Making the most of all that social media has to offer?
In very basic terms, there are two types of social media strategies to consider and both of these should be considered for an effective, longer term and profitable solution. These being;
1.Off-site – not on your website
2.On-site – on your website
The principles:
Off-site social media means you are directing traffic from another website back to your own. They include sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and over 250 others. As they are used by large communities of users, these are great ways to direct traffic to your website, however it is important to ensure that your efforts include set targets in order to clarify a ROI, and with off-site sites, it can be difficult to measure for businesses. In brief, off-site websites are good as a “quick fix” and should be used to direct people to your website, but should not be considered as a long-term solution.
On-site social media on the other hand drives organic search engine traffic directly to your website, maintains your online visitors, and drive enquiries and conversions all within your site. On-site solutions involves creating your very own platform. Investing in your own solution will maintain your brand identity, keep your online users on your own website for a greater period of time, drive organic search engine traffic, enhance your brands’ loyalty, replenish your media marketing library and much more.
As mentioned, most companies are currently focusing on off-site solutions however in the last 6 months, major players have been scoping and deploying their own on-site solutions giving them a head start in the second wave of online marketing.
