Why Quitting Social Media Is Stupid!

Why Quitting Social Media Is Stupid! 

 

I just read something that disturbed me greatly.

 

A tech geek was discussing how quitting social media improves productivity.

 

I disagree with that statement for this main reason: many of my readers, colleagues, and clients come from social media. I am productive because of social media.

 

Now, I don’t know this guy and I realize we have very different professions. But his stance brings up a few points that relate to all of us:

 

1)    Why are you on social media?

2)    What do you achieve by being on it at the end of the day?

3)    How much time do you spend on it each day?

4)    If you stopped today, what would happen to your business?

 

Let’s deconstruct.

 

1) Why are you on social media?

 

I ask the same of each BadRedhead Media client I work with. If your goal is to have an automated stream and get a bunch of followers, okay fine. But I don’t recommend it.

 

Why? People buy from people who interact, engage, and are in fact, real. As an author and media consultant, I find social media critical to my every day work and success.

 

What do you define as social media? I’m talking about Twitter, Facebook, G+, Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, what have you. Some throw in blogging as well since these sites are intrinsically tied it.

 

I have clients from all over the world: Qatar, Greece, Africa, Holland, England, and the U.S. How would I have met them without the benefit of social media?

 

I’m also a member of Triberr, and grateful for it every day. I’m able to help others increase their reach and frequency through Twitter and their blogs, while meeting good friends and supporters from all over the world. How awesome is that?

 

2) What do you achieve by being on it?

 

If you can’t answer that, you’re probably on too much! Or, not enough.

 

I personally find new connections each day, great blogs, cool info, and great resources. To close myself off from that is unthinkable to me. We, as humans, are always learning. Social media is an amazing source of breaking news and information.

 

I am a chick – I multi-task. Social media is no different. I schedule in tweets using Hootsuite or Buffer – both are great, smart applications. And free! I also live tweet and interact on Facebook when I have a moment, but I schedule it in, after client time, writing time, family time (let’s not discuss laundry … ahem).

 

For anyone who believes Twitter is a waste of time, I must argue this: it’s the best free marketing tool out there if you take the time to learn it, understand it, use it correctly and also the cost effective seo packages could be really good for this purpose. There is a right way and a wrong way, though what I love about Twitter is that you curate your own stream and lists.

 

From a strictly SEO/SMO standpoint, being on social media, blogging regularly, guest posting and of course, providing product or service updates all count toward your Google (and other search engine) rankings. Fresh content is where it’s at, baby.

 

Bottom line: if you don’t understand how to correctly use social (not utilizing time-saving apps, spamming people constantly with self-promotional links, not interacting live), then you have no business being on it.

Social media has changed the world. It has created a global village, defying the constraints of time and space. One thing you may not be aware of social having an impact on is SEO. Now that social media and SEO are intertwined, marketers need to utilize both. Here’s an introduction to SEO and how it can transform your social media marketing, get the most professional assistance from SEO Services Tampa Bay Florida.

What is SEO?

When searching on Google, you’ll see organic and paid results like this:

In a nutshell, search engine optimisation is the process of emerging from the depths of the Search Engine Ranking Pages (SERPs), to a visible ranking position (below the fold).

Google’s Algorithm updates assess your site, using hundreds of different factors. These ranking factors fall into two groups, relevance and authority.

Relevance can either refer to how well your search terms correspond with your content and website theme or how well your web page corresponds with sites you are linking from. If someone searches for “buy walking boots” and your website sells high quality walking boots, your site will rank.

Authority metrics refer to the strength of your website or page. They predict how well your web page will perform in the search engines. Authority is one of the most important ranking factors. Marketers mostly use this metric to compare the strength of pages and websites. To boost your authority you should have loads of high-quality back-links. Rule of thumb: quality is better than quantity.

How do social media and SEO work together?

A long time ago, when social media was the new kid on the block, Google noticed that people were sharing content they liked on their Facebook or Twitter accounts. So now search engine crawlers also consider social shares as backlinks.

All this means is that a well-planned social media campaign can now help you rank well in the search engines. Here are three top tips explaining how you can make this happen:

Keyword Research

When you’re deciding on the name of your campaign and what hashtags to use etc, do a little keyword research first. People search for things using loads of keyword variations, so if you find a relevant search term with high search volumes and low competition, your website has a better chance of ranking. Create a page on your site using the keywords you chose for the campaign when browsers search for your campaign, your website will show up and you’ll get clicks.

 Encourage sharing with great content

Whatever the mechanic of the competition is, make sure you create brilliant content that encourages people to re-post, re-share and re-tweet. Remember, if you include a link to your website in the social post and it gets loads of shares, these shares equal backlinks!

Get the PR guys involved

Publicize your social campaign with a press release (and maybe a stunt of some kind). Add in some links back to your site, as the word spreads, your referral traffic will accumulate. What you’ll have just done is called link building. It’s one of the best SEO strategies for marketing franchises and really helps your site get traffic.

 

3) How much time do you spend on it each day?

 

I’m a bit different than your average bear simply because I tweet and Facebook etc. for clients as well as my own two streams (@RachelintheOC and @BadRedheadMedia), and the four author promo streams I started (@IndieBookPromos, @BkPromoCentral, @YAPromoCentral, @RomPromoCentral) – though I thankfully have help on a few of those (grateful to @sugarbeatbc for all her hard work! — someone else I met through social media, by the way).

 

Tweeting and Facebook (as well as LinkedIn, Pinterest, G+, Instagram, etc.) are my business, for lack of a better word. I build accounts for people, help them learn how to tweet, Facebook, pin, link, video, etc. It’s my job to know as much about each channel as I can to help others to the best of my ability.

 

My ego is not big (though some may disagree), simply because I see social media as a huge component of my every day learning. Social media is the ultimate connector, as well as the ultimate equalizer – I talk to professors, CEOs, even an actor or two.

 

4) If you stopped today, what would happen to your business?

 

There’s no question I have met clients and important colleagues because of my social media connections. Here’s a perfect example:

 

About three weeks ago I stumbled across a Forbes article written by David Vinjamuri, NYU prof and published author, about the current state of publishing. At the bottom of the first page, David had a ‘follow me on Twitter’ button. So I did. And I complimented him on the article, we had a good discussion there, I left a comment on the article and I thought that was that.

 

David not only followed me back, he also looked at my bio, websites, and then added me into the article (see page six!). Not only that, but last week we spoke live because he wanted to quote me for his most recent article about KDP Select. In Forbes. Me…in Forbes. (And I hate math.)

 

How cool is that?

 

So where does that leave the tech dude who’s no longer on social media?

 

I wish him luck. I mean, I would — if he were still on Twitter.

 

Please let me know how you feel about social media and its impact on your life and business!

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