Beginner’s Guide: How can I use the social web effectively?

A few years ago, blogging and social media were still separate.

Blogging is serious handwork and social media short, personal and spontaneous.

Media experts even predicted that social media would sooner or later even replace blogging.

Today, the two channels coexist in a certain degree of interdependence and complement each other perfectly.

The trick is to link the social media content with articles, use it for further information and the social media content to advertise the article.

Social media has changed marketing

Since Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Co. social media also have a big influence on the search engine ranking.

Some years ago it was only possible to generate corresponding traffic via search engines to your own website.

Today the situation has completely changed, marketers and bloggers use social media channels to target readers and customers with the same interests for their own websites.

Therefore it has become indispensable for every blogger not to be on the road in well-known social media channels.

Video platforms are also gaining more and more importance in order to tap into targeted customer flows.

What is Social Media Marketing?

Social Media Marketing (SMM) is a term used in marketing and management to generate targeted traffic from social media websites.

SMM is based on user interaction. Every place where people can interact is also a place where marketing can take place.

Let's take a closer look at the individual social media channels:

Social Media

These include Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and the like, where users share certain content and media.

Social Bookmarking

Websites such as Digg or Delicious where users can bookmark their favorite URLs and share them publicly.

Social News

Websites like Newstral, where users can submit news articles, which are then rated by popularity.

Social Apps

With the increasing use of smartphones, the importance of social apps such as Foursquare and Viber is increasing, where users interact with each other.

Popular social media channels:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Google+ (influence on search engine ranking)
• LinkedIn
• Instagramm
• YouTube
• Digg
• Pinterest
• Reddit
• Foursquare

Depending on the topic of your website, the right social media channels should be selected on which you would like to carry out the appropriate promotion.

Social media marketing for bloggers

Unfortunately, it is not possible to treat a general advertising technique the same for every blog on every social media page.

Every blog and every social media site works differently.

What we can do, however, are to examine some advantages of social media channels more closely.

A social media marketing strategy will directly help to reach those users who can identify with the topic of your website.

Or in other words, whose interests coincide with the theme of your website.

Social media marketing will help to increase your domain popularity and generate the traffic relevant for you.

Pros of social media marketing:

• Free traffic that is also suitable for niches.
• Increased domain popularity or also called networking.
• Better visibility and popularity through social signals.
• Favourable and better conversions which have an impact on higher revenues.
• Improves the ranking in the search engines in the long run.
• Supports the development of your brand and helps you to better market your own products.

What to consider when dealing with social media channels?

The golden rule already implies the name, it is about being social in the social media channels.

Instead of acting like a machine, try to develop a feeling for what concerns people and try to offer appropriate content.

Here we have summarized a few things that should be considered when dealing with social media channels.

That goes down well:

• Get involved with the readers
• Post regularly, daily or several times a week
• Share links, pictures and videos about your niche
• Keep an eye on trends
• Take an active part in communication on trend topics
• Keep your profile information up to date
• Add humor and a personal touch to your content
• Keep an eye on your competitors' strategies
• Increase the trust and loyalty of your readers

That doesn't go down too well:

• Avoid spam or too much self-promotion
• Avoid buying followers or fans
• Avoid using bots in general to make numbers beautiful.
• Never fight with the readers. Just take it easy.
• Avoid insulting or maligning others
• Do not ignore any feedback or comments
• Don't spend too much time in the social media channels
• Don't drink while posting something

So blogging is not just about SEO or creating content.

You also need to focus on building and expanding your social media reach.

In sum, these factors will be useful and helpful for you and your readers.

Which brings you step by step closer to the goal of a successful website.

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