It started with the phenomenon of personal profiles. That quickly evolved into video-sharing and then the floodgates opened up—now, Internet users have more than 400 social media platforms to consider.
Most salon owners recognize the value of setting up a social media advertising campaign on these free platforms. However, with so many options and limited time, salon owners must have a targeted approach to social media advertising in order to make it as successful as possible.
There are six essential platforms that business owners must have in order to really harness the potential of social advertising. Each platform plays a very specific role, and the combination of all six is what will take your social advertising campaign to the next level. There is a secret ingredient at play here as well—the formula calls for a touch of optimization on each platform. Optimization allows your social media to work with your Web site and PPC campaigns to dominate the first page of search engine results. Essentially this formula will make you the only choice—as far as the searcher and Google are concerned, anyway.
Social Advertising Element No. 1: LinkedIn. A popular business profile site, LinkedIn ranks very well in search engines and is a great platform for sending event updates out to business associates.
Optimization directions: Select one core keyword (or search term) you would like to be found under, and use it frequently without sacrificing consumer experience, and watch your profile skyrocket in the search engines.
Social Advertising Element No. 2: Facebook. As a closed community, Facebook does not rank in the search engines but is still the best choice for an online personal profile.
Optimization directions: Select one keyword to use in your profile to become the “go-to” expert in your industry for the more than 22 million Facebook users. Also include some personal touches, but beware of putting too much personal information online.
Social Advertising Element No. 3. MySpace. As an open community, MySpace ranks well in search engines. More importantly, it allows businesses to have fully-developed profiles, including personally designed backgrounds.
Optimization directions: In addition to optimizing your profile with a keyword, you can also search for your target audience in MySpace Friends and create an amazing outreach network.
Social Advertising Element No. 4: YouTube. The main video-sharing platform, YouTube is one of the best forums available to create a viral marketing campaign. From publishing client video testimonials to creating demonstrations of your services, YouTube videos are a great way to connect with potential customers. Plus, it’s a great way to get other Web site owners to link to your Web site.
Optimization directions: Each video is a new opportunity to optimize for a different keyword. For each video, be sure to include your keyword in the title and at least once in the description section.
Social Advertising Element No. 5: Blog. If you only have the time or desire to create one social media platform, a blog should be at the top of your list because they offer two distinct advantages over the other platforms mentioned:
- Search engines love that blogs have plenty of content and are easy for the spiders to crawl and categorize online.
- Consumers love that blogs aren’t hard sales pitches, but instead offer a mix of marketing and educational information that online shoppers can trust.
Optimization directions: As with a YouTube video, every blog is a new keyword opportunity. Select your keyword before writing, and include it in the title and throughout the content—just remember to never sacrifice the consumer experience in favor of keyword repetition. Also, be aware that repeating a keyword too many times (called “keyword stuffing”) will be considered as spam in the search engines.
Social Advertising Element No. 6: Twitter. The hottest rage right now, Twitter, is a microblogging site that limits posts to 140 characters. Although you’ll typically hear the most skepticism about Twitter, it can be an amazing tool for your business. Twitter plugins allow you to update your Twitter and literally push it out to your other platforms, such as Facebook. Additionally, Twitter posts rank in the search engines.
Optimization directions: Select one keyword and include that in all of your tweets. Also, don’t forget to personalize your Twitter background for a totally unique, branded look and feel.
Heather Lutze has spent the last 10 years as CEO of The Findability Group, formerly Lutze Consulting, a search-engine marketing firm that works with companies to attain maximum Internet exposure. A nationally recognized speaker, she is the lead speaker for Pay Per Click Summit and previously spent two years speaking for Yahoo! Search Marketing. Lutze is also the author of "The FindAbility Formula: The Simple and Non-Technical Approach to Search Engine Marketing.” For more information, visit www.findabilitygroup.com.
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