4 Key Social Media Techniques for SEO

Content marketers understand that social media presences and SEO are not directly related. The amount of posting and the number of platforms used, even likes and shares, will not impact a Google ranking. 

But social media does have an indirect relationship with social media, and smart marketers invest time in social media marketing, to foster SEO. Here are some key tips to achieve SEO via social media.

1. Top Quality Content Comes First

If you do not have a business blog, then you will begin one immediately. This is where you will publish high-quality content that will engage your target customers. Here is how you do this:

• Craft a full demographic profile of your typical customer – wants and needs, sense of humor, values, and even purchasing behaviors
• Blog content should address this profile, providing information, entertainment, and/or inspiration in a tone and style that will engage 
• Content must be original, with catchy headlines, visuals, broken into small chunks for easy “snacking.”
• Posts should invite questions, discussion, and feedback
• Provide ample opportunities throughout each post for a reader to share every post on social media platforms where like-minded individuals hang out – these are known as “social signals” and they are picked up by Google algorithms.
• Provide links to your blog posts within your social media posts – getting backlinks to your content. Again, Google recognizes backlinks as “proof” of valuable content.

2. Be Certain that Your Social Media Profiles and Posts Promote Trust

You and your brand have a reputation to establish and maintain. When potential customers or clients consider a purchase of a product or service, they want information about the owner(s) and staff of the company and about the brand. They conduct research on social media – studying profiles and, of course, what others have to say about the brand on those platforms. This they will do often before accessing a brand’s website. A great reputation on social media is what many call “social proof.” While this has no direct impact on Google rankings, the more visits you ultimately have to your website and the longer those visitors remain to absorb your content, the happier Google is. (Of course, it also doesn’t hurt that your sales grow when consumers trust you).

3. Tell Stories as a Part of Your Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing isn’t supposed to look like marketing. Instead, it is supposed to look like relationship-building with a target audience; it is supposed to look like providing valuable content to meet the needs of that audience and to solve their problems; it is supposed to look like a means to provide education, entertainment, and inspiration. 

Telling stories about yourself, your staff, and satisfied customers (with visuals, of course) is just one aspect of social media marketing. It gives your brand a “face.” This is just one of 8 major reasons why social media marketing is important. And always, you will want to point to valuable content on a website page or a blog post that is original, unique, and full of style. The posts themselves should be compelling enough for viewers to want to share with their communities – the more sharing, the more your content will be accessed. The more a piece of content is accessed, the more Google sees it as valuable. 

4. Consider Your International Audience 

If you have an international reach with your product or service, you want those audiences to connect with you on social media platforms where they hang out. And you want search engines in their languages to find you and rank you well. You will use social media the same way you do at home. The additional caveat, of course, is that you need to find top-quality online professional translation services – services that have native, human translators who understand your audience and who can turn your source language posts and content into compelling and valuable sources for that target audience. 

The Wrap

Search engines, especially Google, do not have algorithms that comb through social media, ranking content, likes, shares, and such. But social media can still be a valuable asset to a business that understands the important indirect relationship between social media and SEO. A strong social media presence will compel your audience to link back to your rich content and spend time with you – that’s what Google wants to see.

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