Social Media + Mobile Search + Local Search = Success
Filed under: Domain News, Facebook, Facebook Promotion, Low Cost Marketing, Online Advertising, local search, social media
If you have not read all the news about social networking sites being the future of how we access information instead of search engines then you must not be reading what is happening in the online world around you. I will help you with the relevant news articles in just a minute.
One thing I think people are missing sometimes is how the BLEND of mobile and local search along with the easy access to Facebook and Twitter on a mobile phone is making it an absolute must to have a plan on how to integrate all of these technologies together when you plan on promoting a product or service. The future is now and if you are not using all methods available then you are doing an injustice to your business promotion online.
For those that may be social media doubters and who do not realize that many people use search on their mobile phone before typing in a name (and I have not even mentioned visual search and verbal search) suddenly search is all that matters at times, be very careful basing everything you have on type-in traffic. Facebook has 350 million users and bypassed Google for traffic during the Christmas holiday, do you think Facebook is going somewhere? Yes they are, UP!
The people using Facebook (and even Twitter) are not typing in domain names, they are taking a friends recommendation without even looking at the site name. Sure the domain name is important for branding and I would never discount that, and for search an exact match name helps, but when all you are is a link hidden behind a URL shortening service that is not quite as important.
If you are still hiding in the dark and believing this change is not coming here are a few great articles to read:
Why Is Google Afraid Of Facebook
How Social Media Helps Website Marketing - My own example of usage.
If the stories do not show you what is happening then I cannot help you. This does not mean that you should not have a website with a great name, but the people growing up with the Internet today do not use it like those of us who had it come to be during the midst of our lives.
If your only plan is to buy a great domain name and wait for the type-in traffic to come you may be surprised at your competitor coming up behind you and using the power of social media to drive more traffic that has been recommended by a trusted peer network that converts even better.
Use all the tools together and success can be yours, ignore the holistic marketing approach at your own peril.
2+2=5
Interesting read Bruce.
Do you feel search engine traffic converts better than social media traffic into a “sale”? It would seem like it would as people who use a lot of social media sites don’t seem to be looking for anything in particular, they are just interested in finding “interesting things.” Where as if you really want something specifically you search for it in the search engines.
That being said though I can see broader uses for things like twitter and facebook fan pages for things such as making a brand more relatable and allowing you to be in constant contact with your customers.
Where the high conversions comes in is when friends are family members are telling people about companies or products. Survey after survey shows that this is the highest level of recommendation, hence conversion, you can get.
We have had this happen a few times with Missouri.me/Localtek already with people coming through our fan page.