How To Use Your Social Media Channels To Increase Website Traffic

As a website owner, one of your main concerns is driving traffic to your site. Even if you have a groundbreaking new product or service, you need to attract visitors to your site in order to reap the benefits of hosting the site in the first place. A site with no visitors is literally worthless to your business.

The public’s involvement with social media has spawned a multitude of new ways for people to communicate and share ideas. Intelligent use of social media networks can garner new website traffic and help your business grow. Failure to take advantage of the opportunities offered by social media can lead to lost business and a failed enterprise.

Here are some ways that you can use social media channels to drive traffic to your website.

Choose The Right Social Media Network For Your Business

There are many different social media networks in existence and you cannot be expected to use them all to the same degree. In fact, based on the makeup of your followers, you might be totally wasting your time by utilizing resources on some of them.

Research which networks are used by the majority of your prospective customers and focus on those channels. You may find that posting on Instagram drives much more traffic to your site than tweeting. Tailor your social media campaign to the channels that matter to your followers.

Optimize Your Posts For The Networks You Use

Certain sites are more conducive to displaying your information in a certain way. Instagram is very visual, whereas a network like Google+ lets you be more expansive in your textual communication. Use the strengths of each network to your advantage and craft posts that will appeal to the users of the particular platform.

Post At The Right Time

Studies have shown that there are definitely times when your posts may be more effective than at other times. According to Entrepreneur, different social media networks have widely varying prime times for posting.

For instance, LinkedIn posts are more likely to be seen on Wednesday mornings, whereas the best time to tweet is apparently 1 PM on Friday afternoon. Use this information to time your posts when they have the best chance of being seen and acted upon.

Use Social Media Tools on Your Website

Tools are available, such as Google Analytics, Social Mention, and TwitterCounter, just to name a few, that help you track your social media impact by counting the number of shares and likes of particular pages. Use of these tools can help you formulate future plans or modify your current social media strategy.

If you have built your website using WordPress there are a number of social media plugins you can get to monitor your social media activity as well as to make it easier to allow users to share your content through their networks. You can also obtain plugins that help you time your posts to maintain your presence on the social media platforms.

Incorporate A Call to Action In Your Posts

Your posts should contain a call to action that is meant to drive traffic to your site. Examples such as “Visit Now” and  “Please Comment Below” can spur the user to take the next step and become engaged with your social media presence.

Ensure That Your Site’s URL Is Visible

On most social media profile pages there is a designated area where you can list your site’s URL. It is critical that you take the step to list it, as interest in your posts may lead to users exploring your profile. Sending them from there to your website can increase your website traffic.

Repeat Your Posts

Sending out a post detailing information about your site or the product that it provides is a good marketing strategy. Repeating the posts can drive traffic to your site, as your user may not have had time to click through or perhaps did not even see your original post. According to the website Marketingland, only about 6% of Facebook users will see an original post.

Caution needs to be taken with this tactic, as repeating a post too frequently can set off the spam alert and cause users to unfollow you. A weekly or bi-weekly interval for a repeated post of important information is a workable timetable. Hourly or daily reposting is probably overkill and will not generate the results you wish.

Refer People To Your Site

When replying to queries on social media, work your site into the answer. Your replies can direct the follower to your landing page, support pages, or product information pages depending on their question. This serves the dual purpose of providing the user with the information they need and making them aware of your site and attracting more traffic to it.

Get Involved In Online Chats and Communities

Participation in social media communities and chats allows you to connect with other professionals in your areas of expertise. It can also drive traffic to your website. Engaging in a Twitter chat exposes your profile to the other chat participants, and through that gateway, they can make their way to your site. Offering interesting information during the chat session is a great way to market on the fly and increase your website traffic.

Use Graphics And Visual Media

The human brain processes visual images much more quickly than textual content. Using this knowledge to your advantage, you can increase your website traffic by using compelling images in your posts. Try to use photos or graphics that add value to the post’s content rather than using random images.

Make Your Content Mobile-Friendly

The majority of users interact with social media through a mobile device. This means using responsive web design to optimize your site for mobile. This also means placing conspicuous social buttons on your content to make sharing simple. You want users to be able share with their friends wherever they are, and as soon as they want to, attracting more traffic to your site.

Conclusion

These are some of the ways that the use of social media can influence the amount of traffic that your website experiences. Take advantage of them to grow your online business. If you find yourself struggling after months of attempts, consider working with a marketing agency to optimize and maximize your social media channels. Though working with an agency may cost a pretty penny, you’re now in a contract– meaning you can expect results.

What social media platform have you found the most useful to your business? Are there any tips and tricks you have found to boost your social media engagement?