To the budget-conscious marketer, it can still be a challenge to connect social media to real ROI. “How can tweeting or wall posts translate into sales or revenue?” some wonder, “and is this the most efficient investment of my limited resources?”
Many are unable to find concrete answers to these questions and therefore are hesitant to hop on what some term the “social media bandwagon.” Rather than recognize social media as a lasting, valuable marketing channel, they regard it as an unproven and less-than-predictable distraction that offers few conventional media metrics.
But that’s simply not true.
How to Make Friends and “Sell” Social Media and SEO
Social media can do more than offer uniquely powerful benefits (such as increased visibility, deeper insights and stronger relationships with customers). In fact, social media has also become a critical component of a successful SEO strategy.
Social media and SEO are a package that must be sold together.
The issue, however, is that many marketers present social media campaigns as standalone efforts, rather than a brilliant opportunity for cross-channel integration and optimization, most notably in the case of SEO.
To have the biggest impact, social media and SEO must be presented as an integrated package and executed in unison. Think about it: algorithmic search engine rankings rely in part on the quantity and quality of inbound links to your website; therefore, a successful SEO strategy goes hand-in-hand with link building. And because links are a reward for great content, the key is to create unique, link-worthy content.
A smart social media strategy can then help you disseminate content and build links back to your site. Furthermore, social media allows you to be proactive with your link building efforts by publicizing and energizing your content. Hosting the content on social media networks also enables you to galvanize discussion and engagement around your content, which can then help it spread like wildfire. Social media can also help you win multiple Page 1 search engine listings, allowing you to dominate the SERPs through a combination of brand websites and social media pages.
With that in mind, here are 5 critical elements to a great SEO-Social Media strategy (be sure to include these in your internal or Client presentations!):
1. Align Your SEO and Social Media Objectives. Add Twitter and Facebook to your SEO tool kit (or, if you must, utility belt). Your goal as an SEO is to achieve rankings, and social media is what’s going to help you do it.
2. Define Your Success Metrics. Higher traffic and higher rankings are not end goals unto themselves. Work to obtain rankings for highly relevant keywords that’ll result in qualified traffic that ultimately leads to conversions.
3. Determine Your Segments. Use your marketing chops to identify, segment and target your customers. Different segments may search differently, even when looking for the same content. Define your segment and optimize with the keywords they use and understand; in other words, utilize keyword intelligence and keyword-driven techniques to inform your optimization decisions so that customers will be more likely to find (and respond) to you.
4. Develop a Content Strategy. Produce valuable, targeted content for your customer segments in order to drive qualified traffic and conversions. Once again, in-depth keyword analysis can reveal what customers are looking for and are interested in. Create content around these themes and trends for maximum relevancy.
5. Coordinate Your Social Media Strategy. Social media networks don’t exist in a vacuum. Bridge your social media efforts to engage multiple communities and increase the spread of your content.
Social media and SEO can often be a hard sell, but they are invaluable to any company hoping to run a successful and cohesive web marketing strategy. More than anything, remember that social media and SEO must work in tandem. So, be proactive, and open the door to the increased SEO value and new marketing opportunities this smart integration offers.
Learn more about creating a social- and SEO-driven culture by talking to us directly at bebrilliant@acronym.com.