There are many things that small business owners must remain aware of, and the ever-changing face of technology is at the top of the list. After all, if you are not aware of even the most basic social media and SEO terminology, it will be very difficult for you to connect with your current and potential clients. Additionally, online advertising is rapidly becoming the most effective and inexpensive method of increasing brand awareness and sales, so it is critical to understand how Internet users communicate.
Social Media Terms
1. Social Media Sites
Every business owner needs to familiarize themselves with the most popular social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Pinterest, Instagram and LinkedIn. Many people believe that they only need to sign up for an account with one of the sites, but the reality is that this will cause you to miss out on a wider audience. However, if you do not have the necessary resources to maintain an account with all of the sites, you should at least utilize the top three: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
2. Site Terminology
On Facebook, your followers are people who have liked your page. Communicating with people on Twitter requires posting a tweet, and people can share your posts by retweeting them. Google Plus provides a +1 button next to content and websites, and getting people to press this button can increase your search engine ranking.
The majority of these sites also use hashtags, and this is a phrase accompanied by the pound sign such as #socialmediasites. Hashtags allow people to find content that is relevant to one specific topic. Ultimately, regardless of the type of verbiage that each site uses, your main goal is to attract as many followers as possible, and you want to encourage each of them to share your posts with their extended social media network.
SEO Terms You Need to Know
1. SEO
This phrase is used often, and it stands for search engine optimization. To put it simply, SEO encompasses a wide variety of techniques that are utilized in order to improve a website’s search engine ranking so that it will become more visible to potential customers.
This can be done by several techniques, but for those who do not understand or simply need help can hire a professional company to improve their online presence. Fortunately, a professional SEO company can assist you with all of these vital tasks, and they can also help you with the development and management of your social media pages. There are some companies such as Everspark Interactive who also specialize in video marketing and can help through the creation of high quality videos for online marketing.
2. SEM
Search engine marketing, also known as SEM, can be used in connection with SEO to build an even higher level of brand awareness. Pay-per-click campaigns such as Google AdWords are an important piece of SEM, and it is also possible to purchase a spot within some search engine company’s rankings.
There are multiple other terms that can help business owners get the most out of their online presence, including developing a firm understanding of how keyword phrases and backlinks impact all of your online ads and your website. Keep in mind that connecting with your audience via social media is one of the best ways to encourage them to remain engaged with your products or services.
Lisa Coleman is a blogger and business owner who loves to socialize through social media networks. She has found being a frequent visitor and promoter on such websites to be an enormous help for the traffic to her own site, and business marketing plan.
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