If you’ve just launched a new website or are thinking of launching a new site you’re probably considering social media.
There are a few things to think about when it comes to social media and your website. There are simple…well not really simple…decisions like where you should put the social icons on the new website. Other questions include deciding what social media sites you should use and how you should integrate those profiles into your website.
After a few years of being involved personally and professionally in social media and business I feel I have a pretty good understanding of how to answer these questions. This is how I’ve handled social media with my own business and for other businesses.
The Audience Building Concept
Business has always been about building your own audience. Long before the Internet businesses had to build audiences of people that knew about them and people that were actually customers. In order to build the different degrees of followers businesses would advertise. They would offer great products and earn word of mouth. Some would use other forms of marketing, but it was all about building audiences and earning profit from those audiences.
The internet didn’t change the basic strategy. The internet simply allowed businesses to build audiences in different ways.
When you approach social media don’t get things mixed up. Your business is the center of your audience building efforts. You want to focus on building the list of people that follow you and purchase from you. This starts with a property you own like a website and extends out to outer regions which include social media sites.
Your site is the center of all your online marketing activity. You wan to draw people in to your site. You want them to subscribe to updates through your email program. You want them to follow your blog and bookmark your site.
Now, in order to do this you’ll have to spend time on social media sites and you’ll have to give in order to get, but the long-term focus is on your own property.
In the early days of your blog this could mean investing time on a social site like Facebook. Provide interesting content on Facebook that your potential customers want to consume and get their attention, but always have the focus of getting them to opt-in at the source of your online activity – your company website.
Over time you might not even have to invest any effort in social sites. Your audience will follow you on those simply because they want to show their friends that they are supporters of yours. You can just send out your updates via your own website.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves here.
Picking Social Media Sites
It doesn’t make sense to use a social media site that doesn’t have your target audience. Analyze your business. Ask a few customers what they like most about your products. With this knowledge you can analyze the social landscape and determine the best place to spend your effort.
For example, if your business is interior decor then Pinterest might be a good option. People that use Pinterest are very visual and unique. They are looking for things that make them look interesting in an artistic way. If they see your products or your concepts they’ll love it. They’ll follow you back to your website to learn more.
Social Media On Your Site
I’m generally a fan of just putting small social icons on a company website and not calling much attention to them. On some of my sites I don’t even have social anything anywhere on the site.
My feeling is that once a person is on your site they’ve already done what you want them to do with social media. Now that they’re on your site the focus is on getting them to convert as an email subscriber or as a lead or even as a new client.
Social icons can be a distraction.
There is one thing you’d be giving up with this strategy. Some people look at social follower counts as social proof. It seems shallow, but we all do it. When we’re not sure about purchasing from a company we look for proof that others have trusted them. When someone sees that you have over a million likes on Facebook it might tip the scales.
I don’t believe it’s a huge push, but it is something to consider.
You could put social media calls to action in things like Thank You pages. After someone purchases from you they really want to affirm their support so asking them to follow you on Facebook at this point makes total sense. They’ve already purchased from you so that call to action is over.
Conclusion
Social media is important for your new website. You’ll have to decide where to put icons on your site, but more than that you need to figure out how to grow your audience. You want people that will follow you and people that will buy from you. Social Media should not be the center of your online efforts. Use your site as the center of all online marketing and use social media to grow that audience.
With this core concept your social media decisions should be easier.
