Don’t Underestimate the Importance of Social Media


Did you know that there are as many as 9,100 tweets per second, Facebook boasts up to 1.15 billion active users, and Pinterest has surpassed 70 million users, in less than three years? These figures make it more than clear. Some of the best social media sites offer tremendous opportunities for marketers. What is the best way for marketers to drive ecommerce, and mobile sales, using social media?

Bringing SEO to the Table

Some companies may not realize that SEO, or search engine optimization, can be applied to social media. Blogger and social media consultant Debbie Hemley suggests tackling tweets with SEO in mind, “Make a list of keywords that best describe your business and industry. Use these words as you compose your 140-character posts.” It is also a good idea to use SEO reporting tools to get an idea of what key terms describe your company, and rank well. It is best to write tweets, and Facebook posts, with both relevance and ranking in mind. Another tip? When posting links on Pinterest, and other top social media sites, it is still possible to use SEO. How? Consider using simple phrases and keywords in URLs. A link next to a picture of banana bread, for example, should end with, “best banana bread” (typically without the spaces, and followed up by .com, .org, etc.).

Use Social Bookmark Services

Social bookmarking sites take many forms. Some, like Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr, focus on sharing images, and others, like Reddit, foster discussion and help companies reach targeted audiences. How, specifically, do these sites work?

The human brain processes images 60,000 times faster than words and text, and most of the information we process, or up to 90%, is visual information. Image-based social bookmark sites use this to their advantage, and, to be fair, it seems to be working. In fact, users originating from Pinterest spend an average of $140-$180 on online purchases, or as much as $80-$100 more than the typical Facebook user. Bookmarking sites like Reddit, on the other hand, offer subpages to encourage relevant sharing and discussion. Reddit, and its subreddits, garnered 37 billion page views in 2012 alone.

Top social media sites increase traffic, drive numbers, and influence sales. Want to stay ahead? Use search engine optimization, and keywords, on all social media, and do not discount the importance of image-based social bookmarking websites.