Social sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest have one important thing that you don’t: people.
Lots and lots of people. By finding ways to connect with affinity groups on these sites your firm can tap into new visibility.
Each of these channels is another opportunity to promote your website and generate new visitors.
Which social networks are right for your firm depends on where your audience is hanging out online?
If you are in professional services, there is a high probability that your target clients have a presence on LinkedIn.
But Twitter, Facebook and other highly trafficked sites can lead to new eyeballs as well.
When building out your high-performance website, here are three ways to incorporate social media elements into your designs:
1. Social Media Icons: Placing social media icons in the header and/or footer of your web pages allows visitors to find and connect to your social profiles whenever they want. Link these icons to your company social media pages. Often, visitors will click through the icons, connect with you on the social sites, and then receive your updates moving forward.
2. Social Sharing Buttons: On your blog posts, include buttons that allow readers to easily share your content in social networks. When a visitor wants to alert his or her network to a valuable piece it’s a snap for them to introduce your content to new viewers. Often these buttons include counters that tell readers how many shares a content piece has received.
3. Social Calls to Action: Instead of relying on icons alone, take things a step further and encourage people to join your networks. Give them a reason to click through and connect. Here are a few examples:
• Like us on Facebook for exclusive content
• Follow us on Twitter for our tip of the day
• Join our special group on LinkedIn!
Once these social networks have been integrated into your lead generating website, visitors will be able to connect with you through a number of different channels. But for social media to truly benefit your firm and drive significant new web traffic, you must go out and engage people on these networks.
On a regular basis, interact in appropriate niche groups within each network: share your expertise and develop connections. Like a real networking event, the point isn’t to promote your company. It is to create relationships, add value by sharing your knowledge and, when appropriate, link back to blog posts and other relevant content. As you do this, your once-quiet website will begin to come alive and be noticed.
A high-traffic website filled with great content is fantastic. But what separates you from the free encyclopedias of this world? You still need to make profit.
In other words, your visitors need to become leads. And that’s up next.
