Why Social Media Scares Me…and Why You Should Use It
Andy still likes to joke about how he came across my MySpace page when I applied for this job and saw messages from my friends congratulating me on a new job and a big move. The funny part – I hadn’t gotten the job yet!
As we have read time and time again, what you put on the internet can be seen by just about anyone. Google “casie gillette” and what will you find?
- I work at KoMarketing
- I played basketball at Marietta College
- My Sphinn name is Casieg
- And I have a Myspace friend named Kevin who I enjoy drinking Jager Bombs with.
As an individual, the fact that someone can find all of that information simply by hitting enter really kind of scares me. As a brand or business, the fact that someone can find that information simply by hitting enter is great news.
Why Businesses Should Use Social Media
Aaron Wall at SEO Book wrote a post a while back detailing how to fight negative publicity in the search results. Some of his tips included:
- Blogging
- Setting up social networking profiles
- Issuing press releases
- Participating in forums
- Writing articles
The idea being, the more information you put out there, the better chance you have of outranking the negative results. The same thing can be applied to businesses trying to get their name INTO search results. The more you participate and put out there, the better the chance you have of being found.
Social media can be a great place to start. As an example, let’s take a look at KoMarketing Associates in Google (click thumbnail below to enlarge):
Of the top 10 results:
- 2 are from blogs
- 5 are social media networks
- 2 are directory listings
That means 7 of the 10 results are derived from social media! That also means that 7 out of 10 search results were controllable by the business (us) itself. By creating profiles and blogging we not only give ourselves more options to be found but we also control the message people are seeing. As a company, that is invaluable.
In the end, while social media may frighten me as an individual, it should not scare you as a business. Get out there and be found but be sure to convey the right message. (See Derek’s post 5 Ways to Make Social Media a Part of Everyday Business Strategy to get started)