Social Media As Part of an Epic Web Traffic Generating System

Social Media is just one part of the formula needed to drive epic traffic to your web business. Knowing how to use this type of media can make your business rank above others in the same niche.

This article will cover the various types of social networking sites and how they function. I will also cover how marketers use these sites to build a following for their products. The term social media is a broad term that covers a variety of tools and media used for different needs and inter-connectivity.

Social web media provides its users with ways to share and interact in ways not seen before its advent. There are single social media sites that provide a variety of methods for sharing and interaction. Social media sites are constantly changing to meet their user's demands and to stay ahead of other sites entering the field.

Social marketing sites use different means to deliver content and engage followers. News and info is delivered by various public relations methods. Here are three.

1. Popular bloggers and their sites

2. Online media portals

3. Various fan type pages and social groups

Another means of getting content out to social web sites is by creating content for marketers to deliver through social web sites. The content created needs to have relevance and interest for the audience that visits the targeted social media site. Getting followers to social media sites is also achieved by creating content that becomes so popular, that people will share it with family and friends. Content that goes extremely popular is said to have gone viral.

Social web media is used by all age groups but its use drops significantly within the higher age groups. One of the top ranked uses of social media is by blog site followers. Photo sharing sites are also amongst the most used social media sites.

One of the types of social marketing sites is the generalist type category of networks. These sites share some of the following characteristics:

• Wide reach of audiences

• Very broad based

• Usually have something for all visitors

• Provide a means to meet new people or stay in contact with those you already know

• A way to express oneself in different outlets

• Content generation is not a primary goal of these generalist sites

Another category of social media sites are the niche type sites. The niche sites focus on topics and interests of specific types of followers. Some of these niches are as follows:

• Hobby type sites

• Business information sites

• Online dating and dating information

• Best sites to shop or find deals

• Lifestyle and interpersonal sites

• Job finding and networking

The last type of social web media site that I will cover in this article is the social bookmarking type of sites. Social bookmarking sites provide its users with a means to store, share and group their pages and posts that they find interesting. These sites work in a way similar to using a web browser's bookmark feature. The pages that people bookmark are then organized by means of descriptive tags. Digg.com is one of the more popular social bookmarking sites.

The field of social web media is continually growing. Users have found that using social media allows them to share their online experiences with others. Marketers are using social media and its various sites to reach consumers in ways that can be less expensive than more traditional media.

If you are interested in learning more about social web media and other web traffic generating methods you can visit this included link.

GK Doig is owner of StratusClick Consulting. Visit him at http://stratusclick.com

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Social Media Optimization (SMO) - It's About the Traffic!

You may have heard on the national television media recently about the wide spread coverage of the race to 1 million Twitter followers between Ashton Kutcher and CNN. Even more recently talk show hosts like Oprah and Ellen DeGeneres have begun to see the value of using Social Media. One could easily take away from all of this national press coverage that Social Media is only about the numbers and that you have to be a "celebrity' to get in on it. But in my opinion, it's no. There are very good reasons for Small Business Owners to spend the time, energy and money to get involved on Social Media web sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube. For a Small Business Owner using Social Media should be about enhancing your marketing by taking it to the next level and helping you sell more by driving "qualified" visitor traffic back to your website.

In the midst of all of the national media frenzy over "quantity" of connections or followers, I find myself starting to think that Twitter and Social Media in general may be starting to lose the essence of what made it cool to use; a way to connect in an online social setting with people that you have an affinity with, to expand your reach and influence beyond your local markets using the Internet. Don't get me wrong, I think it is great that people are connecting with each other and using Social Media tools because that is what it is all about. However, I feel strongly that it's not a good idea for people to start chasing followers just to have followers or start to use Twitter or any other Social Media website just because it is the "IN" thing to do. I believe that by doing so they may start to lose that sense of individual and group connectivity or "quality" that attracted everyone to Social Media in the first place.

So, in the midst of all of this media frenzy you may have heard or gleaned that you should establish a Social Media marketing strategy. What you may not be hearing is why? I know that what I'm not hearing is that an effective Social Media Optimization (SMO)* strategy should be all about increasing your website visitor traffic and helping you sell more. Why else would a Small Business Owner invest all of that time, energy and money? Right? But, you have to be subtle about it and you should be a giver, not a taker...

As you may already know, Social Media Optimization (SMO) is a set of strategies for generating publicity, creating viral marketing and increasing incoming website visitor traffic by using existing social media, online communities and social networking websites. Methods of SMO include adding RSS feeds, social news buttons, blogging, and incorporating third-party community functionalities like images and videos into your website.

SMO is related to Search Engine Marketing (SEM), but differs in several ways, primarily because the focus is on creating website visitor traffic from sources other than search engines. Improved Search Engine Results Page (SERP) rankings and higher Google Page Rank could also be benefits of a successful SMO strategy. This is very important to Small Business Owners because if you don't show up on Page One of a Google, Yahoo or MSN-Bing search then 90% of the people who are interested in the contents of your website may never find it or you. Plus from my experience the number one organic (non-paid) search engine result listing tends to get 40-50% of the click thus to their website from that potential buyer's Internet topic search.

Additionally, Social Media Optimization is sometimes related to viral marketing where word of mouth is created not through friends or family but through a presence on social media, social networking, social bookmarking, video and photo sharing websites. In a similar way posting blogs achieves the same effect by sharing content through the use of RSS Feeds in the blogosphere and special blog search engines and directories. For most owners blogging could be a natural fit for expanding your marketing efforts.

So, focusing on generating more website visitors is why I create a triangle diagram for my Internet Marketing Clients to simply explain an SMO strategy and show the interrelated aspects of SEO (at the top of the triangle), Blogging (on the bottom left) and Social Networking (on the bottom right) and the resulting benefit that should equate to more website traffic (in the middle of the triangle).

In my Small Business Coaching practice, creating a clear focus on driving more visitor traffic back to your website is why I set-up SMO campaigns. In my own case, using SMO strategies I have been able to increase the monthly visitors to my website by 500% in 6 months. I work with my Internet Marketing Clients to develop actions plans so that their SMO strategies integrate with their Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and or Search Engine Marketing (SEM) campaigns. Then we execute the SMO action plan by establishing or improving their social media accounts, blogging, adding RSS feeds, pursuing ethical link building, social bookmarking and launching viral marketing strategies. Finally, we evaluate the SMO results monthly to monitor the Return On Investment (ROI) and to identify areas of improvement.

* According to Wikipedia, Rohit Bhargava was credited with inventing the term SMO. His original six rules for conducting Social Media Optimization are:

1. Increase your linkability

2. Make tagging and bookmarking easy

3. Reward inbound links

4. Help your content travel

5. Encourage the mashup

6. Get communities connected

Dave Westfall, MBA is an experienced internet marketing eBusiness Consultant with DewPointe Ventures LLC. His areas of expertise include Lead and Sales Pipeline Development, Pay Per Click (PPC- Google, Yahoo, MSN-Bing), Email Campaigns, Website Analytics and Landing Pages, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Article and Blog Writing and Social Media Optimization (SMO) viral marketing campaign management. Visit my website http://www.dewpointe.com for your Free SocialNetomics whitepaper.

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Social Media Web 2 - How to Attract a Flood of Traffic Using Web 2

Marketing with Social Media Web 2 is now one of the best ways that you can market your website on the Internet. One of the reasons for this is that it is extremely cost effective.

The other advantage of using this technology is that you can communicate with a large number of people in a short period of time. You can use blogs, wikis, social bookmarking, and other forms of Social Media Web 2 to help market your site to thousands of people on a daily basis. The fact of the matter is that this technology is only effective if you know how to use it.

Social Media Web 2 Content

Providing quality content is definitely the most important aspect of developing a successful social media marketing plan. Even the most advanced marketing plans in the world will quickly fail if you do not use quality Social Media Web 2 content. The reason for this is that traffic may come to your website once, but they will not return to your website for a second time.

The best way to use social media networks is to increase the quality of your profile within the target that you are marketing. You should always make new submissions so that you can get the maximum amount of advertising for your website.

Expensive Social Media Mistake!

Many people make the mistake of forgetting to put the URL of their website within their submissions. The fact of the matter is that no one will visit your website if they cannot find the address of your website!

It is also vital to keep your email list updated on when you publish new content. One of the best thins about social media networks is that you can communicate almost constantly with your email list. In this instance there is no problem with sending out a lot of emails.

The reason for this is that each email is only a notification to the user that there is no content available for them to read if they have the time. At the same time, these emails should contain some sort of information so that the email is not thought of as spam.

Social Media Optimization

Social media networks will help you optimize your website just as SEO does. A term, SMO, or social media optimization has been developed because of how valuable social media networks can be for when trying to bring in more traffic.

Websites such as Digg, Stumbleupon, and Delicious will also help you increase your website traffic if you post on them. Just remember to put a link back to your website on any submissions that you make.

It is a big mistake to use social media tools with a mind set of trying to gain more advertising. The reason for this is that these networks were founded around interaction between users and being social.

You should use these social groups as a way to create new contacts and let people know about what you have to offer. At the same time, you should also show an interest in other users. The reason for this is that it will make them have an interest in what you have to offer. Social Media Networking groups can be time consuming, but the benefits that you can get from them are well worth the time.

Want to know the secret to making money Social Media Web 2? It's easy when you know how! Get the best Social Media Web 2 training by grabbing a PortalFeeder membership and start making money with your Web 2.0 marketing today!

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.