In the early days of the internet, SEO was everything when it came to building an online presence. The higher your website ranked in search engine results pages, the more traffic you stood to get. And while SEO is still important today, social media has become an increasingly powerful force when it comes to building online presence.
For businesses and brands looking to succeed online, social media is just as important as SEO. This is why it helps to have a holistic approach to digital marketing, which involves implementing the right combination of strategies from SEO to social media. When done correctly, this approach can lead to big results in terms of online visibility and traffic.
In this blog, we help you navigate the social media sphere to boost your brand’s SEO efforts. Discover how to choose the right platform and leverage social media today!
What Online Presence Means for Brands and Businesses
Online presence is a term used to describe a business or brand’s digital footprint. This includes everything from the website to the social media accounts to the online reviews.
To build online presence, businesses and brands need to focus on creating a strong digital foundation. This means:
- Having a website that is well-designed and user-friendly, and is updated regularly with fresh content.
- Having active social media accounts, with engaging content that attracts followers.
- Monitoring online reviews and responding promptly to any negative feedback.
By focusing on these key elements, businesses and brands can create a strong online presence that will help them succeed in today’s digital age.
There was a time not too long ago when having an online presence simply meant having a website. But in today’s digital landscape, there’s so much more to it than that. Your website still serves as the prime space for your online presence, but social media has become increasingly crucial as well.
In fact, here are some interesting data points to digest, c/o of Hootsuite’s Digital 2022 Global Overview Report:
- 10.1% rise in social media users in the last year, equal to 4.62 billion social media users across the globe
- 154 billion USD spent on social media advertising in the last year, equal to 33.1% of the total global digital advertising spend
- 58.4% of internet users all over the world make an online purchase every week, and 30.6% of these users are on mobile
Your online presence is now the sum of all the ways you interact with and are seen by your audience online. This includes everything from your website to your social media profiles, as well as the way you show up in search engine results pages.
In the past, SEO was all about optimizing your website for the search engines. But with social signals now influencing search engine algorithms, it’s become just as beneficial to optimize your social media profiles for SEO.
Not only that, but social media can also help to drive traffic to your website. Datareportal.com’s research shows that while the share of social media referrals to website traffic is no reason to pop the champagne, it remains to be a vital source of traffic for many brands and businesses doing digital marketing.
This means that if you’re not active on social media, you’re missing out on a big opportunity to reach new audiences and drive traffic to your website.
SEO and Social Media: The Key to Unlocking Online Relevancy
A holistic approach to online presence combines the best of two worlds: SEO and social media.
By definition, SEO involves several processes that aim to configure a website according to a certain criteria, which then makes it perform better for search engines. As a process, its main purpose is to improve the visibility of a website based on search keywords.
Social media marketing, on the other hand, is the use of the different social media networking sites and online platforms to reach their target audiences and build their brands. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, for example, are three of the most popular social media platforms today.
As a brand or business, it is worth considering how your digital marketing strategy should not be built on social media vs SEO, as if it is an “either or” situation; but instead, it should be structured around a flexible, interwoven, and overlapping process that makes use of both strategies’ advantages.
It All Begins with Your Website’s SEO
SEO is a process that can be executed in a variety of ways. The most common methods include on-page optimization, off-page optimization, and link building.
On-page optimization refers to the process of optimizing individual web pages in order to rank higher in search engine results pages. This can be done by optimizing the page title, meta tags, and content for relevant keywords.
Off-page optimization, on the other hand, refers to the process of promoting a website through external means such as link building and social media.
Link building is the process of acquiring links from other websites back to your own. This is done in order to improve the authority of your site and improve your ranking in search engine results pages.
And finally, social media can also be used as a tool for SEO. This involves promoting your website and content on social media platforms in order to drive traffic back to your site.
When all of these methods are combined, they can create a powerful SEO strategy that can help businesses and brands succeed online.
Remember that your website is real estate that you own in the digital world – it serves as your business establishment and your customers’ ultimate destination.
Here are some of the advantages of SEO and why your business should be leveraging it today:
- Higher web traffic levels
- Improved visibility of site
- Improved relationships with customers
- Increased brand awareness
- More leads and conversions
Depending on your business goals and needs, you can implement an SEO campaign with the right KPI’s to hit any of these specific objectives.
How Impactful is Social Media Marketing Today?
Social media marketing, essentially, involves having a business account or business page in the different social media platforms and using it to communicate with online consumers.
There is no question that social media marketing is one of the most effective ways to reach potential and current customers today. Not only is it a great way to build relationships, but it’s also a great way to drive traffic to your website.
Here’s a short video for small businesses on the basics of social media marketing by HubSpot Marketing:
As highlighted earlier, nearly 60% of internet users buy something online and 30% of these users are using a mobile device. And with more than a billion people on at least one social media platform, this means that if you’re not using social media, you’re missing out on a big opportunity to reach new customers and drive traffic to your website.
In addition, social media can also help increase brand awareness. A study by Sprout Social found that 71% of people who follow brands on social media are more likely to buy from those brands. Imagine a brand with a high volume of social media followers on their page and the potential customers that they can nurture and convert.
The Digital Age is proof that social media marketing is a powerful tool that businesses should be leveraging today. A well-executed social media marketing strategy offers a great way to reach new customers, drive traffic to your website, and increase brand awareness.
There are a number of benefits to social media marketing that businesses should take advantage of today. Some of these benefits include:
- Increased brand awareness
- More leads and conversions
- Improved relationships with customers
- Increased web traffic levels
- Improved visibility of site
- Increased brand loyalty
Given these benefits, a social media marketing campaign can run alongside an SEO campaign with similar objectives to maximize your digital marketing strategy in building your brand’s online presence.
It is also important for you to know that when it comes to social media marketing, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Every business will have to tailor their social media marketing strategy to fit their own unique needs. However, there are a number of common methods that can be used to execute a successful social media marketing strategy.
Here is a general roadmap to social media marketing that you can follow:
The first step is to create a social media policy for your business. This will outline the types of content that you will be sharing, the tone of your social media presence, and the types of relationships you want to build with your customers.
The next step is to create profiles for your business on relevant social media platforms. These profiles should be filled out completely with accurate information, and you should make sure to post regularly. Make sure to choose the social media platforms that your target audiences use the most.
Content development is the following step for your social media profiles. The content that you produce should be relevant to your audience and should provide value. You should also make sure to post regularly so that your followers don’t forget about you. Remember that content development is an on-going activity for your social media campaign, so it helps to use a content calendar.
The final step is to promote your brand on social media. You can do this by sharing it on your own personal profiles, but you should also consider using paid advertising or hiring a social media manager to help you reach more people.
A holistic approach to a digital marketing strategy can truly be a powerful tool for businesses of all sizes, whether B2C or B2B, but it requires hours of research, analysis, ad creation, and A/B testing to be done effectively. The following sections below serve as a guide to using the popular social media platforms in building your brand’s online presence.
Using Facebook Ads in Your Social Media Marketing Strategy
Facebook Ads are a powerful way to improve your online presence. Besides, you have an option to enable or turn off Facebook ads comments whenever you want. By targeting your audience with eye-catching and relevant ads, you can increase traffic to your website and improve your search engine optimization (SEO).
When most people think of SEO, they think of on-page optimization, link building, and other technical aspects of ranking a website. However, SEO is about much more than just rankings. It’s also about driving traffic to your site from all corners of the internet. That’s why a holistic approach to online presence is so important. And one of the best ways to do this is by doing Facebook SEO using Facebook Ads.
There are a few reasons that make Facebook Ads effective for SEO:
- First, they allow you to target a very specific audience with your message. This ensures that only people who are interested in what you have to offer will see your ad.
- Second, Facebook Ads are very affordable, meaning you can reach a large number of people without breaking the bank.
- Finally, Facebook Ads are highly effective at driving traffic to your website or landing page.
And even if it seems like Facebook is a platform exclusive to B2C marketing, Facebook Ads for B2B can actually be just as cost-effective for many enterprises. Business owners and decision-makers are people as well, who also spend some time interacting with friends and family through the world’s largest social media platform.
So, if you’re looking to improve your online presence and boost your SEO, consider using Facebook Ads as part of your social media marketing strategy. With a little time and effort, you can see significant results.
Here are some tips on how to effectively use Facebook Ads for your social media marketing strategy:
- Define your target audience. Who do you want to reach with your ads? Make sure you target your ads to people who are likely to be interested in your product or service.
What makes Facebook Ads a great way to reach potential customers on social media is that the platform allows you to target specific demographics, interests, and even locations. Use this data to your advantage.
- When creating a Facebook ad, you should start by choosing your objective. This could be anything from increasing brand awareness to driving traffic to your website. Your audience and objective are necessary considerations in creating an effective ad.
Once you’ve chosen your objective, you need to create your ad. This will include the headline, the description, and the image. You should also choose the target audience for your ad and set a budget.
- Choose the right ad format. There are several different types of Facebook Ads, so make sure you choose the right one for your goals. For example, if you want to increase website traffic, choose a link ad, which takes the user to your business website.
- Create compelling ad copy. Your ad copy should be clear and concise, and it should focus on the benefits of your product or service. Include a call to action that encourages people to click on your ad.
Once you’ve created your ad, it’s time to publish it. You can do this by clicking on the “Publish” button in the Ads Manager.
- Use strong visuals. People are more likely to engage with an ad that includes attractive visuals. Make sure your images are high-quality and relevant to your product or service.
- Test, test, test! Once your ad is published, it will start to appear in the news feeds of people who match your target audience. From there, you can track the performance of your ad and make changes if necessary.
Try different strategies and tactics with your Facebook Ads to see what works best for your business. Experiment with different ad formats, targeting options, and copywriting techniques until you find a winning formula.
Facebook ads are a great way to improve your social media marketing strategy. They allow you to reach a specific target audience and can be customized to fit your budget. Adam Erhart shares some effective strategies in 2022 for Facebook Ads in the video below:
When used correctly, Facebook ads can help you reach your marketing goals.
How to Use Twitter in Your Social Media Marketing Strategy
If you want to give your online presence a boost, there’s no better way to do it than through social media marketing. And of all the social media platforms out there, Twitter is one of the most effective for boosting SEO. That’s because Twitter is a powerful search engine in its own right, with over 229 million daily active users.
What’s more, tweets have a relatively long shelf life compared to other types of social media content, and they’re easy to share and retweet. But just because Twitter can be effective for boosting your SEO doesn’t mean that it’s easy to do.
Here are some tips to using Twitter in your holistic digital marketing strategy to SEO and social media marketing:
- First, it’s important to understand how Twitter works as a search engine. Hashtags are one of the most important elements of Twitter search, so you need to use them strategically in your tweets. Research popular hashtags in your industry and include them in your tweets whenever possible.
- Use hashtags judiciously. Hashtags are a great way to reach a wider audience, but using too many hashtags in a single tweet can come across as spammy.
You should also consider creating your own branded hashtag that you can use to promote your business or brand. Once you’ve identified relevant hashtags to use, make sure to use them consistently and sparingly – too many hashtags in a single tweet will make it difficult to read and will turn off potential customers or followers.
- In addition to using hashtags strategically, you also need to pay attention to the content of your tweets. As with any other type of content you create for social media or your website, your tweets should be high-quality, well-written, and informative. Engagement is crucial on Twitter, so make sure to respond promptly to any questions or comments you receive from potential customers or followers.
- Tweeting regularly is essential to growing your followers and expanding your reach. But, don’t just tweet for the sake of tweeting – make sure your tweets are interesting, informative, or entertaining. Take advantage of Twitter’s @ feature by tagging other users in your tweets when relevant. This is a great way to start conversations and build relationships with other Twitter users.
- Remember that personal interactions go a long way on Twitter. Responding to @mentions and direct messages shows that you’re accessible and engaged with your audience. Retweeting relevant content from other users is also another great way to share interesting information with your followers while also giving credit to the original poster.
- Finally, consider using Twitter Ads as a way to reach even more people with your message.
Here’s another quick video by HubSpot Marketing on using Twitter Ads effectively to increase your follower count and generate mote sales:
By following these simple and easy tips, you can use Twitter to effectively boost your online presence.
How to Use LinkedIn in Your Social Media Marketing Strategy
You’ve likely heard that “Content is king” when it comes to SEO. And that’s true. The right kind of content can attract links, signals, and social shares like nothing else. However, if you’re only focused on creating great content, you’re leaving a lot of link building and SEO potential on the table.
One way to get more out of your content is to supplement it with an effective social media strategy, and LinkedIn marketing offers a great platform to start with, especially if you’re B2B.
First, let’s look at how LinkedIn can help with SEO.
As a business-focused social network with mostly professional audiences, LinkedIn is a powerful platform for building relationships and establishing thought leadership. But it can also be a great tool for driving traffic to your website and generating leads.
In fact, per Hootsuite, 93% of B2B marketers prefer to use LinkedIn for organic social marketing, placing the platform well ahead of Facebook and Twitter. It is the digital space for business-related content, which helps drive authoritativeness for SEO.
Here are a few things you can do to make sure your LinkedIn profile and content are set up for online success:
- Optimize your profile. Just as you would with any other Web property, make sure your LinkedIn profile is optimized for your target keywords. Include those keywords in your title, summary, and throughout your work experience section.
- Make sure your website is linked. Include links back to your website in both your profile and any articles or updates that you share on LinkedIn. Not only will this drive traffic back to your site, but it will also help search engines understand what topics you’re knowledgeable about.
For example, if you’re the CEO of a digital marketing agency, it is but natural that you want to gain authority and relevance in your industry or niche, whether it’s SEO, content marketing, or social media expertise.
- Use rich media. LinkedIn gives you the ability to format your posts with rich media like images and videos. These types of posts tend to perform better than plain text updates, so be sure to take advantage of this feature whenever possible.
Using LinkedIn as part of a holistic approach to boosting your online presence can be effective if that is where your audience is most active.
For B2B marketers, you can take full advantage of all the different ways the platform can be leveraged for SEO benefits – from optimizing profiles and sharing rich media updates featuring original content from your website, to building relationships with other thought leaders in the industry.
If you’re unsure or uncertain about what kind of content you have to include in your LinkedIn Business Page, here’s an insightful video by Social Media Examiner on LinkedIn content strategies you can try:
When done right, using LinkedIn as part of a social media marketing strategy can be a game-changer for businesses looking to improve their online presence and organic reach.
How to Use Influencer Marketing and Instagram or TikTok in Your Social Media Marketing Strategy
There’s no question that a strong online presence is critical for businesses in the modern age. But what’s the best way to achieve that? Many businesses focus on SEO to the exclusion of other important factors, but a holistic approach that takes social media into account can be much more effective.
When it comes to social media marketing, influencer marketing is one of the most effective strategies businesses can use.
By partnering with key influencers in your industry, you can reach a large and engaged audience quickly and easily. And thanks to the power of Instagram and TikTok, there are more opportunities than ever before to connect with influencers.
With over a billion monthly active users, Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms in the world. And it’s not just individuals who are using the platform – businesses of all sizes are getting in on the action as well. And given its emphasis on visuals and aesthetics, it offers a great platform for working with influencers.
By sharing scroll-stopping photos and irresistible viral videos, brands can quickly build an engaged following on Instagram. And if you’re smart about it, you can use that following to boost your SEO efforts via Instagram marketing.
TikTok, meanwhile, is a relative newcomer to the social media landscape, but it’s already become hugely popular – especially among younger users. The platform offers businesses a unique opportunity to reach out to this key demographic in a fun and engaging way. And like Instagram, TikTok marketing can also be used to drive traffic back to your website and improve your SEO.
And like Instagram as well, it is also among the best platforms for influencer marketing because it’s all about short, creative videos crafted to be viral. If you can find influencers who produce content that aligns with your brand, you can hook in a whole new audience and get them interested in what you have to offer.
TikTok users are also very engaged with the platform, so if they see something they like, they’re likely to share it with their friends. And as we all know, word-of-mouth is still the best kind of marketing there is.
Of course, building a strong presence on both Instagram and TikTok takes time, effort, and resources. But if you’re serious about improving your online presence, it’s well worth the investment. By using these two powerful platforms strategically, you can give your business the boost it needs to expand your reach and add more authority to your brand’s reputation.
Here’s a two-minute video comparing the two platforms’ notable differences for influencer marketing:
Implementing a Holistic Approach to Building Your Online Presence
A holistic approach to online presence is essential for any business that wants to succeed in the digital arena; wherein your brand can end up as the victor – even against enterprises with deeper marketing budgets. With so much competition, it’s more important than ever to make sure your website is visible and your brand is easy to find online. And social media is a key part of that equation.
Social media also offers an invaluable way to connect with customers and build meaningful relationships with them. By interacting with your followers and responding to their comments, you can create a loyal customer base that will be more likely to buy from you in the future. And thanks to the power of social media, those customers can reach out to their friends and family members as well, increasing your potential reach exponentially.
Remember that your online customers are more than just faceless accounts, but they are also real people who have real-life needs and desires that they can encounter online. Empathize with your audience and leverage these interactions on social media.
SEO is still an important part of any online marketing strategy, but it’s no longer enough on its own. In order to be successful online, you need to make sure your brand is visible on the social platforms that are relevant to your ideal customers.
Take B2B marketers, for example, and how LinkedIn marketing enables a B2B brand’s growth by reaching a larger audience of decision-makers and getting these users interested in what your business has to offer, which then prompts these audiences to visit your online business’ home page.
By focusing on both SEO and social media, you can reach a larger audience and drive more traffic back to your website. With the right strategies on platforms like Facebook or LinkedIn, you can also connect with potential customers in a more engaging and interactive way – without looking like you’re trying so hard to make a sale.
How to Create a Holistic Marketing Strategy for Online Success
So, if you’re looking to improve your online presence, it’s essential to implement a holistic approach that takes both SEO and social media into account.
But first, it’s important to consider your business’ goals and needs. You can start by asking these questions:
- What does the company hope to achieve by being active on social media?
- What kind of message does it want to communicate?
- And what kind of tone should that message have?
Answering these questions is critical to developing a social media strategy that will work for your online business. Once you know what you want to achieve, you can start to develop a plan for how to get there. And that’s where a holistic approach comes in.
A holistic approach to online presence takes all of your company’s goals and needs into account. It looks at your website’s SEO, your local SEO and customer reviews, social media activity, and your overall online presence to develop a comprehensive plan for how you can improve your visibility and reach online.
So, it’s necessary to consider your current strengths and weaknesses. Having access to the right marketing data can be instrumental in figuring this out. That being said, here are the different factors that can influence how you craft your digital marketing strategies:
1. Your Target Audience
2. Your Industry
3. The Competition
4. Your Budget
5. Your Timeframe
6. The Goals of Your Marketing Campaign
There is no cookie-cutter or templated approach to a holistic SEO and social media marketing process, as each business will have different needs and goals.
However, some common ways to execute a holistic approach include integrating SEO and social media into your website design, using social media to improve your website’s visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs), and developing a content strategy that targets both SEO and social media.
For example, you could integrate SEO into your website’s coding so that your site is more easily crawled by search engines, use social media platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn to share your content with a wider audience, or create blog posts that are optimized for both SEO and social media sharing.
You can also use social media to build relationships with influencers in your industry. These are people with a large following on social media who can help get your brand name out there by targeting specific niches. But outside influencer marketing, it is of utmost importance to note how the goal here is to prioritize quality over quantity in reaching your online audience.
Choose the right social media platform to leverage alongside your website SEO based on your business goals and needs.
Finally, it’s important to keep in mind that a holistic approach requires ongoing effort and monitoring. As your business grows and changes, so too will your digital marketing strategies. By regularly evaluating your results and making changes as needed, you can ensure that your holistic approach continues to be effective.
Leverage Your Advantages in the Digital Age
The bottom line is that both SEO and social media are important for businesses that want to succeed online. A comprehensive digital marketing strategy will make use of both SEO and social media to help achieve optimum results.
SEO is important because it helps businesses get their websites seen by potential customers who are using search engines like Google, Yahoo!, and Bing. Search engine optimization ensures that when people search for keywords related to your business, your website appears as high up on the list of results as possible – effectively keeping your brand top of mind.
Social media, on the other hand, is important because it allows businesses to directly engage with their target audiences. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok, and Instagram provide businesses with an opportunity to connect with customers, deliver excellent customer service, and build lasting relationships.
In addition, social media can also be used to drive traffic back to your website – giving you a double boost in terms of visibility.
So, what’s the secret to successful online presence?
A holistic approach that incorporates both SEO and social media into your digital marketing strategy! By using a combination of these two powerful tools, you can achieve better visibility, stronger relationships with customers, and improved search engine rankings – setting your business up for success in today’s digitally-driven economy.
Make sure you’re building your brand’s online presence the right way. Apart from implementing social media marketing for SEO, be sure to track your link building campaigns with ease and efficiency.
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