It’s hard to argue with raw numbers. We spent some time scouring Alexa for Web site statistics, and have come up with a ranking of sorts for social media sites.
Everyone knows that Twitter is the big up and comer. If your business isn’t already utilizing this powerful real-time site, you need to be!
But did you know that as a business, you should focus more on Twitter than you should on Digg? Or that Buzznet is likely your best bet for promoting your band? How about that more German internet users use Twitter than Indian users, but India trumps Germany on StumbleUpon?
So without further ado, and it absolute order, here are the 8 sites you MUST target for online marketing success.
1. YouTube.
We’ve all visited the site. There are well over 100 million videos on the site – perhaps closer to 200 million. The top videos on the site have attracted over 100 million views.
While it’s a safe assumption that your latest marketing video about the incredible health effects of acai berries won’t reach that number, if you’re creative with it, you very well may go viral.
YouTube pulls in some 18.06 percent of global internet users. That’s behind only Google and Yahoo, according to Alexa. YouTube also has 489,059 sites linking into it. Thanks to the embed feature found on most YouTube videos, that will only grow.
So what can you do to target your audience on YouTube?
Well the most obvious place to start is to join as a member and create a user name – ideally your business name. Make some constructive comments on other videos that interest you, and that have to do with your industry.
As much as you enjoy the latest Mariah Carey music video, your business account shouldn’t be used for simply saying “That’s awesome!”
Your next step is to upload some content of your own. If your business is the sales, installation and maintenance of pools, then adding some video of an actual installation might generate some interest in the niche community.
Or how about creating a video with you sharing your professional insights and tips for pool maintenance and chemicals? Sure, you’re giving away some free advice – but you’re also establishing yourself as a trusted authority on the subject.
Google is also very fond of YouTube videos, and they will rank very well if you take some time and consideration before you name and describe your videos. A title of “Personal Pool Maintenance Tips and Tricks” would probably rank very well on the search engines.
2. Twitter.
It seems we can’t go anywhere these days without hearing about Twitter. Celebrities are talking about it. Talk shows are talking about it. Even the White House is on Twitter!
But how can you make it work for your business?
Again – the first step is to get on there! If you aren’t already, you better hope your business name isn’t already taken. In fact, it wouldn’t hurt to head over to NameChk and see what sites still have your business name available. Then get to signing up!
Twitter will work best if you pair it with a blog (see #3 on this list). That way you can write content on the blog and share it on Twitter.
Assuming you can provide some engaging content, others will re-tweet your information, and your name and blog can be spread around the community.
I would also suggest using Twitter to form some relationships with others in your industry or related industries. Look for people who may have similar business interests.
Maybe someone who offers pool cleaning services would serve as a solid “tweep” on Twitter. You can share with your followers their latest sales offer, and they can recommend you to people who are looking to invest in a pool.
Twitter also serves as a great way to monitor what people are saying about your company and industry. While you probably won’t see exposure and discussion on the same level as you will about Southwest Airlines, you might run across a tweet or two about the cost estimates on a new pool or what the best chemical brands are to use.
There’s your chance to jump into the discussion and offer people some professional, valuable insight!
3. Blogger.
You can actually use any blogging service site like WordPress, or have one built into your home page, but we chose Blogger due to its rank and global exposure.
Blogger pulls in 8.29 percent of global internet users and has over 430,000 sites linking to it. Compare that to WordPress at 4.76 percent and 135,535 sites linking in. Either one will serve its purpose, but more internet users are familiar with Blogger than WordPress.
A blog is your company’s chance to engage in discussion with your audience. It serves as an excellent way to reach out to your potential customers and provide them with news, information, offers and upcoming events.
When USASEOPros wanted to have an online sale, we first announced it on our SEO blog and then our Twitter account.
A lot of companies use a blog as a means for the CEO to communicate with the community. A blog gives the company a more personal feel to it, and makes it seem friendlier.
Not everyone wants to do business with “Joe’s Pools”, but if they can see a picture of Joe and read his thoughts and insights into the industry, they may find him and his company more approachable.
Any time you are writing online, I would suggest keeping in mind some simple search engine optimization techniques. You are of course writing for your audience, but don’t forget that search engines will find your blog too.
Use some key words that pertain to your industry and that will rank well on search engines like Google. Maybe title one of your blog entries like “Insight and Hints for Maintaining your Pool from Joe’s Pools”.
If people comment on your blog posts, respond to them! You can gain some great feedback from blog comments, and if you are able to answer their questions, you may just earn yourself another client!
4. Wikipedia.
This one is a little tough. Wikipedia cracks down on promoting for promotion’s sake. You can’t simply add an entry about Joe’s Pools and say how great it is and expect the entry to last.
But if you can offer up a valid, informative Wikipedia.org entry, it very well may last. You can use the entry to link to your website, your blog, and include industry information.
Best of all, Wikipedia.org ranks very well on sites like Google and Yahoo. A Wikipedia entry about your company could quickly come to dominate the search results for key words in your industry.
If you’re successful, you’ll enjoy the fact that visitors come to Wikipedia a whopping 14.57 percent from Google. This means that nearly 15 percent of people first do a search on Google, and then head to Wikipedia to learn more.
Wouldn’t it be nice if they were heading to YOUR Wiki entry to learn more about YOUR company?
5. LinkedIn.
This is a networking site of over 25 million users who are billed as experienced professionals. Over 150 industries are represented, and users are connected through jobs, education, and friendships.
The site is an excellent place to find a professional in your industry, in your neighborhood. As a business owner, you can connect to colleagues, clients and partners. With a profile, you’re also increasing you business exposure and visibility in a professional networking environment.
LinkedIn can also help you target direct sales for your company.
While LinkedIn may not be the greatest solution for our fictitious “Joe’s Pools”, it might work wonders for an office supply company or a human resources company.
If you would like to learn more about the incredible power of LinkedIn, here’s a great article about effective LinkedIn marketing. It’s a little old (2007), but much of the information is still relevant.
6. Digg.
Digg is a social news site that is essentially a central hub of information. Users can “digg” information they deem interesting, and the most “dugg” articles will find their way to the top of the site.
Start by creating a user profile with your company, and then get to reading and posting. We have an article about this called Spinning, Digging, Stumbling and Beyond: Profit for Free Online if you would like some more thoughts on this topic.
Digg has become one of the go-to sites for the latest and greatest internet news, photos, videos and articles. Users link the original content to Digg’s site, and then you can start digging from there.
Again, this is a site that will really benefit if you are able to offer your own content. Publish your videos on YouTube and then put them on Digg. Write a blog post, and then head over to Digg.
Users head to Digg as a news/entertainment aggregate – make sure they’re finding your company there!
The United States and India are the two biggest users of Digg. Over 43 percent of Digg’s traffic comes from the U.S., while India contributes over 13 percent. It’s important to keep in mind your potential target audience with each of these sites as not every site it big in every country.
If you happen to own a company that does exporting to India – or you’ve been considering making a move overseas, Digg might be one of your best bets for attracting interest there. Our number 8, StumbleUpon, gets 16 percent of its traffic from the country too, while Indian users make up over 14 percent on LinkedIn.
7. Facebook.
With the raging popularity of Facebook these days, you might be a little surprised to see this one so far down the list.
It’s not because of Facebook’s lack of reach. Nearly 17 percent of global internet users visit Facebook, and the average time on the site tops out over 25 minutes a day.
But Facebook is not LinkedIn. It CAN serve as a professional profile, but the largest portion of users fall within the 18-24 age range.
Jello shots and keg stands may make for a fun picture, but they probably won’t help you sell your office supplies.
Creating a fan page can work for Coca Cola, but will it work for “Joe’s Pools”? Probably not.
That being said, it is probably a good idea for Joe to have a profile page, complete with information about his company, what he offers and how to get in touch with Joe for a beautiful new pool.
Facebook is a wonderful resource for targeting specific age groups, but it’s more valuable to small businesses as an advertising site than a networking site.
The site can be a gold mine for companies that offer consumable products (think Red Bull, the Whopper, and the aforementioned Coca Cola), but unless you’re hawking the hottest new energy drink or a brand new line of clothing, you’re probably better off focusing most of your social network efforts elsewhere.
8. StumbleUpon.
StumbleUpon is another social news site, similar to Digg, which works as an internet aggregate. It pulls in content that is “stumbled” by its users, and promotes the content on its site.
Although smaller in size than Digg, StumbleUpon still has a very respectable 118,000 sites linking into it.
Again, you’re going to want to create a user profile with your company name and then use the site to become part of the community: comment and “stumble” interesting blogs and articles while sharing your own content.
There are a number of other sites similar to StumbleUpon and Digg. Mixx is one that seems to be growing in numbers, but it’s still much smaller than these two.
It’s better to focus your efforts on a few of these sites instead of trying to spread your efforts and energy thin. You’ll get a much better response if you can spend some real time on StumbleUpon and Digg than if you scatter your content about.
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So there you have it. Our 8 sites you must target for online marketing success.
You’ll notice that many of these sites work well together. That’s the idea. You should have a network of sites that promote your business and build an online identity of your company.
There are some interesting statistics that link many of these sites together as well.
For YouTube, Facebook was the third most popular upstream link and the second most popular downstream link.
Over 9 percent of LinkedIn visitors came to the site after first visiting Facebook. Twitter is the fifth most visited site after visitors stop by Digg – they’re probably heading off to tweet about an article they found!
Through it all, Google reigns supreme though. Amongst all 8 sites, every single number one upstream AND downstream site was Google.
That means that users are first searching for content on Google, finding a profile or content on one of these 8 sites, and then heading there.
It also means that after reading or watching the content on those 8 sites, Internet users are heading back to Google to learn more. Clearly you want to get your business name on the top of Google!
With our sites, we started from the top, and worked our way on down. First and foremost is the content. From YouTube videos to Tweeting to a blog, you MUST give your audience something to digest.
You cannot promote your company on sites like Wikipedia, LinkedIn, Digg, Facebook and StumbleUpon with giving them something to talk about.
Bonnie Rait had it right all along apparently.
By: Zack S.
