subject: Using Social Networking to Promote Your Website [print this page] Using Social Networking to Promote Your Website
Today, you can still promote your website on a shoestring, but it requires persistence and hard work to achieve strong results. Only a few years ago, article writing and press releases were the primary means of generating backlinks and getting your site noticed at no cost. Now with myriad social networking sites available to a marketer, the opportunities for exposure have increased.
It still makes sense to publish articles and issue press releases, but now there are much faster ways to generate an interest and the traffic that goes with it. Social networking sites have grown in popularity in recent years. The catch with marketing through social media sites is that you need to have a following. Similar to building a mailing list and getting email subscribers, building a following requires making friends and contacts.
The first site that bears mentioning is Facebook. It is now the number 2 site on the web and such a ranking should command your attention as someone who is marketing their site. Like all social networking sites, using Facebook requires an account. Set one up and start looking for old friends, colleagues and acquaintances. You will find that it does not take long before you have dozens or more friends. You can expand the numbers by joining groups related to you niche or industry. Search for them, join and participate in conversations.
Facebook also sells PPC advertising to all of its users. You will see the ads to the right of any page that you may be on. The ad costs tend to be higher per click than comparable search engine rates, but with Facebook you have the advantage of targeting your ads based on demographics and the keywords in a person's profile. However, since users aren't searching for your product as they would be with a search engine, you will see much lower click-through rates.
Facebook also allows you to set up a page for your website or business. Once your business acquires fans on the site, it shows up to your fans' friends that they are a fan, so you end up getting free promotion based on the efforts of others.
The other really important social networking site is Twitter, which is now the 14th most popular site. As a member, you can post 140 character descriptions of what you are doing at any point. The posts show up to anyone that might be following you, but they can also be searched based on keyword by other members. Building a following is key to getting a large targeted audience. Gaining followers is done by being interesting and authentic in your posts. Posting nothing other than sales opportunities and offers will not do much for building your reputation.
Social bookmarking sites are also important to consider in your promotion campaign. Joining them allows you to post links to sites that you like including your own. It is helpful to include links to social bookmarking sites from your site which allow your visitors to vote for your site and give it additional exposure. There are widgets available that allow you to incorporate the necessary script into your site to include buttons for recommending pages on your site to the various social bookmarking sites.
One final point to bear in mind when using social networking sites is to avoid being a source of posted spam. You should be able to add value and work your site into conversation without actually selling anything. If you site proves to be of value to someone they will join your list or bookmark your site with their favorite social bookmarking sites like Digg or Delicious.
Including social networking and bookmarking sites in your promotion campaign is not only important, but it is now a necessary compon
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