Social Media Link Building

Increasingly internet use is getting more interactive, as websites become channels for sharing and communicating, whether in the form of comments, images, audio clips or videos. Social media has transformed one-to-many dialogues into many-to-many communications, and the way in which people use the internet has changed. Internet users not only consume media, but to participate in it.

Content is still important, as is authority. The majority of meaningful social media interaction centres on a piece of content. A good example of this is development in news websites, who have incorporated social media and encourage readers to leave comments in all forms, including links to other sources of information. News is now a conversation and often content can benefit from commentary, opinion and perspective. Social media is a great way to connect with potential customers, and hear their perspective on an issue, product or service.

Users are beginning to turn away from search engines, in favour of social networks like Twitter and YouTube or bookmarking sites like Digg, StumbleUpon and Delicious. YouTube is now the second most popular search engine in the world, and if your company or brand doesn’t have it’s own YouTube channel, Twitter page or Facebook group, then it’s a piece of cake for competitors to piggy-back your brand name and reputation, gaining traffic which may have otherwise naturally come to you.

Any good link building strategy should include some elements of social media, just as any social media campaign is greatly complimented by SEO. The point is that while search engines are still many people’s portal to the World Wide Web, an increasing and significant number are utilising channels which allow everyone to participate in the creation of online media.