Which social channel is right

Facebook. Twitter. Instagram. What platform should I choose?

Do the words “social media” strike terror in your heart? Or have you enthusiastically jumped into the social world with both feet? Either way, social media is a force that every business needs to manage and review regularly.

What’s the definition of Social Media?
Social media are websites and apps that engage customers to share content and participate in virtual communities. Some examples are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. Social media differs from traditional media in that it allows people to co-create, share, discuss, and change user-generated content.

For the first time in history, people have a direct, real-time access and interaction with companies and their client base. At the same time, businesses have a new found wealth of market information by using social media metrics.

Why is Social Media Important for my Business?
Besides the primary purpose of building relationships in different channels, social media has an important role in organic search strategies.

1. Link potential
Let’s say you publish on Facebook about your new storefront location for craft coffee. A local reporter sees it, writes an article and links back to your website. Links to your website help to increase your SEO power, especially when the link comes from an authoritative source.

2. Search Volume
Social media helps to get your brand out to a wider audience. This increases the overall awareness of your brand, which can lead to more searches for your business. When Google sees that more searches are being conducted for your brand, they view that brand as more popular and award a higher search ranking.

3. Traffic Volume
Social media can improve the amount of traffic visiting your website, which is another factor in search ranking. When a user clicks on a Twitter link to access a blog on your website, the time spent on site and pages per visit help to boost search results.

4. Profile Ranking
Your social media profile ranks high for your brand. Sometimes social media profiles rank on the first page and capture the Knowledge Panel on the right. This doesn’t have a direct effect on SEO, but allows you to better control search engine result page real estate and ensures that you have comprehensive brand coverage.

If you don’t have a social media presence, webShine can help you decide which platforms are best for your business. If you’re already on Facebook, Twitter or another platform, and aren’t getting the results that you expected, give us a call at 970.315.2175 and we’ll devise strategies to boost engagement.