How to maximize social media traffic on your site

To what extent do social media generate referral traffic? Let's look at the facts.

Although Google is always the best way to direct visitors to sites, you can not look at these numbers without being impressed. Turning to social media to increase traffic is a very good investment – if you play your cards well.

We can say that it's easier than trying to appear in Google because most of your work has already been done elsewhere, including on your own website. That's not to say it's a total walk in the park, especially if you're not already a big and famous brand. But if others do it, and you want to do it too, why run away from the challenge?

Let's see how to generate as much traffic on social networks as possible.

Step 1: Prepare your social media pages

Obviously, you have to exist on social media before you can start using them as a traffic machine. The details are less obvious. These are the elements that will lay the foundations of your social fief.

Your personal pages

Which one do you prefer:

A. speak to a person;

B. Or speak to a brand with a logo on his face?

Most people will choose the option 100% of the time. This makes the interactions more personal and instills much more confidence.

Once you have chosen the social platforms you will use, set up your personal accounts there – with your name and your face. (If you already have them, it's perfect!) Be your own representative. Encourage other members of your team to do the same.

Personal pages are also needed to build and grow your network, but we'll get there later.

Your business pages

The personal factor makes it easy for users to access your site from your own pages. Facebook influencers, in particular, often give up the entire page of the company and publish everything under their own name. You're probably not there yet, so you'll want to dedicate separate pages to the site you're proposing.

Configure them and fill them with as much information as possible.

First impressions often last forever. Here's what your pages need to make your first impression count:

• Unique logo
• URL with the name of your site
• Cover image
• What is your site and what does it do (usually in an "About" section)
• Contact information
• Link to your site
• Images that capture the essence of your site in the gallery

Do not forget to share the updates of the professional pages on your own pages and ask your colleagues to do the same!

The platforms you will use

Everyone can name several major social media platforms without thinking about it: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, Reddit, Quora and others. It is not dangerous to choose one of them to promote your website. In fact, there is no reason not to choose all of them, as long as your content is well matched.

Some platforms may require a more delicate approach than others, however. For example:

• Reddit users are wary of ads. Promotional threads of the brand are refused and hidden.
• Twitter is known for its character limit.
• Quora is a question and answer platform where sponsored articles can be disguised as questions.

Updates that you will publish

There are billions of users around the world, but your target audience will only represent a fraction of that. Design your updates to click with the people you want to bring to your site.

Do you know your audience well? What kind of content would they like the most? There will probably be more than one answer, and it can vary anywhere between "funny" and "professional". You may want to experiment with different moods to see which works best.

The only two traits that apply universally to all users are "suits their interests" and "attracts attention." Only you will know what others are.

Step 2: Prepare your site and its content

Remember the number one rule of the Internet: content is king. The excellent content of your site is also essential in promoting social media, even if you do not publish it directly.

Imagine this scenario. Users visit your social media page and click on a link in one of your updates. This brings them to your site, they see your content and … it's bad. What do you think it will happen afterwards? You guessed it: users will bounce back and never click on another of your social media links.

And we can not have that.

Generate traffic is to attract new users and keep your old users. For these, it's even more important to watch the quality of your content. If it changes, it must change only for the better.

Step 3: Direct social media users to your site

Ok, the preparations have been made. It's time to start doing what you came here to – generate traffic. The better it is, the better it is.

Users get tons of updates from many different sources in their feed. The more updates you have, the more chances you have of getting more clicks. Post on your page at least several times a week; if you can make multiple updates in one day, it's even better.

• Publish different types of content.

It's more interesting to be able to present more than text and images. Most platforms support many other formats, such as videos, polls, and slideshows. You can even get creative with the usual "boring" content types and turn them into something more fun, like a game.

• Share the content of other people.

Not only will these content writers appreciate what you have done, but they will also receive a notification and be presented to your brand.

This works surprisingly well because users often miss updates in social media. Of course, it is best to take no chances and update the republished content beforehand, so that users who have already seen it have a reason to click on it again.

• Ask users to participate in your updates.

Even something as simple as "subscribing to more updates" works, but it's certainly not harmful to put it more in focus. YouTubers can be especially creative with calls to the action of his videos.

• Participate in discussions.

The more people talk about what you post, the better, and you are certainly allowed to express your opinion. In addition, users may have questions that only you can answer.

A quick response is a sign of compbadion. Of course, you can not be there 24 hours a day to meet everyone, so it's useful to use a chatbot.

• Expand your social network

In social media, which you know counts as much as you know. Keep having new friends and followers and never stop. You can find them on your pages, but there will be countless others. How many new people have you talked to today?

• Do like your competitors.

Someone is required to receive more users than you in social media. And although a high engagement is not a ranking factor, it is often badociated with a high ranking in Google. Find these people using the WebCEO Dangerous Competitors web tool.

Check which sites are in the same niche as you, then add the most competitive of them in another tool – Competitor Social Quotes.

This will tell you which ones are getting the most engagement in social media.

Now you can check their pages and understand what makes them work. Is it the updates that they publish? How often do they display them? Or maybe they have built a better network of followers and contacts than you? Only one way to find out.

• Design your updates to maximize clickthrough rates.

Users love updates with beautiful graphics and short, but engaging and descriptive texts like the one below. Powerful words that arouse emotions and match the mood of your content can make a huge difference.

Another thing that attracts the attention of users is to already have some tastes and sharing in the update. These are signs of quality that motivate users to try your content. Feel free to ask your friends and colleagues to take care of your updates as soon as you publish them. Their attention will be noticed by others.

• Invest in paid promotions.

I can not avoid mentioning them in the context of generating traffic on social networks. When all else fails (and even when it does not), badign a budget to paid ads.

Epilogue

The main purpose of social media is the communication between people on an equal footing. There is no better place to reach your target audience. The more users you have and the better your relationship with them, the more traffic you will have.

So, it all boils down to establishing a relationship with the people you want to invite to your site. Be an active part of your users' experience with your site – not only through your content, but also through a good old human interaction.