Atlanta SEO and Atlanta Web Design

I have come to the conclusion that the social media fad is here to stay in one form or another. That is to say the general idea of social media is here to stay even though the sites, names and means may and probably will continue to change and evolve. Nevertheless, as far as Atlanta seo goes, the old methods of optimization and linking are no longer enough to compete online. You must also blog and interact with your audience through as many of the popular and relevant social media sites as you are able. Recent studies suggest that brands who engaged with customers more through social media performed better financially. However, there is a lot of skepticism about the accuracy of this information, but here’s some more insight into all this social media stuff.

What is the most important way for a company to utilize social media to have the biggest impact on revenues?

For a company to be effective with social media, it has to actually react to the conversations that take place. Too many Atlanta companies just want to have their Atlanta seo company optimize some pages and do some blogging and be done with it. This strategy no longer gets good enough results. When people are blogging or posting in your space you must interact with them, about what they are talking about. If the company does, it validates the consumers they engage with and creates even greater loyalty. Beyond that loyalty, engaged companies tend to have products and services that customers actually want. No wonder – those customers actually played a role in creating them. And when you sell products that closely reflect the desires of the customer, you’re better able to drive premium pricing. Better pricing, better margin, better profitability. Bottom line, the old ways of posting things that say “Such and Such on Sale Today!” will mostly turn people off and cause them to unsubscribe to your blog, post or other social media face. I try to explain this to company owners who seem to have a very hard time getting this reality I think mostly because it is more difficult to actually talk and interact with people rather than just post “billboard” type posts hoping people will go and buy something. But I will keep trying!

How important is it for a company to have a dedicated team working on social media efforts on a full time basis?

A full time team is great but it might not be a reality. If a full time team isn’t possible, what needs to happen is a couple people within a company that can serve as evangelists and spread the social media word internally. Ultimately, each person in a small company should handle a different outlet, for example, one to Facebook, one to Twitter and so on. Really, if a company has 12 employees it should be able to cover at least 12 outlets. Often times when social media gets started in a company, people are resistant because it’s viewed as another thing someone has to do in their day-to-day job. However, an evangelist can sell the benefits and keep the momentum going to help transition social media from ‘another daily task’ to something that becomes part of the natural work flow.”

How are the successful companies using this social media stuff?

There is a cool site called the ENGAGEMENTdb.com site where companies can rank themselves. The “Rank Yourself” feature is a quick 5 question survey asking about a company’s social media efforts. Based on those answers, they correlate it to the data they gather for the ENGAGEMENTdb report. Based on their particular answers, they’re able to generate a report that compares their efforts to the world’s most valuable brands. Companies rank all along the spectrum from Social Media Mavens to Social Media Wallflowers. Since the results are private, I think the self assessment is a pretty good indicator of what companies are really doing in the social media space.

What should your attitude about this be?

The social media space is evolving so quickly that it’s pretty easy to say we all have a long way to go. The key thing to remember is that the data people have been able to gather suggests that there is a very strong correlation between high social media engagement and better financial results. Companies that experiment now and learn the ropes are going to be so much better off than the ones waiting for just the right moment to get involved with their customers.

Conclusion

I’d like to thank Webpronews and the Mr. Elowitz interview for providing body to this post about social media practices for businesses. How do think your own social media efforts stack up to those of the big brands? How about to other smaller brands? Share your thoughts.