Why Your SEO Efforts Will Fail Without a Social Strategy by Rachel Serpa

Since the dawn of MySpace, social media has managed to creep into every area of our lives. Admit it: you check yourself in at the airport, find all of your favorite recipes on Pinterest, and even catch yourself thinking 140 characters at a time. Social networks have infiltrated business as well, with both B2C and B2B marketers realizing that the only way to effectively connect with modern consumers is to build social experiences around their brands, products and services.

Although they were at one time considered the north and south poles of marketing, social now plays a significant role in shaping search results. Here are three reasons why your SEO strategies need to be social, and how you can start leveraging social media to improve your search performance today.

More UGC = Better SEO

SEO is a huge pain point for many marketers as they struggle through keyword discovery and fight against the conglomerates that be to surface under phrases that people actually use. When it comes to search rankings, relevant, quality content is key, and when customers post comments or reviews and syndicate them across their social networks, they provide valuable user generated content that improves keyword performance. User generated content is especially useful because it puts your product or service in terms typically used by consumers, uncovering new keywords and increasing searchability. Websites that feature ratings and reviews typically experience a 10-20% increase in CTR on search engine results pages (Inchoo).

#SearchingForHashtags

Once a Twitter-ism, the hashtag has emerged as an acceptable and universal means of communication across the digital landscape, even finding its way into verbal conversations. Consumers now classify and search for specific content using hashtag terms across social networks like Pinterest, Instagram and LinkedIn, and search engines including Yahoo, Google and Bing have recently amplified hashtag visibility in search results. Smart brands are increasing reach and visibility by leveraging both new and existing hashtags to optimize event promotions, user generated content, branding initiatives and more.

“Social Search Engines”

Over the past several years, major search engines have been increasingly relying on users’ social graphs to provide relevant and timely search results. For example, not only does Bing showcase tweets and other social media posts related to users’ searches, but by connecting Bing with their Facebook profiles, users can also see status updates and photos that their connections have posted that are relevant to their search terms. Connecting with consumers via social, having a strong social presence and increasing content shares across networks is becoming mandatory for brands as search results become increasingly social.

As the paths to search and social success continue to merge, only the brands that learn how to incorporate social media into their search strategies will rise above the competition  - literally.

Source: http://blog.gigya.com/why-your-seo-efforts-will-fail-without-a-social-strategy/

5 Things to Check Before Publishing Your Blog Post by Irfan Ahmad

Ever wonder why most bloggers who start with enthusiasm give up so early?

 

The most common reason is many don't get much traction to what they post, others fail to pull enough visitors in, while some just don't understand the art of content execution.

 

Writing blogs may be an effective way for marketers to share ideas with their readers, but that doesn't mean you have to rush through the procedure. By spending just a few minutes before hitting the publish button, you can add more value to your content, value that can bring massive eyeballs and may be higher conversions.

 

The following infographic, which comes courtesy of sushidigital, serves as a checklist of key points to remember before publishing on a finished blog article.

top image credit: 123RF

Soource: http://socialmediatoday.com/irfan-ahmad/2349236/5-things-check-publishing-your-blog-post-infographic

Measuring Your Facebook Page Performance by Irfan Ahmad

 

Are you trying to figure out how much your Facebook followers really like your brand?

 

Facebook is becoming a challenging marketing platform to understand for small businesses. In fact, many business marketers don't understand it at all. They don't know whether their Facebook page is performing well or not, or should we be getting more likes or shares based on their number of the followers.

 

Therefore, the Quintly team has analyzed different key performance Indicators (KPIs) for various page sizes, that will give you a clear idea whether your page is doing well or not. A key takeaway is: The total number of fans is one of the most important metrics for Facebook page admins to measure their ROI (you can compare your total number of fans in below chart).

 

Source: http://socialmediatoday.com/irfan-ahmad/2318441/measuring-your-facebook-page-performance-infographic

Using Twitter as Marketing Tool Is Tough for Brands by Irfan Ahmad

 

Is Twitter an effective marketing tool for brands? What sorts of challenges are businesses facing on Twitter? According to a recent survey conducted by SMMU, 40 percent of brands consider Twitter to be an effective marketing tool. Brands face a number of challenges (like building an audience, developing strong content, etc.) using Twitter as a social media marketing tool, with measuring Return-on-Investment being the greatest challenge.

 

In addition, most brands have not used Twitter's paid services. In fact, some brands were unaware that they were available. Among Twitter features being used on a regular basis, Vine remains underutilized, despite the rise in popularity of video marketing. Check out this infographic below for all the findings from the survey. 

 Source: http://socialmediatoday.com/irfan-ahmad/2312171/using-twitter-marketing-tool-no-easy-feat-brands-infographic

11 Web Marketing and Social Media Trends That Will Shape 2014 by Stephanie Frasco

2014 is going to be a killer year for Social Media and Small Business.

Social Media allows small businesses to leverage technology to even the playing field with bigger brands and companies. In 2014, some of the trends we saw in 2013 will continue to rise while others will fall. But it all comes down to how you communicate with your customers, how you leverage relationships, and of course how you share GREAT content.

Content is what businesses are built on today. It always has been and always will be.

So without further ado, here are 11 trends for 2014 and how you can get ready:

1. Mobile Is About To Go Mainstream
Every website needs to be optimized for mobile. This means having responsive design and thinking about how people interact with your business via mobile devices should be one of your top priorities. As a small business it's time to make the switch to a mobile site if you haven't yet, and think about ways that you can get in front of your customers through their phone. Yes, this include Mobile Apps, SMS, and emails that are designed to be viewed on your cellular phone.

2. Niche Sites Will Make An Impact
As Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus make it harder to get found organically, niche sites are going to prove to be more valuable than ever to get in front of your customers. Not only are niche sites highly targeted, they can also provide a much more affordable solution for advertising.

3. Blogging Will Remain The #1 Way To Generate New Business
Creating great content on a regular basis and driving traffic back to your site is going to remain the number #1 way to generate new leads. This means as a small business, if you don't have a blog yet, it's time to start one. Let us handle it for you. We're the pros.

4. Spammy Content Will Be Eliminated Everywhere
We've seen it happen on Google and now it's happening on Facebook. Spammy content is not going to get you anywhere, and the big sites are cracking down. Think about creating valuable content that resonates with your customers.

5. Google Plus Will Grow Faster Than Ever
G+ is my new favorite social network. With the search benefits from Google and the increased user base, it's likely that your audience will be making the move from Facebook to G+. Being a step ahead of the game is a good idea. Plus, they are about to launch promoted posts (+Post ads) that will get your content to a larger audience than ever before. Get on Google Plus as soon as possible.

6. Triggered Emails Will Increase Sales
Consumers are looking to connect with brands and by providing custom content for them based on their behavior is going to help you increase your sales. We love Infusionsoft, and you should too.

7. Ambassadors And Influencers Will Hold The Power
Influencer marketing and word-of-mouth marketing is going to be one of the most powerful ways to get in front of customers in a new way. By empowering your best customers to spread the word for you, you can gain trust in a new audience and hopefully turn them into new customers.

8. Image-Centric Sites Will Continue To Rise
Instagram, Pinterest and probably many more sites will come about in 2014 that are based around images. While text is not dead, you need to think of ways to incorporate images into your strategy that compliment your written context.

9. Video Consumption Will Increase
Whether it's an educational video or an ad, consumers will look to video content to learn about businesses. Video will continue to create meaningful relationships between business and consumer. Think video customer service here. Oh, and many times they will be watching video on their mobile phone. You know what that means.SEE #1 above.

10. Sharing Will Be More Important Than Ever
Social media sharing will be get ramped up and everyone and their mother will be doing it. While this is a good thing for getting your content shared, it also presents challenges to get found. The key here is to communicate to your customer directly and relevantly and you'll be found.  Plus, it's going to help your search rankings.

11. Marketing Will Be About Adding Value
It's no longer about pushing yourself out there, it's about how you provide value to your customer that matters. Whether this is through blogging, video, or email marketing, in order for people to stay engaged, they have to perceive value.

2014 is going to be an exciting year. Be sure to stay on top of as many of these exciting Social Media trends and Online Marketing trends as you possibly can.