Is social networking really worth all the effort?

[LeeC]

Call me old fashioned, but I can’t understand the buzz about social networking, I really don't get it, who in their right mind spends their valuable time conversing with a bunch of narcissists, chattering about what’s on TV, funny pictures and bragging about what they’ve done or achieved, it all seems so phoney to me.

My site is reasonably popular, I get a rough 50/50 split of my visitors from referrals and organic and an infinitesimally small amount of traffic from social – Oh yes I hear you say,” that’s because you haven’t fully embraced social networking.”

But here’s the thing, my social traffic doesn’t come from me at all, it comes from followers of my own social network (forums and user of my software liking and sharing my products and content), who have kindly shared on my behalf.

Now when I visit Analytics to study the data from social traffic I find that it gives a huge bounce, 100% from Facebook, 93% from Twitter and 79% from LinkedIn, when my average is just 39%. The same applies to time spend on each page, less than a minute for all of the social sites, when my average in close to 7 minutes.

So ok, social networking for traffic is a complete no go, let’s look at it from the perspective of out reaching. How can I break into that?  I hate TV, I don’t find pictures of cats funny and I’m modest and humble, how can I possibly even begin to converse with these people?

After using Twonk I got followed back by a good amount of users, but had to delete most because of the complete crap they were sharing, do I really want to know that someone ate lasgne for dinner, read about the top ten english railway stations, or what colour lego brick is someones favourite!

Honestly I’m not trying to be funny with this post, and no offence to anyone here, but I just don’t get social networking, I’d love to but it seems a complete waste of my time and effort.

[LeeC]

Hi James,

have been considering ssl for a while, maybe time to make the switch, thanks for the share.

Have been struggling with bounce ever since organic overtook referrals, is pretty hard to create product documentation and get people to move to another page, especially as most bookmark the pages and close the page when they've finished reading.

Having blog pages has helped and since including a forum bounch has dropped, but still a little over 40%.

Good luck with the new site launch, hope it goes well for you

[Cocoonfxmedia]

Hi Lee

James is my name

SSL adds trust to the user, Google has also hinted that they're more likely to rank you higher.  GEOTrust is scanning for Malware its an experiment to see if this gives more trust to the user and also if it slows down the site, no evidence in trust, but site speed no effect.  SSL has improved rankings on all keywords within weeks of installing.

bounce rate at the moment is high as our site design isn't user friendly and the content is a little dated. In fact the design is 2.5 years old. Oue new design will be ready in a few days and new content. I would say below 40% is ok. Ideally we would like around 20%

[LeeC]

What can I say other that WOW, WOW, WOW!!!

Moz Analytics shows an increase of 750% in social traffic in one week.

Way to go Monica, I owe you a coffee, you were spot on

[LeeC]

Will do

[MonicaOConnor]

No need to apologize, I like a good SEO debate! If I can offer any other suggestions don't hesitate to ask.

[LeeC]

Awesome answer Monica, I've seen enough, sorry to throw that small spanner in the works, but your evidence seems to suggest otherwise, appreciate the share

[MonicaOConnor]

Let's talk about November:

I had 12 shares of products on my site, three messages on Facebook, 124 likes, 20 comments and 18 shares in November.

My total post reach socially was over 22,000.

I received 87 visits from social networks for a total revenue of $36k.

My domain authority increased 4 points with no back linking. (I don't do a lot of back linking right now)

Even without the revenue and traffic an increase of 4 points in my domain authority was well worth the 6 hours I spent on social media last month, wouldn't you say? I measure the success of my social campaigns first by engagement, then by domain authority, and finally by revenue and traffic.

[LeeC]

If Matts cuts is to be believed (personally I don't trust Google at all) high rankings have more to do with the fact that the content was good and thus was shared at numerous other locations, and the social links where just coincidental and played no part in the rankings.

I'm not denying the benefits of social to you or the other guy that commented earlier, I'm just saying that I haven't seen any benefits, not in rankings or in out reaching from using mainstream forms of social.

Incidentally, I wonder, how do you guage how social signals have improved your rankings?

[MonicaOConnor]

Most social media links are no follow links, especially Facebook and Twitter. Social links aren't meant to be a  back linking strategy. The social signals build trust, and validate whether or not a website is really a business. In 2013 about 7% of ranking factors were related to social signals. I think in 2014 that number didn't really change, but I expect it to in the coming year.

http://imgur.com/a6bG748

Since no one knows the exact SEO recipe there is speculation to exactly how social plays a part in success. I can tell you from experience, a strong social presence helps your organic rankings. I have seen it work for companies, and I have seen companies without a social presence rank as well. Since these platforms are so interactive, there really isn't a better trust signal than a strong, engaging presence.

[LeeC]

lol

[MonicaOConnor]

So, I actually didn't get to the right page. The Forbes Quote of the day is what I thought you were sharing. I will read this over and let you know what I think. Sorry, that was a total blonde moment.

[LeeC]

Isn't this suggesting that the benefits from social are more to do with out reaching than "organic rankings", atleast directly, which takes us right back to my original question, e.g. what's the point if the referrals are mimimal or none.

After reading this article I wonder if more can still be gained from producing good content on our blogs, operating our own social networks (i.e. a forum) or atleast using social to drive people to our forums or blogs, although from my experience, people that use facebook don't like using private networks (as a general rule) - I have facebook and twitter login apps at my forums and they've not been used once.

email is still a major form of social for me, I get more than 50, sometimes close to a hundred personal emails every day, from strangers, clients, potential clients,  members and users. I've made a great many friends, gained some lucrative deals from this means of contact - simple but very effective.

I still plan to start a Facebook group as you suggested, I'll also give it my all, but still I think there are better, more honest and personal ways of communicating with people and developing stronger, valuable and lasting relationships.

Do you have a blog Monica and have you tried anything else other than social? You might be surprised at how this can be of benefit.

I've also found it trememdously beneficial to offer something for free, as you know people love free stuff, which also helps drive traffic to guides and tutorial pages and when they get stuck they join the forum, at which point the social part kicks in, I can display my kindness, politeness and willingness to help no matter what.

From this people realise that I'm trustworthy and every once in a while (so far its been about once a month) I land a business deal. OK its quite some marketing funnel, but it works, not as well as I'd like, hence why I've joined Moz.

Best, Lee

[MonicaOConnor]

Love that!

[LeeC]

Just though I'd throw this article into the mix!

[LeeC]

Will do thank you

[MonicaOConnor]

Sure, no problem! Make sure you create a page, not a group. They are different. When you are logged into your personal FB, go to any page and there will be a green button in the top right hand corner of your timeline that says "create a page". You want to do that, not create a group. You will have to be logged into a personal account to create a business page.

4qaR2jG

[LeeC]

I followed and liked your group btw.

If you don't mind when I've set the group up, can you take a look at it for me, sorry to ask, and of course you're welcome to say no, you've helped me enough already

[LeeC]

Hey another brit!

A side question, sorry what's your real name, calling you Cocoonfxmedia doesn't seem right or respectful? Are there benefits from running on an ssl? Also noted the geo trust icon?

What is your bounce rate? just wondering what you consider to be high?

[MonicaOConnor]

If you ever have any questions feel free to pm here. I don't mind helping out! I truly love social marketing. I like the data, and to be able to see the results too. I think for awhile this was really one of the most effective ways to build domain authority.

Glad I could help, good luck to you!

[LeeC]

lol if I could afford you, I would hire you too

I'm sold, going to setup a facebook group tommorrow.

[MonicaOConnor]

I like FB better because I am long winded and the 140 character limit on Twitter annoys me. lol

My largest demographic on Facebook is women 30-45, stay at home moms (I can tell because my insights say that they most common hour people visit the page is between 11 and 3, which is nap time in most houses) with large interests in recent events, funny posts and cute pictures. I try to throw some stuff in about generators because I want to have some relevancy, so I put the promotions up. In case the power goes out one day, Mrs tells Mr they should buy a generator from the company who posts the pictures of cute babies. (yeah right lol) It is more about the exposure and getting our name out there.

I use a ratio to determine my posts: 30% fun, 40% Clickable links to other sites, 30% related articles. Videos have the highest CTR, Pictures get the most engagement and anything that drives a click increases engagement.

[LeeC]

Monica,

If I thought I was lost at the beginning, now I'm completely flumuxed! Not really ....

The scope for what you're sharing is really very broad isn't it? There's no mention of generators, but you're talking about issues related to generators, definitely going to have to get my thinking cap on.

I also see that a lot of your content is (and I'm not being sexist I promise, just an observation) aimed at ladies, am I to assume females are those that decide to purchase your products, or is it that you're interested in these things?

Do you find Facebook better than Twitter? I was of the understanding Twitter was the better of the two?

[Cocoonfxmedia]

And this is ours ;o) https://www.facebook.com/cocoonfxmedialtd

[MonicaOConnor]

https://www.facebook.com/APElectricandgeneratorsllc

That is our Facebook

[Cocoonfxmedia]

Social Media is my sales person, I am active on all channels. We've got more leads through social media than through networking, and organic and PPC. I only go on social media and personally interact when there is nothing on TV or I am actually looking to see if there is anything interesting going on.   Traffic to our site is hugh so is the bounce rate but without it I would need to hit the phones daily.

[LeeC]

Would you care to share the link to the page you manage? Maybe good to see good social in action.

[MonicaOConnor]

No problem. I love social marketing. It isn't about you personally, but your business page. My company is AP Electric and Generators. If you see the page I manage you will see it is a good blend of business and fun. I have a fair amount of engagement. I'm glad I can help!

[LeeC]

Are you saying then that I don't have to be engaged in social media personally, that its enough to simply allow visitors, customers and members to share my content and news and that each time my site or content pages are liked this contributes to trust? Ah I think I follow what you mean by social signals now.

I think maybe I misunderstood the purpose of social networking, it takes a shift of perception from posting as an individual, to posting as an organisation, will definitely look at posting content relevant to my brand without getting too involved in the small talk from now on

You've been great by the way, thank you for your patience, I'm still a lost when it comes to social media, but now atleast I can see its purpose and value.

best Lee

[MonicaOConnor]

Hi Lee,

The company I started working on SEO for was a small family owned construction company. They knew nothing about keywords and couldn't even rank for their own name. Pretty scary. The company wanted to grow, they wanted a different advertising outlet since direct marketing door to door didn't work in the Chicago winters. We built a website, I went to SEO boot camp and we began building their "brand". The most important thing I know about SEO 5 years later is that it is a popularity contest. Google is look for the most relevant, authoritative, trustworthy and expert SERP to match a user's query.

After reading your response I would like to just say for the record, not every person you talk to will take your kindness as their main selling point. I have no idea why this lady didn't accept your offer, but I can say that it appears you did everything right.

I have worked for companies with very niche markets and difficult demographics. Currently my target market is males, 60-75 years old in Florida and New York. It doesn't get any less tech savvy than that. I say, keep your social engaging, informative and consistent. That is the important thing. If some sales result from it, great. If not, you are still serving the purpose by creating a trust in the online world.

[LeeC]

Hi Monica,

many thanks for responding

Some really great ideas in there, particularly like what you say about sharing industry related articles, though reviews would be a little too boastful for my tastes, I always feel that posting such material is saying something else, like "I'm posting these positive reviews because my products are sub standard" - not so sure that big companies post reviews either.

Also I have lots of likes and shares, but what's the use in it when the is no obvious positive benefit, yes I can see big or medium sized businesses benefiting from social signals (what ever they are) but the small guy, I'm not so sure.

I supply free open source software, maybe sell five $50 items a month to people that have used my free software and see that it is quality, they also know that I provide high quality support at no extra cost, from their experience, I also help people out for free (actually I do that a lot of the time) and get donations because small businesses appreciate genuine, no alternative motive feedback and advice - this isn't me flagrantly spamming btw!

How could I possibly get this message across on a social network?

The problem for me is that the people that frequent such sites, don't appear to be my kind of people, I read a recent research paper (I'm so sorry that I can't recall where now) by a US university (perhaps you recall it?) that most people that frequent Facebook and Twitter, are narcisists, selfish, lack imagination and do not have a university education, while I'm not for single second condemning any of these traits, they are not the type of people I would care to do business with or be associated with (my line of work requires a lot of trust and I only work with people I like because it stimulates my creative juices), is this practical, probably not, is this attitude going to make me rich, definitely not, am I taking too much stock from a universtity paper, I don't think so, as it fits with my personal experiences and what Analytics is telling me (unless I'm reading too much into the high bounce and low page time).

And to reinforce this with a recent example;

1. Read the Moz beginners guide on social media
2. Used the Twonk service, followed 12 Twitter users
3. 5 followed back and 1 messaged me about my services, asking how much I charge
4. I messaged back and gave email
5. User mails me asking the same questions, with details of her project, but points out she has a limited budget.
6. I respond with a price, but also give details of my commercial and free software
7. No response! That was 8 days ago.

Now I was completely honest with this lady, my bespoke creations cost a lot, usually a lot more than individuals can afford (though of course I didn't say this, I just gave her a price). It is also my practice to refer to the free and reduced cost alternatives, because I like to be upfront from the beginning, after all the lady would have visited my site at some stage and found the free software anyway.

So why no response? I was polite, gracious and honest, I also gave her advice on her project and how she could obtain my software for free (given her limited budget) or by purchasing the commercial version of the software.

So now I not only have the Analytics data and a university paper, I also have experience telling me that social is not worth the effort.

Many, many thanks for answering though, you raised some very valid and interesting points that I will look into in greater detail.

Best, Lee

[MonicaOConnor]

Social Signals are important for organic rankings because they are a trust signal. If you have a social presence, with engagement it is more likely that your site will be seen as legit. I do not feel as though social signals are as important now as they were say, a year ago. It is too easy to manipulate. You can buy followers, cheat engagement and build a reputation completely unrelated to your industry. While it isn't quite as important, it is still a ranking factor.

Social media doesn't need to be a complete waste of your time. Use it to stream customer reviews, industry related articles or advertise promotions. The social signals feed off of engagement. How many likes, shares, comments and reviews your business has on social media is what is important. It doesn't require someone to spend countless hours sharing pictures from the Walking Dead or commenting on every selfie. It requires engaging your audience however possible.

Your social media profiles are also reinforcement for your local listings. The name, address and phone number on your profile can be used to confirm you are who you say you are.

To answer your question simply, yes, social is important. Google plus, Twitter and Facebook are probably the most important. You have to prove to the engines you are a legitimate site and can be a trusted source for searchers, social is part of that equation. It isn't just about traffic from social sites.