For most, social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are a somewhat untapped resource when it comes to promotion and traffic generation. Particularly for those old timers who think SEO and Google are the be all and end all of traffic sources.

In this article we’re going to run through some tweaks, tips and tricks you can apply to your social network profiles and your social marketing campaigns in general. Whilst the below isn’t a compete guide as to how to generate traffic via social networks it should serve as an eye opener and might make you question how you handle things currently.

Your Profile

Your profile is a great place to load information about your site, product or service. All networks have well built search functions which take note of the information contained within your profile descriptions and having the right words present can yield untold traffic numbers.

As an example, if you operated a logo design company and actually had the words “logo design company” in your profile description as opposed to just your brand name – when someone came along and searched twitter for “logo design company” then your profile has the chance of being found which may result in a conversion.

Many people are opting to search social networks as a matter of preference over the likes of Google so the effective “SEO” of your profile should be a top consideration.

The Hashtag

If people are hanging around on the social networks, they’re generally either really bored or just looking for a way to pass the time. They do this by following/checking hashtags that interest them when one pops up in their timelines. You need to get in on this.

The next time you make a post about something make sure to include relevant hashtags related to the subject at hand and just watch how many interactions you get. It’s a sure fire way to get instant traffic and you’d be surprised just how many people are viewing the results of a particular hashtag on a day to day basis.

Autoposting

Posting your content on the social networks, regularly, is a great way to drive traffic. You can do this automatically. The major content management systems such as WordPress and Joomla all come with autoposting plugins at their disposal which you can setup and configure to literally post on your chosen network(s) as and when you publish or edit a particular content piece. You can also add the relevant hashtags as per the above.

There are also plugins out there which can revive old posts in the absence of no fresh content. So even if you’re not creating new pieces each day you can still keep your activity feeds active by regurgitating old content that people might not have seen previously.

Management

If you run multiple websites you’ll know what a chore it is to manage multiple profiles across multiple networks. Especially if you’re posting any kind of volume.

If you are indeed finding this a struggle then you need some management software. The best on the market currently to facilitate such management is HootSuite. Via this app you can manage all of your profiles across all of the popular networks from one central panel. This can be a god send if you’re spending lots of time logging into one profile then out of an another etc. You can also setup scheduling so you can stack up a months worth of updates all in one go. You can also choose to post the same thing to all networks too so you don’t need to individually login and copy and paste the same thing.

The Balance

Nobody likes their timelines inundated with your old posts and hashtag marketing however so you’re going to need to find a balance. A few posts a day is usually enough to reach the majority of your audience, morning, noon and night. This covers most peoples working habits and allows you to reach as many people as possible. Doing too much whilst traffic yielding in the beginning will quickly result in you losing followers/likes.

Like Minded People

Tweeting like minded people in the hope of a like or retweet or even liking and following their profiles directly is a great free way to generate exposure. Particularly if you’re operating in a sector with lots of authoritative voices. Be careful what you tweet though as you don’t want to be blocked or blackballed. Relevant, intelligent opinions or humor will always trump an outright request for a retweet or like.

Paid Exposure

If you’re struggling to get the exposure you need you can also consider going down the paid route. There are lots of services out there for buying likes, followers or retweets. Some of them quite cheap, particularly via the likes of Fiverr.com.

The only issue with the above is separating the genuine accounts with lots of fake followers from real accounts. But they should be easy enough to spot.

Conclusion

Promoting your project via social media in reality is a lot easier than via traditional means such as SEO and if done right the traffic volume you can generate can be massive in comparison. However, you should keep in mind that for the most part the traffic is going to be untargeted so the conversion rates when it comes to actually selling your product or service is going to be massively lower. But free traffic is free traffic and a good social presence can go a long way to complimenting your existing promotional campaigns.