So you have a Facebook Page and a Twitter account, both of which are helping your engage with your prospects and consumers, but you’ve noticed they are not increasing traffic back to your website. If you have optimised both Facebook and Twitter with links to your website, don’t have a large advertising budget and yet are still looking for ways to promote your business, consider making full use of other social media platforms such as:
Blog
It’s not enough to just spread the word about your business by blogging: You have to also promote your blog. Link your blog to your Facebook Page news feed, tweet about blog articles, post onto your LinkedIn Company profile. A great idea is to use an URL shortener like bit.ly as you can check your stats on the number of people who have clicked through to your blog. Great for measuring and reporting.
YouTube
YouTube has become the second most used search engine globally after Google (by the way, Google owns YouTube). So, to ensure your video is watched, Liked and shared, it will need to be (a) extremely helpful about one tricky subject for the niche you’re targeting or (b) contain all the elements of a viral video ~ memorable, entertaining, personal, unique – if appropriate, perhaps even funny.
For more information on what makes a memorable video, Kevin Allocca, YouTube’s trends manager speaking at a TEDYouth event, shares the 4 reasons a video goes viral.
Like YouTube, Pinterest is all about the visual. It can also be a tremendously useful platform to share photos and drive traffic to your website. Link your Pinterest profile to your website, as well as writing a little about yourself and mentioning your website in the “about” section.
Most social media platforms offer paid advertising and if you have the budget, it’s always better to cover all the bases. But the above are some of the free methods and techniques available to increase your website exposure.
There are many other social media sites that offer free features, apps, widgets and opportunities. Pinterest seems to be the darling at the moment. What’s your favourite?
Until next time….. 
Tania is a social media consultant, presenter and trainer. Originally from “The Alice”, she now happily calls Australia’s famous wine community ~ the Barossa Valley home. Her joys in life include great wine & food, Formula 1; a heartfelt laugh with friends and of course the social web. Favourite Quote: “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life" ~ Confucius
