Social media is all the rage these days. After all, how many people do you know personally who don’t have either a Facebook or MySpace account? Chances are many of your friends and acquaintances have both!
The fact is pretty much everyone spends at least a few minutes each day checking out the latest happenings on Facebook, and “Tweets” are interrupting dinner more often than telemarketers of late. So in a nutshell, social media indeed has the potential to drive a steady stream of traffic to your website – but only if you go about it in the right way.
First, open a Twitter account and begins tweeting about all the goings-on with your business. Are you running a sale? Do you offer special discounts of one variety or another? Let the world know about it via Twitter. Be sure to place a Twitter button on your website to make it easy for your customers to “follow’ you.
Next, put up a Facebook page for your business. Yes, I know you probably already have a personal Facebook account, but your business needs one of its own that’s completely independent of yours. Place a Facebook “Like” button on your site, then hook up with as many “friends” as you can, preferably folks who are interested in your products and services. Every time you send out a tweet about something pertaining to your business, make a Facebook entry talking about it as well.
MySpace has declined a bit in market share (thanks to Facebook), but they still have millions of regular users. Set up a MySpace account for your business as well, and update it often. If your time is limited, concentrate primarily on Facebook , but don’t let your MySpace page go dormant. Update it at least once a week with new, but more general information about your business.
In conclusion, the answer to the question in this article’s title is a resounding YES! In today’s world of Web 2.0 and smart phones, if you aren’t making effective use of social media you’re definitely “leaving money on the table”.
About the author: Kevin Matney is a web marketing professional and search engine optimization (SEO) expert From Houston, Texas.