Web Shop Manager - Building A Social Media Plan

As with anything that grows and evolves at a rapid pace, the internet and the way it affects marketing has changed quite a bit in the past few years. The web has become a much more in depth experience to its users, and its potential for successful marketing has become inarguably clear. In terms of gaining visibility and support from the public, there are few tools at your disposal as powerful as Social Media. Websites such as Facebook and Twitter have given business owners the opportunity to spread their message to the masses with unbelievable efficiency, and the kicker? All it costs is a little time. 30 minutes to an hour a day spent liking things and communicating with your client base can prove to be invaluable in the long run.

Since the Social Media Plan marketing process consumes such a small amount of resources, you can focus less on pushing your product or service onto potential buyers and devote some effort to building a sense of community. People have developed a general mistrust of formal marketing ploys and advertisements; not without good reason either, for every honest company with good intentions, there are two trying to sell you a subpar product. Putting forth a Social Media Plan marketing effort is the first step in establishing yourself as a trustworthy and personable company. This also gives people a place to discuss your product and give reviews, which are much easier for people to put faith into. So as long as the product or service is of high quality, a Social Media Plan will gradually generate buzz for you.

But how will this Social Media Plan affect my SEO efforts?

First of all, you need to acknowledge the fact that the mindset of the average search engine user has changed recently. Search engines are no longer used for the sole purpose of finding what you were looking for, getting a quick answer, and leaving. People have come to expect a certain level of interaction on websites they arrive at through a search. This can even be something simple; like Twitter's clickable "re-tweet" button or a "like this" Facebook feature. People will share a solid product or good information with people they know, and making this easy for them can give your website a huge boost in traffic. Buzz travels quickly through the web, which will in turn drive search tendencies towards your site. Promoting interesting and relevant updates to your website via your Social Media accounts will allow people to see the content that might not have otherwise.

Don't forget to blog!

Ah, blogging. It is one of the first, and most effective, forms of Social Media. We have advocated the importance of a quality blog before, but it cannot be said enough. Try to add a couple of fresh and interesting blogs to your business' website every week, and let your Social Media followers know! A quick tweet about a new blog has the potential to generate traffic that you wouldn't have seen, and would only take about 30 seconds. It is not likely that there are a ton of people checking your website daily for updates, however it's very likely that those people are spending some time on their Social Media accounts every day. Give them a reason to visit your site, and promote it in a way in which you know it will be seen.