Free Traffic to your site with Social Media
Recently, we outlined 20 FREE ways to drive traffic to your site. The methods were broken down by category, but I realized there is so much more information to these tips than just listing them out. First up, are the Social Media methods. By consistently employing each of the methods below, I promise you will see more traffic to your site. Let’s get started….
1. Twitter
Just in case you need to be reminded of the obvious – Twitter is a great place to engage an audience and promote your brand. Use this strategy as you begin:
- First you need to get a following to have someone to promote your blog/website to. Shoot for 5-7 daily tweets. A couple your own content, maybe a retweet, a couple that share or comment on others content, (the more relevant to your niche the better) and asking one conversational question seem to be the norm.
- Make sure tweets with your own content contain links back to your blog/website.
- Make sure to follow people everyday and engage your new followers through the tweeting rules above. It’s best to follow those that would be interested in your brand as you start. A keyword search within Twitter can help you to get started.
- Certainly follow back anyone that follows you
- Add you blog/website URL prominently to your Twitter Profile.
2. Pinterest
- Before your first pin, do some research and identify your target audience. You’ll want to use keywords in your pin descriptions as well as images that will speak to them.
- Then use your blog post or website images to create your pins. This is where interesting, original images will come in handy. Consider infographics – even if they are not part of your post, but as a way to summarize it. Consider even just text – choose eye-catching fonts and colors to state your blog title or website page title.
- Remember that research you did with keywords? Well make sure to include those keywords in your pin description so others can find you. Include your blog or website URL as well in your description. You’ll notice that you can type a whole lot there in the description, but I suggest just enough to captivate your audience and get them to click-through to your blog post or website. Keywords can be used with #hashtags similar to Twitter.
- Make use of the Pinterest Social Sharing button on your blog or website images. Your able to control where the image directs and initially, the description.
- Similar to Twitter, get social! Don’t just promote your brand, but pin other’s relevant posts as well. Your building a community of viewers to your site as well as developing and sharing your visitors with one another, in an effort to attract more visitors.
3. Facebook
- Make sure to share your blog posts and any brand news. Look helpful by sharing news and articles that others in your niche may find relevant.
- Comment with care on pages similar to your niche.
- Remember one of the strategies of Twitter was to share your own content with a tweet? To add credibility to your blog or website with another social media outlet, consider linking your tweet back to the blog post posted on Facebook. Use sparingly as remember, you’d rather they direct back to your blog or website.
- You can be a little more casual on Twitter, but try to keep Facebook only about content regarding your blog and brand.
- With your personal Facebook maybe consider updating your “Work and Education” section to represent your Facebook Fan page for your blog or website.
- Now that you have a Fan Page don’t forget to review your Facebook insights. Visit http://www.facebook.com/insights while logged in. You’ll get a look at how others are engaging with your posts so you know what kind of content to keep providing your users so they’ll keep coming back.
4. Google+
- Just like the other networks will pay off if you research your industry keywords, do so here as well. Use those keywords when completing your “About” section of your profile.
- Google+ activity will show up in a search result over other Social Media activity during a Google Search. Again, post often in your + account and pay attention to those keywords most relevant to the audience you wish to attract. They’re likely to find you when your content is ranking high.
- Take advantage of the Google+ Hangouts. It’s a way to interactively mingle with those who are interested in your blog or website niche topic. Try providing informative advice on your niche in general to attract the most viewers – don’t use it as a session to promote your blog or business. And guess what?! After the experience, since you directly engaged someone, guess who they will be talking about after. 🙂 It’s such a cool, new thing that people will definitely be talking about their Google+ Hangout experience. (hopefully with you)
- There’s this little thing called Google Authorship that happens naturally as you link your Google+ profile to your blog and vice versa. Google Authorship means it begins to trust you as a source on your topic. You’ll begin to rank higher so others find you. Bonus: You’re Google+ Profile pic may show up in Google Search results along your blog post or website! So make sure your Google+ Profile pic is best representing you or your business.
- Engage, Engage, Engage. Use your Google + profile often to find new followers and interact so you attract more followers. The benefit here over other social networks is that you will eventually begin to rank higher in search results (meaning greater chances of people finding your blog/website) as your network grows.
5. LinkedIn
- Make sure to upload your blog posts here. Especially the more polished of your posts that would be helpful to those in your niche. For your website – provide your project status updates or any new developments.
- Take advantage of the “Recommendations”. Did you work with someone who maybe helped by guest posting, or provided design services? Give them an honest ‘recommendation’. These recommendations show up on their profile and get you views to your profile. Now sell ’em on your profile to bring traffic back to your site!
- You can import other social media streams to your profile. Try a widget for uploading your Tweets. Just be careful not be sale-sy as you Tweet.
- Take advantage of LinkedIn’s Answers resource. Browse through your industry Keywords to provide expertise on other’s questions. When you post your answer, there’s a link back to your profile and you may gain creditability. It works by asking questions too.
- Update your Business Skills. By choosing wisely, you’re bound to attract viewers as well as appear in the “Related Companies” for the skills you choose. For each skill set there are also groups to join.