How to Leverage Social Media for SEO
By now, you’ve probably heard that social media is important for SEO. Yet most advice around social and SEO seems rather vague. How, exactly, does social media impact SEO? What can you do about it? How can you use social media to improve your own SERPs?
This question can actually be broken down into two parts: Part one is getting your social media profiles, like your Twitter feed and your Facebook page, to rank. The second part is how to use the power of social media to get your primary site ranked higher.
Let’s explore both of these avenues.
How to Boost Your Social Media Profile SERPs
Imagine owning the top three spots for your primary search term: Your main site ranks, as well as your Twitter feed and your Facebook page. You’ll effectively destroy any other site(s) trying to rank for that position.
Of course, this is a dream scenario that rarely happens. However, getting your social media profiles to rank is certainly a worthwhile goal to shoot for. So how is it done?
The first and most important thing to do is to link to your social media profiles from your home page. This lets the search engines know that your social media profile is linked to you. This is actually perhaps the most important thing you could do to boost your social media profile rankings.
Next, build backlinks to your social media profiles. After all, they’re also webpages and need to be ranked just like any other page.
Get as many likes or follows as possible. The more likes or follows you have, the higher the perceived authority.
Use your product’s names and your brand’s names in your tweet. This will increase the relevance of the page to the keywords you want to rank for.
Finally, make sure you have your brand name and/or your keywords in your profile’s shortcode or URL. Having the keyword there will help with the rankings, help Google identify the “official” page and help users find your page.
If you follow all these steps, your social media page has a very strong chance of ranking.
Reduce Time and Stress Spent on Managing Social Media
Most business owners and entrepreneurs have extremely packed schedules. If your calendar is already full to the brim, where can you find time for social media? How can you manage your Twitter account, your Facebook page and your blog without over booking yourself and stressing yourself out? The answer: To add social media to your lifestyle. Instead of viewing it as another task, integrate it into how you live your life.
Here’s how to do it.
Tweet or Facebook on Your Smartphone
You’re going to have downtime during the day. Perhaps it’s while you’re on the bus. Perhaps it’s while you’re eating lunch. Perhaps it’s when you’re in the bathroom.
Wherever it is, there are going to be times in the day where you’re simply not doing anything else. Instead of wasting this time, use your smartphone or your iPad and turn it into social media time.
Use this time to write 140 character Tweets. Use this time to update your Facebook page. Use this time to come up with new blog ideas or to write the outline for your next blog post.
Replace Newspaper With Tweeting 
For most people, the first thing they do in the morning is grab a cup of coffee and read the newspaper.
But the reality is, reading the newspaper isn’t going to do all that much for your business and professional life. Instead, what if you made tweeting with coffee your daily habit?
This would allow you to reach out to your audience while you’re just going through your everyday routines. You won’t ever miss a day of tweeting, because it’s part of your daily schedule.
The 4 Most Important Factors to Having a Great Twitter Profile
Your customers are the most haphazard brand managers in the world. While your internal brand managers might spend days figuring out the perfect message to put out, your customers are just going out there and sharing whatever comes to their mind. They do it without filters, to hundreds, thousands, even millions of people.
Twitter is the second largest social media in the world. It’s also the most conversational social media network. Getting your Twitter setup done well will make it easier and more likely for people to talk about you and to you on this vast and fast paced social network.
Here are the four most important things for optimizing your Twitter account.
#1 – Informative Username That Sounds Great
Your username should have a snap to it. People should hear the username and immediately understand what your business is about. It should ideally also either be identical to or be related to your business or brand’s name.
Ask other people what they think about your Twitter name before you commit to it. Ideally, the name you choose for Twitter account is also the name you use on Facebook, LinkedIn and other social networks.
#2 – A Background and Profile Photo That Stand Out 
The second thing you need is a background that really stands out and a profile photo that goes along with it.
Your background is your opportunity to demonstrate how much you care about your Twitter page. People who really care about Twitter put a lot of effort into their backgrounds. They look absolutely stunning.
Your background should be well designed. It should look like a lot of effort went into it; or it should look like it was done by a professional designer. If you don’t know how to make a world class design, consider hiring someone to do it for you.
Your Twitter profile photo should match and compliment this background.
Top 10 Tips to Tweet your way to 1000’s of Followers
If getting Twitter followers seems like a mystery to you, read this article carefully. 
Getting Twitter to work for you is just like getting anything else in business to work: You need to first figure out a good system that works for you by testing a number of different things, then implement that system regularly.
Here are ten different ways you can increase your Twitter followers. Some of these might work for you, some might not. The only way to know is to try.
1. Springboard Your Followers With Existing Platforms
Do you have a blog, an email list or an active Facebook page? If so, springboard your Twitter follower base by posting something about your Twitter feed on your existing platforms.
Make sure you place a “tweet” icon or “follow” icon on each and every page of your website.
2. Give Away Valuable Content
The #1 thing people want on Twitter is valuable content. All the other marketing tactics really won’t matter if you don’t have valuable content being published on a regular basis.
Write your tweets as if you were writing a direct short message to your target audience. Make sure it’s packed with juicy tidbits or links to valuable resources.
3. Be As Controversial As Possible
Take on controversial topics. Explore the other side of the argument. Make statements that get people riled up.
While you might alienate some people by being controversial, you’ll also get a lot more exposure. Exposure means more followers.
The people who end up following you and becoming your fans are the people you’d want to attract anyway.
4. Retweet All the Time
Retweeting is a win/win for everyone involved. The person you’re retweeting will be ecstatic that you helped spread their message. Your followers will be exposed to new content that you like. And you’ll get more followers, as well as the goodwill of fellow tweeters.
5. Follow a Lot of People
Most active Twitter users watch their followers very closely. If you follow someone, there’s a very good chance they’ll follow you back.
In other words, if you want to get 300 additional followers, one of the fastest ways to do that is to simply follow 500 people.
iOS 5 Update – The “O Where Art Thou” Reactions!
At the time of this writing, the iOS 5 has not launched as yet but it’s been fun following the various reactions over Twitter of people waiting keenly in anticipation for the new update. The launch time is rumoured to be either midnight PDT ( that didn’t happen 
) or 10 am PDT (The update’s available now! It became available shortly past 10 am PDT). Will also do a follow up post about reactions post the update, that should also be interesting! (UPDATE: Follow up post is ready – Survey of Reactions to the new iOS 5)
Here are some of the better ones that I found, if you have any suggest them in the comments section below:
longwayround Luke
itsguru2u Guru
Every time a person clicks “Check for Update” in iTunes, the ghost of Steve Jobs delays #ios5 by one second. Retweet this!
itsguru2u Guru
Dear #Apple, #SteveJobs has left the building. You can release #iOS5 a few minutes early. No one will mind. Sincerely, Hurry Up! Retweet this!
hubuy Hub Uy
The “check for update” button has got to be shouting “stop poking me!!!”… #iOS5 Retweet this!
Zachari123 Zachari Miller 
Frustrated because I want to download #iOS5 but I need to sleep. If only I could wirelessly download it. Too bad I need #iOS5 for that! Retweet this!
kaspershow Kasper
The “check for update” button has got to be sick of me by now. Retweet this!
RafAvila Raf Avila
#thatawkwardmoment when every iPhone user worldwide goes into seizure mode pressing the ‘check for update’ button on their iTunes. Retweet this!
amyflandreau Amy Flandreau
I’m so pissed that I’m such an idiot who stayed up waiting for #iOS5 when it’s not midnight in the entire country yet Retweet this!
MrsNastashia ??Me ??
Apple is gonna make me carry my laptop to work tomorrow..cause I need this update ASAP!! Retweet this!
GeorgiaTiPb Georgia
OMG…Not wanting to update to #iOS5 has pissed some people off like I ate their first born child. What’s up w/ that? http://www.tipb.com/2011/10/11/updating-ios-5/
Retweet this!
bandpyro Jessie 
Stay up till iOS5 comes out, or go to sleep and not be a dead tired teacher tomorrow? CHOICES CHOICES?!?!? Retweet this!
elzombo Jeffrey
I want to stay up for iOS 5. But then again I want sleep. Retweet this!
ammo_kills Cody
Ok I’m looking for #iOS5 and can’t find anything.. thought I would come to twitter, cause theres always an answer here. lol Retweet this!
AlexHutchins1 Alex Hutchins
#ironic that bbm has crapped out the night before #ios5 Retweet this!
moldyminttea Miguel P.
i bet #iOS5 is gonna be infected with Steve Job’s ghost. Retweet this!
j_cic John C
Current version go away! Retweet this!
Come on America catch up with the UK we are on the 12/10/2011 but can’t have iOS 5 till you catch up!!! #iOS5 Retweet this!
AsimChin Asim ChinAs someone who doesn’t celebrate Christmas… I now know what Christmas Eve feels like #iOS5 Retweet this!
Stormchild Jason Sims
Got my popcorn ready for the big wave of disappointment when everyone realizes #iOS5 isn’t coming out at midnight. Retweet this!
——————–
So these were some of the ones I found interesting enough to highlight. It’s wonderful to see so much interest and passion about the Apple brand and credit has to be given to the visionary Steve Jobs to have done everything he did to generate this level of excitment and enthusiasm about all his creations.
Find below a twitter stream keeping track of more mentions regarding iOS 5, you might catch a few more interesting ones there.
Other Posts you might like:
- iOS 5 Update – A Survey of the Reactions! Cast your Vote!
- 10 Bizarre Facts you ought to know about Facebook
- 7 Awesomely Amazing Examples of Success through Youtube
- 14 Powerful Tips for Marketing on Facebook
http://blog.socialmaximizer.com/10-bizarre-facts-you-ought-to-know-about-facebook/
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