Ready, Set, Go…
So you finally are ready to take the plunge into Social Media. Or you’re neck deep with a Facebook account (and maybe even Facebook Page), Twitter account, and who knows, maybe LinkedIn, Youtube, Flickr and on and on.
To help decide which ones you want to focus on, consider that implementing Social Media into your web design will help increase customer engagement with your website. That’s a good thing. Decide on which apps and widgets make sense for the Social Media you use.
Here are 5 great ways to make your Social Media part of your website now:
1. Twitter Profile Updates: Put your Twitter updates right on your website. This is a good way to get fresh content on your website since you are Tweeting anyway.
2. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter Buttons or Icons: Put them on your site so people can connect with you. I come accross interesting businesses all the time. A simple click on the Twitter button would work great for following them. But for those businesses who don’t have it, I have to search for their account. If it’s not their business name I may never find them. Make it easy with buttons. You can find them anywhere. Just search Social Media Buttons or Icons.
3. Twitter Lists: Here’s one that I can’t wait to integrate into our own web design at TG Web Media. To much fan fare, Twitter announced its new list functionality and the people rejoiced. With Twitter Lists, you can now organize all your employees tweets into one list and put that on your website. Or just put industry thought leaders or news gatherers in separate lists and populate your website that way. Content is King and with Twitter lists you can add more of your content to your site — it’s real time and constantly updated to boot.
4. Facebook Fans: There are plenty of Facebook Badges for your web design considerations. Facebook Pages do have analytics for those measuring ROI, or trying to (see below). Of course, Facebook is huge and you have the ability to tap into hundreds of millions of users, get real feedback on your business and build a community and hopefully, a referral source. Read more here about the Facebook Like Box widget.
5. Blog with Comments: Blogs are no secret but when you add comments and allow appropriate material to be linked, you are helping fellow bloggers and by so doing creating a community while being available to your customers. Let them give you direct feedback. Take what they say and use it to thank them or improve your service and product line.
Many businesses want to see proven Return On Investment numbers before integrating Social Media into their web design or even putting time into it in the first place. But I think the need to quantify ROI on Social Media is over emphasized.
You market your business every day. Your logo, your business card, the way you shake hands, the people you try to have lunch with, your elevator pitch, the way the phone is answered at your place of business etc. There is no ROI in that. It’s instead goodwill, reputation or just positive outlook but it continues to draw new customers to your business and defines you.
Social Media is not advertising. It is not Google Pay Per Click ads that give you Click Through Rate and Cost Per Click while tracking conversion rates right to your website. As with other forms of marketing, Social Media ROI is hard to measure. In fact, by some accounts, almost 85% of Social Media Programs don’t measure ROI.
You can’t measure ROI on a new logo design either. But you know when you like it enough to show it off every chance you get. Make Social Media part of your business identity and show it off every chance you get..