Why Social Media Matters to Your Business

It doesn’t seem that long ago that social networking websites, such as Facebook and Twitter, arrived on the scene. Now, it’s hard to imagine life before their existence.

Why exactly has social media become so popular?
There are many explanations as to why social media has become such a powerful force in our society. Not only do people use social media to interact with individuals they know, businesses also use it to connect with their target market. We have many clients who have built successful attorney social media campaigns and are now reaping the rewards.

Here are some reasons why social media has exploded:

• Social media puts the power of content sharing in the hands of Internet users. You don’t have to be an online genius to share content with your social group. Sharing video, audio, text or multimedia is pretty simple and straightforward.
• It’s more resistant to spammers. Social media communities are self-regulating, leaving little room for spammers. No one wants to be pegged as a spammer, so they are not going to risk posting low quality content for their social network to see.
• Social media allows you to reach people you never thought possible. Did you ever think you would be able to easily connect with people you haven’t spoken with in 20 years? That’s what social sites, such as Facebook, have allowed users to do. Plus, sites like Twitter and YouTube have given a major platform to users, without having to spend thousands of dollars on publicity and advertising.

What about social media and SEO?
There has been speculation for a while that social media can help with Google page ranking. Danny Sullivan of Search Engine Land recently published a report that basically confirmed this suspicion. According to Sullivan, “both Google and Bing use social media signals in their organic Web search ranking algorithmic calculations.”

Social media signals include such things as Tweets, Facebook Likes and Stumbles. It is believed that these signals are assigned weight based on the following:

• The authority of the user posting the content
• How many times the content has been shared (the number of Facebook Likes, Tweets, etc.)

Social media does impact your business.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that social media has nothing to do with your business. If you are an attorney or other business owner, you need to understand that your potential clients are using social media to get information. You can use social media to reach this group and to build a following.

Find out more about social media by ordering a FREE copy of our report, Twitter for Attorneys.