Social Networking

Social Media, Social Networking, Social Bookmarking…it gets bigger and more confusing everyday.

You’ve heard of Twitter and Facebook, but how bout Digg, Delicious, or StumbleUpon? Would you believe that there is even a
directory of social networking sites…and it’s 580 pages long!

So where do you start?  Is it worth it?  How do you take maximum advantage with the least time?

It’s all so overwhelming you might be just tempted to throw in the towel and forget it.

That would be a mistake.  A BIG mistake.

The social media communities are just too massive and integrated into the fabric of the online world to ignore.

Facebook has more unique visitors than MSN and is growing rapidly.  Who hasn’t heard about Twitter?

Some argue that social networks will replace search engines.  In fact, very often, when users look for information they are more and more likely to look for sources recommended by peers with common interests than what Google and the other search engines present.

That’s critical to know.  Knowing how to be in the right place at the right time is even more important.

While that may never happen, you don’t want to be caught off guard or to miss out on this groundswell of popularity.

How you act on these sites is also part of the ambiance.  You can’t just bull your way into a conversation.

Social media is, well, social.  It’s like a party.  You can’t just waltz in and start talking about yourself or your business.

You’d be the jerk of the party and no one would want to listen to you.

You need to learn the nuances and “tone” of each and very sub-culture that these sites evolve.

Social media can bring you an absolute torrent of traffic. The key is familiarizing yourself with the websites you’re working with and then catering your message to them.

Why Social Media?

You use  social media for two reasons:
1. Direct Traffic.

When you create a profile, link, tag, article or other content on a social media website, other people from that website can view it. If they are interested in what you have to say, they will click through to your website.

That’s  how you’ll gain “organic” traffic from your social media activities.

That is, real people will view your social media content, absorb your messages, visit your web sites and become your clients, fans and subscribers….at least that’s the plan.

2. Indirect Traffic…via search engines.

Every time you create content on a social media website that links back to you website, the search engines see that link.

Every time the search engines “see” a link to your site, it makes them think, “Wow, that site must be pretty important since there are so many other places linking to it.”

When the search engines think your site is important, they will make your listing appear higher in the results. These are called backlinks, and the more you have, the better.

So, you will benefit from social media by both the real people who visit your site from the links you leave all over the internet, but also from increased search engine rank from those backlinks.

Sometimes these sites operate all on their own and as long as you know their standard operating procedure, you are good to go.  However more importantly, to really maximize their benefits and get the biggest bang for your buck, you need to understand how they can be used in combination with other tools like video or blogging.

Does that clarify things now?

Clear as mud huh?

Don’t worry.  We make it our job to stay abreast of the ever changing landscape and monitor and test new strategies and tactics on a regular basis.

We provide you with the ultimate leverage.  We know which sites to use, which buttons to push and in which sequence to push them.  One mistake and everything so for naught.  Used properly you create a stampede of traffic.

We don’t only show our clients how to leverage social media, we do a lot of it for them.

So what do you want to do today…practice law or become an internet geek?