How do I generate awesome B2B traffic?
The difference is crucial. You see itâs all very well having a ton of great connections, but if those connections have no real idea who you are, and donât regularly interact with you, then they are essentially just a worthless distraction.
This particularly holds true for social media.
So how do you go about getting all those online socialites to stand up and take notice? It all comes down to your image.
In todayâs crazy online world, pretty much everyone has some sort of profile and theyâre all competing for, fans, followers, likes, tweets and so on â so YOU need to build YOUR profile in order to get peopleâs attention and get an edge over the competition. The Internet is probably the biggest advertising platform there is, and word-of-mouth is a powerful marketing tool. In order to raise your game â and your reputation â youâre going to have to think very carefully how you represent yourself online.
True, online networks are a major player when it comes to reaching a wider audience and growing a global reputation, but youâve got to be aware that whilst it gives you massive scope and huge reach, it can also mean youâve got nowhere to hide when things get rough. This makes raising your profile critical â it gives you much more control over how you want to be perceived, what your message is and what people say about you. If you donât give people something to go on, theyâll simply fill in the gaps themselves, and that can be bad for business.
So what if youâve already got a big following on Facebook and co â think this doesnât apply to you?
Well it does. You see after a while, people forget why they started following you in the first place â unless you know how to build your presence the right wayâŚ
You need to create your own unique identity.
Use what makes you unique. Have strong principles and stick to them. Choose and grow the key attributes you want to represent your business. These will form a big part of your identity and they are what you will be famous for. For example?
2. Make your website a pleasant place to be.
One of the aims of your social presence has got to be to get people to your website â so when they arrive make sure itâs somewhere theyâre going to be glad they stopped by. Slick, simple design with quality images and video (but not so big or so many as it will slow you page load time right down), ease of navigation and correct spelling and grammar will all build the impression that you are a professional with an eye for detail and emphasis on user experience.
Proving youâre human and taking the time to interact with your audience will pay dividends. Always answer comments and respond to posts, no matter how negative they are. Be charming and provide excellent customer service. This kind of direct contact with your target audience is key to boosting your profile. Use narrative and keep them informed â tell them your story to engage them on a personal level. Champion a relevant cause and show them that you care â get them involved.
4. Make quality connections.
Collaborate. Make friends with your peers â especially those with influence. Building and maintaining relationships with relevant contacts will lead to information-sharing, reaching a wider audience, an increase in traffic and lead generation through cross-referencing and joining forces with other professionals in the same field. This isnât hard to do either. Simply by interacting on their social networks â like posting comments or joining groups and making regular contributions â you will quickly develop a relationship, and become associated with them in the minds of potential customers.
References from respected third parties, positive reviews and glowing testimonials will all encourage your audience to trust you. Be open with them. Freely give them information about you and what you do. Tell them about awards youâve received or professional organisations you belong to.
Validate everything by publishing positive feedback from existing customers. If they donât give you something worth publishing, then ask them if theyâd mind if you wrote something similar and sent it to them to have them sign off on it. If theyâre happy, the majority of them will say yes, although they may need chasing as this is a low priority task for them. Building an online reputation takes time, and once you have it in place, managing it is equally as important. Whatever identity you create for your business, make sure you have it in place right from the start ready to build on â and guard it fiercely. Stay true to your message and core values and watch your profile blossom. Your public will thank you for it.
6. Make use of as many Social Networks as you can
There are many social sharing networks to increase your blog traffic. The list expands every year (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Stumble upon, Digg, PinterestâŚ..etc) and thereâs a real danger that you will lose focus and your head will be put into a spin.
Donât mix up everything - try at first to become well-versed in two that are relevant for B2B. The main ones here in terms of volume potential are of course Twitter, Linked-In and to a certain extent FaceBook
On Twitter, follow top bloggers and influencers in your niche. Also, follow their followers because this is the most simple and effective way to increase your targeted followers. After that, you can tweet new articles and ask your followers to retweet it.
Try to connect with groups in Facebook. You should also try to promote yourself there so you wonât miss bringing Facebook traffic to your blog. You may find it hard in the beginning but once you get Facebook followers, it becomes much easier.
7. Comment on other blogs
This is the simplest way to get traffic to your blog. Go to some great blogs and read their article then give a comment. Your comments must be relevant to that article and be well structured, though-out and likely to be of interest to both the blog owner and the other people reading it and commenting on it. If possible, leave your company name in the title field when you comment (for instance âJohn Doe, Head of Sales, abc Inc.)
8. Create some Videos, if possible
Create at least 2 videos that include your blog link at the beginning, then submit them to YouTube, Metacafe, and other video networking communities. This helps you expand your network not just to readers, but also to video viewers. If any of your videos get good exposure, then your blog will receive some nice traffic of people interested in your industry. Try to create quality videos or motion graphics, if you have budget available, as poor quality videos send a nagative message about your brand..
9. Write At least 400 to 500 words
Do not assume that you can get quality traffic without a lot of effort. You need to present your blog as a unique site to others to make it successful. It takes time to create content, and while you donât have to focus solely on writing 400-500 word posts, you need to make sure everything you write is of the highest calibre possible.
Try to Create Quality Content
If you canât spend your entire time on blogging, at least try to create detailed posts once or twice a week. This way, you can grab othersâ attention and show your blogging expertise to your readers.
Itâs really essential for you to make detailed articles regularly to survive in blogosphere, with no shortcuts. This can bring your quality traffic from other sites or search engines.
Website content doesnât have a shelf-life, as with other traditional marketing collateral like a brochure that you mail out and has a limited lifespan. Online content can be seen on a regular basis by an infinite number of people. Not only can it be infinitely seen but it can be shared and measured, too. You can gauge reactions to specific types of content through website analytics tools like Google Analytics to help you determine what type of messaging works best to help you reach customers.
Many people say just forget about the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) when youâre just starting out. But thatâs a dumb suggestion! You have to focus on and be careful with what keywords to use. You should also know how much keyword density you have to maintain in your content to bring search engine traffic to your blog.
If youâre just starting out, the least you can do is to make a proper keyword analysis before you write your articles then add them into your posts. There are many free keyword tools like Google AdWords, and SEO-friendly blogging platforms like WordPress or Joomla. Just donât go overboard with the keywords so search engines wonât tag you as a spammer.
Thatâs allâŚ.There are many other ways to make traffic to your blog. My suggestion is follow these tips, if you are a new blogger you will never get disappointed. Concentrate to create a good social network.... Good luck for your future blogging.
Do you have any doubt about this article, feel free to ask me. Donât forget to use the comment box for your Thoughts.
At last have a nice dayâŚ..