Social Media Helps Drive Website Traffic

by Roy Barker, Director – Special Projects

Where is your website hidden?

Generally when I pick graphics for the blog I pick ones that go with my topic, but in this case I saw a great graphic that needed writing about.  While it is typically said that you need to be on social media “because everyone else is” or “its great consumer research” or “its key for building relationships” or one of the many other good reasons, one that is not mentioned often enough is the power of social media to drive traffic to your website.

There are two main ways this is accomplished, direct links to your website and the Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  When posting content to your LinkedIn or Facebook accounts use a link back to your blog or website and direct readers there to get more information.  This also works in group postings and discussions for both LinkedIn and Facebook.

I’m not a big proponent of writing articles singularly for SEO purposes.  I feel that SEO is a side effect of great content.  While you do want to be smart and use key words where possible, the focus of your writing should be the message, not be to squeeze in as many key words as possible, that takes away from the meaning of your article and generally make it harder to read and follow.  You should focus on timely and relevant subjects for your industry and write them in a clear and concise manner.  If you do these well, your content will be read, commented on, shared, linked to, and all the other things that help your SEO efforts.

Pictures and videos are also great attractions to readers.  Content with pictures and/or videos have a much higher viewing percentage than those that don’t.  I have read that a blog is like leaving a trail of bread crumbs for your readers to your website and a video is like leaving chocolate covered bread crumbs.  But again, a great picture or video with lousy content will not earn you a loyal following.

When you write an article or blog, driving traffic to your website and SEO optimization is a great objective, but don’t forget the here and now, you have an audience right in front of you, so say something noteworthy.

Let MDS show you how you can utilize social media in a comprehensive senior living and housing marketing campaign.