Tips On How You Can Harness The Massive Power Of Social Media

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As we step into the era of Web 2.0, we can observe the new social media phenomenon taking the Internet world by storm. There is an unprecedented amount of interaction between users and websites like never before. Social networking sites like MySpace and video sharing sites such as Youtube are already household names. One word - HOT!

So hot you can probably fry an egg with it!

Social Media is an incredibly powerful platform to drive traffic, engage in some serious marketing and create publicity. Speaking about creating publicity, some people gain unwanted notoriety by posting up some ‘naughty’ content to places like Youtube. But hey! Lets not go there. Anyway, if you are in a business, this is a platform you should definitely be looking to leverage on.

Why do I say so? Allow me to give you an example. A Malaysian singer, Karen Kong, set up a Friendster webpage to market her new song, Cinta Hello Kitty, and within a short period of time, got thousands of hits on her webpage, elevating her exposure to heights which I suspect she never imagined.

Of course it helps that the quality is already there (all the traffic in the world will not save you if your quality is sorely lacking!). Just that with the clever use and harnessing of the massive traffic potential of a social networking site like Friendster, she was able to LEVERAGE on her effort to produce exponentially better results.

Want further proof? Giant corporations like Burger King and General Electric have jumped onto the social networking bandwagon to put up their profiles on MySpace, so as to connect with their target audience. Rupert Murdoch, whose News Corp bought over MySpace in 2005 for a ‘measly’ $580m, must be secretly congratulating himself on an excellent shrewd investment.

Well this topic is on tips on how to tapped into the humongous potential of social media, so without further ado, lets dive straight into it.

Image Credit: www2.warnerbros.com

1. First thing you have to do is to GET a blog! By now, you will know that I’m very much an advocate of WordPress blog, as it is a very powerful publishing tool with many features. Put in some valuable ‘how-to’, tips and review articles, and your readers will be very grateful for it.

Next sign up with a blogging community like Technorati and MyBlogLog and network away. You can get traffic by the truckloads.

For Technorati, add very popular blogs with high traffic and page rank to your favorites. You may want to choose some of them and add them to your blog’s blogroll. In doing so, when people do a search for these sites in Technorati, your link will automatically appear, and will act as a gateway for them to come and visit your site. Before I forget, do remember to tag your posts. I’ve earned some traffic from Technorati just simply by tagging.

MyBlogLog has very good site tracking devices in place, where you can check how exactly your visitors are being referred to your sites. Suss out folks from communities that are related to your niches and add them as your contacts. Make friends, swap links and form joint ventures. Do whatever it takes to get links back to your site. Tonnes of things you can do there to drive traffic and gain exposure for your site.

2. Make a lens at Squidoo. Link it to your website. Again, what we want here is good quality and unique content in your lens. Something that people are itching and dying for. You can put in some of your most popular and informative posts that you already have in your blog. Rate other people’s lens and tell them about yours.

3. Sign up for accounts at community-based content ranking sites like Digg and Del.Icio.us. Submit content to them whenever your post. These sites have got lotsa visitors streaming in daily, and you absolutely want them to be aware of your posts that you are coming up with.

Get these social bookmarks action bars/buttons on your site so that your readers can easily submit them on their own. Also, gently encourage them to do so (like what I’m doing now. Psst…so you know what to do?).

Do also submit your site to StumpleUpon to allows others to…well…stumble upon your site!

4. Upload videos and pictures of your sites, products, messages or related information to Youtube and Flickr respectively.

5. Create a profile at social networking sites like MySpace or Friendster. Tell the whole world about your site. Again, keep your audience targeted. Reach out to those who are interested in your niche.

Some other social networks that deserve notable mention and worth checking out are 43 things, Facebook, Orkut (owned by Google), Yahoo! 360 and LinkedIn.

6. Syndicate the content on your website so that readers can subscribe to your rss feeds. Point all your feeds to Feedburner, for your easy convenience.

7. Start commenting like you never commented before. Do it with a vengeance. Go to all the social sites that I’ve highlighted before, as well as high traffic sites and leave some comments. Not just any random nonsensical spoutings but constructive, valuable feedbacks and views. Leave a link to your site, so that you can allow people who are interested in you enough to come and look at what you have to say at your own place. You generate free backlinks at the same time.

If you want to sell your site, do it. But keep it subtle. The last thing you want is to turn people off by coming on too strongly.

Do take note. No SPAMMING please.

You can also do reviews of other people’s site and blog posts, where you can agree or disagree. Adopt a controversial view point if you desire so. Controversy is proven to get attention. However don’t go overboard and offend people though.

8. Let me stop here with a last tip. Why at point 8? Chinese believe that 8 is a lucky number as it represents wealth. So hopefully you are going to get lotsa money in the pocket if you follow the 8 tips here. Another reason is because…I’m a bit tired to go on (a long day for me today).

So finally, last not but not least, use Google to search out bulletins, communities, groups (eg. Yahoo and Google groups) and forums that cater to your specific niche of your website. Let say your website is about landscaping, do a search on landscaping forum, and join it. Such places are teeming with your targeted audience, so go right ahead to exploit and take advantage of the free traffic.

Start off by contributing meaningful posts. Don’t start selling right away. Give away information. Be an authority. Then you can start moving in subtlely and moderately, like I mentioned earlier. The key here is to presell, warm them up with credible information and gain their trust and respect.

Are you done?

Okay now off you go. Go get some serious targeted traffic! May the social media force be with you! Remember to take lotsa action and duplicate them across all your sites.

P.S I’ve to confess that I’ve not tried all the methods listed here, as I’m just too busy with other matters at the moment. Have to really start kicking myself in the ass to practise what I preach now.

These are some good tips that can be summed up in two points:
1. Create something valuable
2. Let others know about it
take care,
Elaine

Hi Elaine,

Yep, you hit the nail on the head. Creating good content is a challenge, and the next is to let others know about it. And social media is a great way to let people know.

YongSing Jag

You hit the nail on the head. Creating good content is a challenge, and the next is to let others know about it. You Can Harness the Massive Power Of Social Media