The advent of social media changed more than just the way we communicate — it developed into an integral marketing platform upon which today’s top entrepreneurs base their marketing campaigns. Sites like Facebook, Twitter and
Commonfig provide business owners with an excellent opportunity to increase their visibility, promote brand awareness and develop rapport with their customer base.
Like any new technology, social media management efforts must be carefully evaluated to determine how effective they are in regards to a marketing campaign. Today, there are a variety of sites available to assist business owners with this process. By understanding the relevance of social media rankings it may be possible to develop a more effective social media strategy.
The Nuts and Bolts
Social media rankings are more than just a popularity contest. In fact, there is some indication that major search engines, such as Google, consider profiles and brand pages on social media sites in their page ranking process. Remember, the formulas used by the major search engines are, at least in part, proprietary, so it is difficult to tell for sure exactly what impact the sites have on overall page rank. Still, it is apparent that Twitter links and information from sites like Facebook are included in the ranking process.
Simply put, how your social media profiles perform will impact your overall visibility on the Internet. This means developing a cross-platform marketing program, which includes elements on a variety of social media sites. Once you have implemented your social media management strategy, it’s equally as important to determine how successful your efforts are. This is where social media ranking sites come into play.
The Players
There are a number of ranking services available online that can help track your performance on social media sites. Sites like
Klout, Kred and
Peer Index consider a variety of factors to numerically score your social media influence. These include the number of people your message reaches, how much influence you have over those you reach, and the overall impact of your message on a given network. In simpler terms, the sites rank your social media efforts against others to provide you with a visual representation of how impactful your efforts are.
It Isn’t All Fun and Numbers
In theory, social media ranking is a good thing. After all, simply subscribing to one of these services can help you determine how successful your marketing efforts are. Like any new application, social media tools designed to rank influence are experiencing a degree of growing pains. Over the past year there have been several glaring examples of how much work these sites still have to do. For example, in 2011
Klout changed their scoring alogarithm. This caused an overnight drop of multiple points for almost all of their users. The panic that ensued from the lowered scores was immediate and also unnecessary. The system has not yet been perfected.
Moving Forward
Social media tools like ranking sites are not without value. However, as we move forward into a world where social media sites plays a larger role in the overall visibility of an online business, it’s important to remember a few things.
- Engage — There is no better way to promote a business than by engaging with potential customers. Use a Commonfig profile to present clients with videos or portfolio information to better reach them.
- King Content — Remember, providing users with engaging and relevant content is still the most effective way to exert influence over potential customers.
- Cross Platform Marketing — As we begin to move into a new era of social media management, remembering the importance of cross-platform marketing (marketing to more than just one platform) is also critical.
Right now, ranking may be little more than a number. Still, taking the time to understand how social media rankings can impact your online visibility is an important part of your marketing process.
The advent of social media changed more than just the way we communicate — it developed into an integral marketing platform upon which today’s top entrepreneurs base their marketing campaigns. Sites like Facebook, Twitter and Commonfig provide business owners with an excellent opportunity to increase their visibility, promote brand awareness and develop rapport with their customer base.
Like any new technology, social media management efforts must be carefully evaluated to determine how effective they are in regards to a marketing campaign. Today, there are a variety of sites available to assist business owners with this process. By understanding the relevance of social media rankings it may be possible to develop a more effective social media strategy.
The Nuts and Bolts
Social media rankings are more than just a popularity contest. In fact, there is some indication that major search engines, such as Google, consider profiles and brand pages on social media sites in their page ranking process. Remember, the formulas used by the major search engines are, at least in part, proprietary, so it is difficult to tell for sure exactly what impact the sites have on overall page rank. Still, it is apparent that Twitter links and information from sites like Facebook are included in the ranking process.
Simply put, how your social media profiles perform will impact your overall visibility on the Internet. This means developing a cross-platform marketing program, which includes elements on a variety of social media sites. Once you have implemented your social media management strategy, it’s equally as important to determine how successful your efforts are. This is where social media ranking sites come into play.
The Players
There are a number of ranking services available online that can help track your performance on social media sites. Sites like Klout, Kred and Peer Index consider a variety of factors to numerically score your social media influence. These include the number of people your message reaches, how much influence you have over those you reach, and the overall impact of your message on a given network. In simpler terms, the sites rank your social media efforts against others to provide you with a visual representation of how impactful your efforts are.
