Today we see that Facebook is getting as many visits as Google! This means that social networks can make an important contribution to your Web marketing program. But what’s the right way to use them? In this issue I set out some ideas on how to get started making use of social networks in your Web marketing campaign.

Customer Service Matters

Customers share their views of your business using social networks, so the first way to succeed with social networks is to pay attention to your customer relations. An unhappy customer who uses social networks can tell many other potential customers about a bad experience. So a first step is to do a Google search for your business name, read what’s on social network sites, and if it’s negative, engage the complaining parties in a friendly dialogue and solve the problems.

Make Your Web Site the Center

Your Web site has (or should have!) an attractive, concise yet complete presentation of your business proposition. It should also have a lot of information about your offerings. So it’s a logical central point for your social media campaign. What you want to do from social network sites is to bring visitors to your Web site so that they see the message you have to deliver.

Start with Facebook and YouTube. Create a presence for yourself there, including videos on YouTube, and direct visitors to your Web site. And on your Web site, be sure to put a link so that visitors can give a Facebook indication that they like you as well as a link to your YouTube presence.

The Bottom Line

Social networks can bring you high-value links that improve your search engine ranking as well as valuable visitors. Don’t ignore them!