4 Ways to Create A Successful Online Presence Effective Social Media

I recently had the honor of presenting a case study to the executive management team from Wegmans. For those not familiar, Wegmans is the pinnacle of grocery shopping, having created a shopping experience unlike any other.

People leaving the Rochester area actually include Wegmans as a must-have when deciding where to move.

Cherish download

The case study presented include some of the online technology solutions and social media guidelines I created for Auction Direct USA. Regardless of the market segment, basic underlying tenets can be applied to creating and managing a successful online campaign.

Create A Unique Online Experience

Does the design stand out above your competitors?
Is your website memorable?
Are key items easily called out and identifiable?
Can visitors provide instant feedback?
Are you leveraging social channels and tools to extend your online reach?

Create a Continuous Improvement Process

Are you actually listening to your visitors feedback and comments?
Are you gaining real-time feedback with questions and polls via blogs and micr-blogging platforms?
Who will manage customer feedback; is there an escalation process?
Is the feedback directed to the appropriate contacts and departments?
Is your online brand being managed (ie: Brand mentions, keywords and competitors?)

Create Metrics to Measure Performance & Ensure Growth

Have you implemented a management process to measure past performance, marketing results and benchmarks for your segment?
Are you measuring traffic performance with items such as visitor locations, exit/entry locations and bounce rates?
Are you monitoring analytics to ensure efficient web activity? (ie: Key sections, effective ad channels, conversions)

Create a Social Media Presence with Specific Objectives

Activities on the major networks are a must: Facebook, Flickr, Twitter & YouTube
Communicate the overall plans with your internal staff; be sure everyone is on the same page
Keep the message congruent between online & offline channels – consistency is so important
Emphasize your visitors – not you or your company; create authority, build confidence and earn their trust
Develop specific objectives and measure them. (ie: New sign-ups, leads, appointments, revenue, etc.)

What has helped improve your online presence?

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One of my new friends and contacts from Raleigh, Kipp Bodnar, invited me to share some ideas with the Raleigh Social Media Breakfast today. (Thanks Kipp – great time!)

Here’s a quick overview of the items we discussed for your reference. The Raleigh SMB is now of my regular stops when I’m in town each month; I recommend it to anyone with an online presence – stop out and meet some extraordinary people.

Today’s discussion talked about creating a plan and using tools effectively to reach help reach your goal. Don’t just be online – be effective. Check out some of the ideas we talked about…

Blogs: Wendy and Lucy video Download and install the Worpdpress plugin “SEO All-In-One Pack” to efficiently – and effectively – utilize your page titles, descriptions and keywords. Combine these efforts with your keyword analysis and you’ll begin targeting content towards what your visitors are searching for – or even identify new areas of opportunities.

Facebook: Add the Networked Blogs application to your personal or professional pages. Add your URL’s to the Networked Blogs profile page. The profile links on this page are ‘follow’ links – meaning Facebook will pass along the link juice from this page to your site. (link juice= page rank strength)

LinkedIn: Similar to Facebook – your LinkedIn profile page uses ‘follow’ links in the three spots reserved for your websites. Use them effectively by using your keywords in the link title as well.

YouTube: In your description box, the first 27 spaces are reserved for visible display – use those spots for your site’s URL. The shorter the URL the better as more of it will be seen. Youtube’s algorithm is (relatively) easier to manage than other sites. Your video’s placement and strength can be affected by managing (not gaming – managing!) your titles, descriptions, tags, # of views and ratings.

Tumblr: Tumblr pages are still an underutilized property that offer so many opportunities within the micro-blogging niche. I use Tumblr for my twitter interviews; they don’t use ‘nofollow’ links and its a great way to build links to your main properties and also into your tumblr blog.

Social media releases were also mentioned – see my post on SMR’s for my thoughts. (I love ‘em)

A few other topics we didn’t get into, because I didn’t want it to turn into a twitter-discussion and/or off-track: twitter search, interviews and product reviews.

Sleepers trailer

Twitter search is exploding; increase your chances to be found within twitter search by using the hash tag (#) with trending keywords. Interviews and product reviews are also great ways to build relationships while creating opportunities for relevant keyword links.

Use your tools to the fullest to build your brand, drive traffic and convert your key metrics.

If I can create a successful social media strategy within an unlikely market segment such as the used car market – you should have decent odds within your niche as well!

Share your efficiency tips and SEO secrets…