What is Social Media?

For those who have been in the internet marketing world for a while, this may be a big “yawn” question. But there are a lot of local business owners out there who hear this buzz word and don’t really know what on earth this means.

I talk to such owners frequently and when I ask about social media, the typical answer is typically something along the lines of “you mean Facebook?”. It’s impossible to leverage a tool when you don’t really understand it.

So, let’s answer the question. What is social media? There are a million definitions out there, but all the definitions have a few things in common. When you’re talking about social media, you’re talking about an internet or mobile application that involves user-generated content or feedback intended for public consumption. So, if there is a way for you, as the website visitor, to interact directly with the content of the page and others can see that interaction, it’s probably social media.

What about email? Is email a form of social media? It depends. If you are using email in a group setting, such as Yahoo groups or Big Tent, then that’s a basic form of social media. The content for that group is user-generated and intended for public consumption.

Private email is not social media, as it is intended only for the person to whom it is addressed. If email is like a letter in your mailbox, social media is like putting up a message on a billboard and allowing others to spray paint messages on your billboard in response.

Some other examples of social media include:

Blogs — Notice that there’s a comment at the bottom of this post. That means you can give feedback on this post, and we can have a conversation. That makes this a social media site.

Website polls — If you put a poll on your website, and people can vote and see the results, that is a basic form of social media.

Facebook — This is a pretty easy one to grasp. Everything on your Facebook page, whether it’s a personal page or a fan page, is created by you, your friends, your “fans” or someone who is reading the page.

Twitter — Again, it’s pretty easy to grasp why Twitter is a “conversation” tool. You don’t go to Twitter to read what the creators of Twitter have to say. You go to say something or ready something that some regular person (or not so regular person) had to say.

YouTube and other video sharing sites — Although it’s obvious when you think about it based on the above definition, many people don’t immediately think of YouTube as social media. But it is. Where does the content come from? Users. People can comment on that content and provide feedback. That’s social media.

Social bookmarking sites, such as Digg, Reddit, Stumbleupon — For the sake of brevity, I’m lumping all of these together. Social bookmarking sites are websites made up entirely of links to articles that users have said are worthwhile reads. Users give content a thumbs up or thumbs down, and people can see the most popular articles on a given topic.

Websites that utilize Facebook’s new social media tools — This is a new option for changing any website into a social media site. Facebook now provides a suite of tools that allows you to incorporate some of Facebook’s features directly on your website. People can “like” your page and perform and see other Facebook actions without ever leaving your site. This is a great opportunity to include a social media aspect on a site without spending a fortune designing a brand new site.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of all of the social media sites and applications that exist. But I hope it gives you a better idea of what people mean when they mention social media.

If you have any questions about how you can use social media on your website or to promote your business, please give us a call or contact us. We’re always happy to help.

7 Reasons Your Business Needs A Blog

I have been blogging since 2004 and over the last 6 years more and more businesses have added blogs to their website. When I started blogging there weren’t a lot of people doing it. However, now the tides have turned. Not only are a lot of people blogging, a lot of businesses have blogs. The truth of the matter is that EVERY business needs a blog.

Here are the top 7 reasons that every business should have a blog:

1. Traffic
Blogs give the Search Engines fresh new content on a regular basis, and that’s exactly what they love to see. Search engines reward most blogs by sending them more traffic. Now you do have to know a little about SEO, but even people who don’t have clue about SEO sometimes get great traffic from the Search Engines when they blog.

2. You Become Known As The Expert
When you write about your profession on a regular basis people start noticing you. Also, new people that come to your site will read your blog and instantly be able to tell that you know what you are talking about. Regular blogging about your profession makes you stand out as an expert in people’s minds.

For instance by having a blog and having it ranked high in the Search Engines, my wife Jill was able to get an interview with Cristy Yamaguchi. Why would they chose Jill? Because her blogging has helped her to become known as an expert on the Winter Olympics. In some ways, she is an expert on the Winter Olympics, but it’s not something she would have ever been if it weren’t for her blogging.

Becoming known as an expert increases the likelihood that people will buy your products and/or services. In fact, being known as an expert goes hand in hand with…

3. Trust
When people read your blog posts and interact with your by commenting your posts you build a level of trust with them that’s just not possible without a blog. Having a blog helps build trust, which is one of the biggest hurdles you have to get past to get people to buy from you.

4. Networking
Blogging is a great way to network both with your potential clients and with other people in your industry. I have made many great business contacts because of my blogs. Blogging and interacting with other people’s blogs is a great way to form relationships with potential clients and potential partners.

5. Branding
Blogging gives your brand a personal face. By writing about your business and providing helpful tips to both your customers and potential customers you are branding yourself not just as an expert, but as someone who cares about the people you are helping. For this to really work, you do have to care. It will show in the way you interact with your readers and it will build your personal brand. You have something unique to bring to the table that no other person in your profession has…

YOU!

By writing on a blog or putting out videos on a blog you are showing a side of yourself that makes it easier for your customers to relate to you. Which builds your unique personal brand along with the brand of your business.

6. Makes it easy to update content
Blogs make it very easy for you to add unique content to your site. This is very important to the Search engines and is one of several reasons that they rank so well in Search engines.

7. Makes Your Site Sticky
When you blog you are putting out new content on your site on a regular basis. People who like what they read on your blog will want to come back and read your frequently which makes your site “sticky” ie. a site that people want to come back to time and time again and a site that once they are there people want to stay and read more.

When all is said and done…

In summary, blogs are something every business needs if they want to maximize their profits through the web. So if you own a business and aren’t blogging… what are you waiting for? Get started now! You will be glad you did.

P.S. If you need help getting your blog set up, make sure to give us a call.