There are far too many businesses who are using social media improperly. I'm not talking about the wahoos who clog up the world wide web with nonsense that no one needs, I'm talking about the people who genuinely believe they are doing good by posting to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other platforms, but are actually wasting their time. And there's nothing more painful for an overworked small business owner than finding out that their efforts have been in vain.
The best possible use of social media for a business is to drive traffic back to your website. If you're not driving traffic, you're just spinning your wheels. In the social media realm there's a place for educating your audience with links to other articles and putting up silly polls to engage, but if the end result isn't getting click-throughs to the place where the audience can truly learn about you, it's a waste of time.
This is why quality content matters. If you find quality content on another business's site and link to it, your audience ends up on the other guy's page, cutting you out of the possible sale. But if you're writing quality content that will elicit clicks from your audience, they click through to the place you want them to be. They end up on your website where they can learn about you, your products, and why they should buy from or hire you.
Every industry is capable of creating engaging, educational content. Nearly every website building application includes a blog function, and if you're selling something you have valuable information that people want. If you're not a good writer, hire one! Cool Spring Creative provides writing services at an affordable price, and that might be all you need to start a new stream of interested customers.
If you build a library of content that draws people to your website, make sure they can find what they need once they're there. Link to your products inside the blog post. Talk about the services you offer or the product you have that can solve a specific problem. We've all found websites that are fun to look around. If yours isn't one of these sites, make it one. Cool Spring Creative can help with that, too.
People all over the world are Googling the most random of phrases every second, trying to find the right part, product, or service. If you talk about that specific subject on your website, Google knows it's there and it will show up in their search. Maybe yours will be the page where they choose to land.
Wrap Up
- Get your house in order. Make sure your website is engaging and informational.
- Build a blog and write about what you know. Original content is the key to audience building.
- Use your social media to drive traffic where you want it. Right back to your site.