With the average small business now spending more than $75,000 a year on digital marketing, the smallest businesses are looking for a leg up. One of the ways they try to do with is through search engines and social media search tools. With the right approach and lots of high-quality content, you’ll be able to connect to your audience in an organic way and attract lots of customers.
Here are four tips to ensure you get the audience you’re looking for with an SEO approach for social media searches.
1. Boost Your Followers
The number of followers and connections you have on social media has a lot to do with your ranking. While not all the content you post is going to be combed through by search engines, follower numbers are a pretty straightforward metric to read.
However, it’s not only the number of followers you have but the quality of those followers. When your followers engage with you and participate with your brand on social media, that’s when you know you’re onto something. Don’t make the mistake of trying to buy followers, as social media companies are going to see through that and end up penalizing you for it. One such company that has found a lot of success with this is famoid.com, as they not only offer social follower services, they also have sharing and likes solutions in place as well.
Google and other search engines have the ability to detect the quality of followers. Build organically instead.
When you build your following organically, you’re going to have to be patient. Just be sure that you present your brand as unique and consistent. When you use a consistent and clear voice with your customers, again and again, you’ll become dependable and worth the follow.
Follow up with followers once they engage with you. Other people end up seeing that on their feeds and if they’re not following you, they will. If they haven’t engaged with you yet, they will, knowing that you respond quickly and honestly.
2. More Inbound Links From External Sites
Social media makes it easy and promotes the use of links from external sites to your content. When you have lots of diverse links that all go back to your URL, search engines are going to respond positively. They’ll see that your content is valuable and that you have authority when it comes to your followers.
However, you need to start by having lots of content for people to share. If you haven’t started a blog yet, now’s the time to do it. See what Mojo Media web design and SEO is doing if you’re trying to decide on a look for your blog.
Social media is a broadcast channel for your quality content. If you take the time to create original and useful content, that works to bait an audience to see what you have to offer. Your social channels dangle that in front of your social media audience and get them to bite by clicking, reading, and sharing.
Just about every subject in every industry has all kinds of hashtags already in place to talk about it. See which hashtags are relevant to your content and how you’re trying to communicate with your audience. Bring your content to threads and discussions already in place.
You’ll boost your reputation and get the most out of your link sources.
3. Optimize Posts
When you’re looking to get your posts seen by as many people as possible, you need to ensure that have posts that are ready for social media.
Start with a great anchor like a video or an infographic to your content. That starts as your foundation for what you’re looking to offer to your audience. Once you’ve created something that’s got a lot to offer when it comes to visual “pop”, all you have to do is to frame it correctly.
Start by offering a strong title for your post. it needs to be accurate and descriptive while being economical. You need to run the delicate balancing act of writing short text that gives your audience what they’re looking for without being obscure or wordy.
One of the best ways to do this is to start with a common question that draws viewers in. Think about ways your products and services serve to help your audience in tangible ways. If you’re a bedding company, try asking “Looking for the best way to fold a fitted sheet?”
This brings in lots of readers and an audience who is definitely interested in what you’re offering. Consider pivoting your question to recent news items or what’s going on in the world that day. You’ll get an added boost because of timeliness.
4. Locally Optimize Your Posts
Social media is a community exercise. When the internet began, it started as a way for people to communicate across the world, remotely. With computers individually linked to one another, the idea was that more people added more to the conversation.
Social media and search engines, at their purest form, still contribute to this idea of community. However, what’s changed more recently is the importance of local communities and minor tribes. This can be anything from people looking for other Manga readers in Omaha, Nebraska or travelers looking for deep dish pizza while in west Texas.
A perfect example of how to optimize site content for local audiences and small businesses, can be see at axe throwing bars directory. Their site lists all of the most popular location in the U.S. to go axe throwing, while also providing users with the best contact information and phone numbers for each location. Not only does this help with the actual search process and navigation of the site, it also helps with local and long tail rankings as well.
The way to do this with your social media presence is to post when your company is involved in a local event or connected to a local news story. Most people prefer to engage with local brands and local businesses when possible. Letting your audience know where you’re located on social media helps search engines to put you on their radar.
Add keywords that talk about your neighborhood, your city, or other landmarks people find notable.
Social Media Search Engines Work Like Google
While they’re not all created equally, if you apply a similar approach to social media search engines that you do with other SEO, you’ll succeed. It takes some finessing and massaging of your posts but once you get into the rhythm, you’ll see your engagements start to climb.
For some of the business, innovations to look out for in the coming year, check out our latest guide.