When SEO meets Social Media…
What is SEO?
The term SEO may be unfamiliar to many of you but this is a hot topic. Marketers or advertisers are actually linking SEO and social media together. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, which means to obtain the highest ranking in search results when people are searching for keywords. When I say highest ranking I do not mean the sponsored links you see at the top and on the sides because these are paid, but I mean the organic results you get after you enter the search. The purpose of SEO is to increase the company’s visibility.
SEO & Social Media
Social Media is a huge trend right now and has opened up more marketing opportunities. It’s not uncommon to see a company’s website with links to their Twitter account or Facebook Fan page. Around 71% of marketers say that they use social media as part of their SEO strategy. By using social media, companies are able to improve their website’s visibility because there is more content to update and the content is fresh. Although social media seems like a necessary component in marketing strategy, marketers have to be careful how they utilize these mediums. Some companies are very successful in doing so and are able to generate great reviews and feedback from consumers.
Utilizing Social Media
One personal example I have is Sigma Beauty which sells make-up brushes online. They do not have any retail stores and so they rely heavily on online marketing. They have Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and blogs and they utilize each medium very well. For example, they use Facebook and Twitter to connect with consumers and to reply to consumers’ concerns. They use YouTube to post videos when they launch new products as well as invite other YouTube make-up gurus to do make-up tutorials using their products. They use their blogs to inform consumers about their products as well as provide tips to those who are in their Affliate program or are their wholesalers. Of course, there are also many companies who are a disaster with social media. The most common ones are phone companies. It’s not hard to find websites and Facebook groups dedicated to how much consumers hate these companies and these companies have not been very responsive to the criticism. In the end, social media does help companies with their SEO strategy but companies have to make sure they listen and research which social netword work best for their strategy.
source: eMarketer.com
