look at what Portal Feeder has to offer. Portal Feeder is an exclusive online community for web business builders. (Note: if the doors are closed to new members when you visit, just make sure to sign up to their priority notification list so you can be informed as soon as their doors re-open).

Also, if you are interested in growing your business with your own social networking site, download the FREE report “How To Profit With Your Own Social Networking Site”, which explains how to grow a database of targeted customers for your own business by creating your own social networking site.

Additional Recommended Resources:

Social Media Profit Coach – This excellent training program teaches you how to harness the power of social media and turn your blog into a money-making machine. This is great information for business owners and affiliate marketers.

Social Marketing 101 – This Web 2.0 marketing guide focuses on using social network squidoo (a MySpace for grownups) to help brand your business.

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About:

Martin Aranovitch is a successful SME (small to medium enterprise) business coach, sales trainer and web business entrepreneur. He has built several profitable online businesses, including www.AudioBookOne.net ,a downloadable audio book store containing thousands of best-selling audio book titles from the world's leading audio book publishers.

Source: http://www.portalfeederpro.com

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