Social Media and Your Business: Are You Using this Key SEO Tool?

Newborn babies have Twitter accounts; dogs have Twitter accounts; your business better have one too.  Social media is rapidly gaining prominence among search engine results pages and sway among savvy consumers.  While use of Facebook, Twitter, and other networking sites has grown among retail and other commercial sites, effective use is not as widespread.  What can you do to increase the effectiveness of your Twitter account?

Create a relevant account name, or handle, and then search for it.  It is a complete waste of time to bother with an account if you aren’t actively managing it.  Search for mentions – and when you find them, make sure to answer them.  You can also find mention of other topics in your industry; for instance, if you manufacturer taps and dyes, you can keep up with other machine-related tweeters.

Whether you are tweeting or responding, don’t forget that you can keyword your tweets.  You can always add your business or site name, target specific – and relevant – keywords, and link to either your site or one that provides your followers with valuable information.  Use a URL shortener so you don’t exceed Twitter’s 140 character limit.  You don’t have the space to write lengthy messages, but you do have the space to spark interest, conversation, and traffic.

Cultivate good followers (don’t depend on a sudden influx due to a contest, for instance), but also be a good follower.  Be active in the Twitter community – this gives you more leverage from your tweets, whether on your page or someone else’s.  The account with the most followers doesn’t “win.”  It may look impressive enough, but having a balance is essential.  The winning comes from participating with your consumer base in a dialogue. This can yield invaluable information, so the lesson we can learn from Twitter is to actively participate and actively respond to consumers’ needs, suggestions, and questions.