To say that social media is the future of online marketing would not be entirely wrong. Given the success of social networking sites in the recent years, it is almost implicit that, for an online business, being on social media is just as much crucial as being on search engines.
While it is still not clear to accurately determine and tap a social media marketing strategy at work, it is, however, easy to understand whether a strategy is rendering the desired effect or not. Irrespective of the absence of the element of definite quantifiability, social media is very much here to stay as the next big marketing online tool.
What has put most importance to social media marketing is the fact that search engines now look to social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook to determine ranking positions. Google plans to incorporate the ‘social’ element into its algorithm soon, although it is still working towards developing a process that determines the credibility and authority of the author behind a link or a post. Till then, Google does say that social impact has an equal impact on search engine ranking. A link posted by a verified authoritative person bears significant weightage especially in the ‘Top links’ section of Google Realtime Search. The more a link then tweeted, liked or re-posted, the stronger its social signal, and stronger its weightage in the ranking process.
Such strong bearing on social media indicates that search engine optimization (SEO) process needs to incorporate social media into strategy design, in the possible outfit. While mere existence is not enough, SEO can ensure that page visitors have something to relate to and engage with while visiting the social page of a company through relevant and robust content, interactive activities and regular updates. The better the experience with the page, the better will be its following.
It is equally important to understand here that social media marketing is not an elixir of success, but a component can readily supplement and boost associate marketing strategies. With an integrated marketing strategy, that includes social media, a more comprehensive line of attack can be established.