Social media has been the buzzword for quite sometime now. It’s here to stay. In simple terms, social media is the usage of social networks, blogs, social bookmarking, videos etc to facilitate social interaction. The main aim here is engagement through conversation. Content is king when it comes to social media because it is user-generated. Social media is more like a dialogue unlike traditional media where communication is one-way.

Social media and its importance in website promotion:

Social networking websites include Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn etc. Digg, Delicious and StumbleUpon are examples of social bookmarking tools. YouTube and metacafe are popular video sharing sites. Sites like Blogger, Wordpress and Typepad are blog hosting sites. Twitter is an excellent example of micro-blogging. It is also one of the most viral platforms on the web.

Social networks like Facebook are popular social media tools. With more than 300 million active users and more than 70 translations available on the site, Facebook is kind of a big deal. It is a huge social media platform where companies engage users through fan pages, groups and events. Facebook also allows businesses to create ads.

Microblogging platforms such as Twitter are viral platforms. Twitter facilitates instant interaction. It can also be a great place to announce contests, events and even a new new blog post.

A Blog is the simplest and most effective way to build an online presence. It’s a place to discuss, debate and share ideas about your company, products and services. With a blog you can control what information you want to display. A blog also means better search engine ranking and greater visibility.

Social bookmarking tools are effective in promoting websites. It gets you backlinks and traffic. It’s a great way to share interesting and relevant links, which in turn leads to better search engine ranking and higher visibility online.

Contributed by Jade D’costa

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