Business. com/Michael Georgiou: How to Use Your Website for Social Media Gain

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How to Use Your Website for Social Media Gain
By Michael Georgiou
Business.com / Branding / Last Modified: June 14, 2018
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An engaging website can help build your company's social media profiles. Find out how to turn your website's success into success on social.

A “good” business website will not only offer information about your company to prospects, but will help drive people to reach out, contact you and take the next step. A company website should have a loud call to action.

Social media can draw people to your website, teaching them more about you and, ideally, converting them to a customer or a warm lead. However, your site can lead people the other direction, to your social media accounts. If your goals are to increase your social media engagement for long-term results, leverage your website.

About 95 percent of millennials are likely to follow a brand via social networking. Make it easy for them to follow you by leveraging your website in these ways.
Add social media buttons to your website.

If you seek to increase your social media reach, a simple first step is to add social follow buttons to your website. In some cases, people searching for your social accounts will find it easier to click through to your profile there, instead of searching on the social media platform. Further, it informs people in which networks you participate. Make sure your buttons are easily visible and link to the correct profile. Many companies post their buttons in the footer, so it’s become a natural place for people to look. For better visibility, you might consider using the header or adding a side row of buttons placed vertically in the middle of the page. Also, put your buttons on the contact page and your blog.

Editor's note: Looking for help with social media management? Fill out the below questionnaire to be connected with vendors that can help.

Add social sharing buttons to your content.

Each blog post and other type of content should have a way to be easily shared on social media. That way Joe Visitor can click “share on Twitter,” and have a pre-written tweet with the correct link and your Twitter handle all ready to go. Making it easy for people to share your content on social media increases your chances of engagement. According to one survey, 71 percent of consumers who have had a good social media service experience with a brand are likely to recommend it to others.
Create strong content.

You can add buttons for people to share your content, but if it’s boring, no one will take the opportunity. While your company’s content may be professional, there are still ways to make it worthy of being shared. Brainstorm carefully with your content team about the types of content people would share. Studies show visual content is 40 times more likely to get shared on social, so even if you’re a B2B company with what might be considered “dry” material, find a way to present that information visually.
Take advantage of social plugins.

Twitter allows you to embed tweets on your website and blog posts. By suggesting the idea that social media is part of the conversation, readers are more likely to engage with you there. Meanwhile, Facebook has produced multiple plugins, from the basic “like” box to an activity feed. Choose one or two to add to your website pages. Facebook influenced 52 percent of consumers' purchases (online and off) in 2015, which means your company needs to be there.
Make a note of your leads and follow them on social media.

Once you obtain someone’s email address or other information, follow them on social media. If Jane Consumer just signed up for your e-book and your company account follows her on Twitter within a few days, that’s a sign you’re engaged. People pay attention to those signals. If you have lead management software or a CRM, it may have options for doing this automatically.
Ask your customers to follow you.

Although it’s not directly part of your website, ask your customers to follow you on social media to help gain some credibility. Increasing your engagement on social is valuable. Some people don’t need to visit your website and will base their purchasing decisions on your social profiles, so you want to find as many ways as possible to gain engagement.

Bonus: Be ready. If you’re on social media, be prepared for it to become a real-time customer service tool. Studies show 53 percent of people who expect a brand to respond to their tweet demand the response come in less than an hour. If they are complaining, that number jumps to 72 percent.
Michael Georgiou
Michael is a dynamic business professional with proven success in creative strategy, digital marketing and project management, in both the public and private sectors. He drives Imaginovation’s rapid business growth in marketing and sales owing to his multifaceted and versatile experience in numerous industry verticals. Michael holds an international Master’s degree in Business Communications Marketing from Bond University in Australia and a Bachelor’s degree in Public Relations and Marketing from UNC Pembroke.

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