Back in the day when you would log into Freindster or Myspace, the vast majority were not doing it to build a business. And when we went onto Geocities or LiveJournal, we were writing, or “blogging,” but not so much about our brands.
Well, things have changed a bit.
Today, over 51% of the U.S. population uses Facebook, for personal and business reasons. It is the world’s second largest most trafficked site after Google. It is becoming a dominant force in advertising and customizable business pages.
In 2010, 34% of businesses in the U.S. had a public facing blog. Today, 39% do, and that number is growing. Blogging is an increasingly powerful way to show expertise, build links and generate organic traffic.
The question is: how does using both, separately and together, help your business? In more ways than one.
Facebook Fan Page
1. Engagement
Facebook means having real-time conversations with people who are interested in being actively involved. People prefer connecting with brands over Facebook than any other form of social media. That means having a fan page allows you to create an engaged community. Give tips and advice, offer coupons and discounts, or even free product. Treat your fans like your best customers!
2. Search Engine Ranking
Search engines love Facebook. If you frequently update your fan page and continuously start conversations with them, it can help with search engine ranking. Social media platforms often provide the most relevant and up to date information about a brand which is why search engines favor them.
3. Location, Location, Location
Online real-estate is just like offline real-estate. It’s all about location. The goal is to drive traffic to your business and then encourage them to act. What if you take the opposite approach and go to where the traffic already is? That’s what social media is all about – going to the traffic instead of waiting for it to come to you.
Corporate Blog
1. Expertise
A business blog is a great way to position yourself, and your company, as an expert in the industry. It allows you to broadcast news, content, research and your opinion in a timely matter. It is also a great way to highlight your accomplishments, but more so, to engage with your readers.
Who does this well? Ideeli, a top fashion discount blog. They update their content on a weekly basis, introducing new styles, designers and news. Also note how clean and user friendly their site is. They position their follow buttons strategically on the right-hand side – easy to see.
2. Keyword Ranking
Much like Facebook, blogs are a great way to establish credibility with search engines. There are a number of plugins for WordPress that allow you to customize your SEO (search engine optimization).
Before you begin blogging, decide what keywords you want to organically rank for. Use them throughout your blog posts and with your plugins. Use Google Keywords to discover what your potential readers are searching for and make sure to use those keywords in your title!
3. Blogger Outreach
Having a blog allows you to better connect with other bloggers in your industry. It projects a sense of legitimacy and opens the door to many opportunities, including: guest blogging, mentions and links. Guest blogging is a great way to reach a new, or wider, audience. Having one of your blog posts mentioned on another blog has the same effect.
Working Together
1. Testing the Waters
Facebook allows real-time conversation and is the preferred way to engage for most people. Use this to your blog’s advantage by testing the waters. Post a variety of content to discover what your fan base is interested in. Try videos, photos, questions, contests and more.
Whenever possible, indirectly connect the content to your blog. Once you have a feel for what your fan base is looking for from you, use the feedback to improve your blog.
2. Topic Generation
Facebook means real-time feedback. People are more willing to like a blog post or comment on a link on Facebook than comment on your actual blog. Use this to your advantage and find out what people are saying about your blog content. When something you post on Facebook resonates with your fan base, blog about it. The idea is to use Facebook as an extension of your blog (and vice versa).
3. Integration
It’s quite easy to integrate your blog with Facebook. You can allow users to comment on your blog using their Facebook profiles. You can even have your blog posts automatically posted to Facebook. If you choose to have your posts automatically shared on Facebook, be sure to post content from other websites and engage often. Your social marketing shouldn’t be all about your business.
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How does your business use Facebook and blogging together?