Effective Social Media Management is the best way to grow organically. Learn the advantages of engaging and interactive Social Optimization and why it's necessary to succeed online today.

        While search engine optimization continues to be the centerpiece of online marketing, the myriad of social media sites dominating the web provide a unique opportunity to interact with and entice potential clients on a more personal level.  Having a strong social media presence will help make your site more appealing to search engines like Google, but it can also help satisfy more traditional business needs, such as generating leads, providing good customer service, and learning more about your clients and their community.  Think of SEO as the hard science of structuring your website and providing easy access for those who are striking out blindly in search of something relevant in your specific field.  Social media management is the soft science of learning about your users and what they want.  It is the art of generating goodwill in the Internet community, and while SEO will always remain important to the functionality and accessibility of your website, smart social media management is the key to true organic growth.

Cater to your users

        Taking for granted that a strong social media presence requires engaging with the user, it remains to be seen exactly what kind of engagement will generate an ongoing interest in you and your website.  The answer is, as always-it depends.  Play to your users by discovering what they want out of their online experience.  Sometimes you'll be surprised to find that expected strengths can be seen as weaknesses, and that what the designer likes may drive the user mad.  Don't lose a single customer because you are too proud to ask what the people think.  And unlike some of the more technical aspects of SEO, where guesswork must be involved, this is often as simple as asking the user what they want out of your website. 

Engage and interact

        Don't be afraid to ask the user what you could be doing better.  Asking questions on Facebook or Twitter is a sure-fire way to generate a lot of comments and re-tweets.  Respond to any questions, comments, or concerns by getting involved in the conversation yourself.  This shows the user that you are invested in them, and that there is someone on the other end of the line who cares about  what they think.  Responding regularly to comments and tweets creates a personable atmosphere that will engender loyalty among your users going forward.  Reward them by taking suggestions seriously and by reaching out to like, post, pin or re-tweet their material as well.  Remember, these users are on social media because they want to interact.  A website that does not reach out and invite contact on a daily basis will quickly become irrelevant and die in the social media scene.  As long as you are active and attentive in giving users a reason to engage with your site, your social media presence should thrive.

Build a Comprehensive Presence

        Although there are a million things users may be interested in as far as content, there are a few strategies that hold true in all social media management.  Quantity is just as important as quality.  Maintain a presence on every social media site you can properly manage.  Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest-you can gain value out of all of them.  Make an effort to promote links between your social media accounts as well as your main site.  You can even maintain multiple pages within a single social media community.  Imagine your run a local sandwich shop famous for crazy combo subs.  Make a Facebook page for the shop, but also make a page for each sandwich people will recognize and be sure to like.  If you do a video tutorial or find an entertaining clip you want to share, put it on YouTube, post the link on Facebook or tweet the link to followers, and enable a blog board on Google+ so any of your followers there can chat about it.  Anything that spawns interest or discussion will help spread your name and promote the idea that your site is and remains "relevant'.  In the end, users that find value in your presence on social media will end up finding value in your website, and that is the end goal of all Internet marketing: to create return customers.  It’s no more than a classic business model, adapted to the modern age.