Using Social Networks to Benefit Your Site
There are thousands of social networks out there. All these networks can be used to generate more traffic and revenue for your site if they are used correctly.
RSS Feeds
RSS feeds are an underrated tool. It only takes a user one click to install an RSS feed which will continually update itself. Every time new content appears on your site the user will be alerted. Naturally, the user will choose to view new content that interests him/her. Offering RSS feeds that can be modified to only show content from certain parts of your site will lead to higher user satisfaction and create more interest from your users.
Facebook
Facebook is the social networking giant. Every day, millions of users read adverts all over facebook, join groups and read status updates. Creating a Facebook page for your site with a very easily added Like button and link on your site will help to increase traffic. Updating the status on your site's Facebook page will publish the update on all the status feeds of users that have "Liked" your page, which will keep bringing them back to your site. Being advertised in Facebook's cleverly placed spotlight with interesting pictures, will generate interest that will bring more users to your site.
Twitter
Twitter is a rapidly growing status update site. Tweeting about the latest events on your site will keep users coming back. You can gain followers through cleverly placed ads and links on your site. Just having your site registered on Twitter will bring users with similar interests to your site through your followers.
MySpace
Create a page at MySpace and regularly update with information and news. All pages on MySpace can be viewed by all users, so this is a great way for new users to discover your site. Most MySpace users are interested in music which gives those sites with a music theme a great audience. Try adding some videos of your site and put effort into your presentation.
Delicious
Get bookmarked! Spread the word through your users so that more users will be able to find you through the adapted search engine. This is a great way to get new users. Find sites that are similar and generate even more traffic by cooperating with them. Remember to use an interesting and catchy description.
Forums
Forums are a type of social network. Advertising on various forums through methods such as signature links or creating discussion threads about your forum is a great way to gain new users. Just make sure that you follow the forum's rules.
Using Social Networks the Right Way
Don't over-do it. Updating too often can annoy users since your updates will stop them from seeing other ones that they want to see. Updating three to four times per week is usually about right, but it depends on the size of your site.
Update regularly. Decide if you are going to update once a month, once a week or several times a week. Long and uneven breaks between updates can cause users to forget about your site.
Create discussions. Use discussions to generate interest and get feedback from your users. Facebook's comment feature gives you loads of opportunities to do this.
Don't give too much away. Publish the beginning of articles or news updates on the social network of your choice and provide a link for further reading. This will make users click through to your site and possibly lead to further reading, generating more interest.
Be professional. Keep to the subject, regard your site as a business, and keep a professional look. Nobody wants to visit a site that looks like it's being run by a child.
Social networks are an amazing tool. They can be used for so many different things. These are some of the largest ones, but there are many others that are more specialized. Spend time looking for ones that suit your site, and publish some interesting information about your site on them. Remember to read the network's rules before you start posting, so that you don't cause yourself any problems.
One last thing to remember is that when you are promoting your site on a forum using a signature link, you must act professional. Everything you are posting on that forum represents your forum, and you want to give people the right impression of your site.
This article was first posted on our blog on 22/05/2011. For this reason, the information may be outdated and no longer reliable/correct.
This article was first posted on our blog on 22/05/2011. For this reason, the information may be outdated and no longer reliable/correct.
