How important is social media for today's business?

But whether you're a social networking guru or a complete Googlephobe, one fact is undeniable, social media is the new way of communicating. There is no other low-cost promotional method out there that will easily give you large numbers of visitors, some of whom may come back to your website again and again. So if
you want to take advantage of the global online marketplace, you're going to have to get social media-savvy.

Choose the right platform

As a business owner you don't have to take advantage of all forms of social media; that would be impossible to maintain. Choose the platform that your target market is most likely to frequent. Mobile technology companies find platforms such as Twitter and MXit work well, as they appeal to a young, media-savvy audience. Finance consultants will probably have more success with LinkedIn than Twitter as it reaches out to the corporate world.

Travel-related businesses will probably achieve great results with Facebook, since most people who travel these days do some form of internet research online and will probably have a Facebook account. Once you've decided which form of social media will best suit your business, go ahead and sign up.

Links to your website that come via social media sites fall into two categories:

a. Primary traffic - Primary traffic is the large amount of visitors who come directly from social media platforms.

b. Secondary traffic - Secondary traffic is referral traffic from websites which link to you and send you visitors, after they come across your content via social media platforms.

How does this translate into tangible benefits for your business?

1. Links mean better search engine rankings. When a website receives a large number of natural, permanent links from trusted domains, it develops authority. Search engines trust it. A new website may find it difficult to gain links from a critical mass that is not familiar with it but a trusted social news resource makes it easier for links to come in, because the community and buzz has somewhat 'certified' the value of the site.

2. Traffic - repeat visitors and supporters of your brand. Some people claim that social news websites only send useless traffic, visitors that will often just view a specific webpage and click away. Yes, that's usually the case. But don't mistake this with a lack of interest. Your subscriber figures will often take big jump up and then stabilise after a few days. If your entire site is relevant, there will always be a handful of social users who will start to track your site in order to submit future content.

Why bother using social media as a marketing channel for your business?

1. Your website is exposed to large groups of people in a spontaneous fashion. This differs from paid advertising which has definite commercial overtones.
   
2. Social media can add to the traffic you currently generate through search engine optimisation. While you can't easily increase your search engine traffic, social media traffic can be very easily controlled through strategic marketing.
   
3. It's low cost with high returns.
   
4. It works well in conjunction with other methods. Social media optimisation and marketing is usually community-specific. It doesn't interfere with any other methods of getting traffic to your website. It can
   and will fit perfectly with an advertising campaign targeting other websites or search engines.

   Social media marketing is not difficult at all. It is something everyone can do with some effort and knowledge. It isn't some secret art form that only experts can master. Unlike other skills, social media has a remarkably low barrier of entry. Everyone is invited to the party. No one is excluded.