Page 320 - Social Media Marketing for Dummies

contain information about the specific offers. After all, with companies spending
so much money on the display ads, they needed to drive visitors who clicked the
ads to a site that extended the experience of the ad. This strategy of separating the
corporate website from the microsite and treating the microsite as an extension of
the display ads worked for a long time. But then the social media revolution came,
and it all began to change. Now social media sites co-exist along with microsites.

Currently, savvy website owners realize that “owning” their website is a good way
to protect themselves from the whims of social media platforms that could change
policies on a dime. Websites have again become the hub of corporate activity.
From this hub, you can do things like hold contests, acquaint customers with your
local store, and provide them with the review information they need to make
purchasing decisions. To make sure you understand why websites are still
important in 2019, consider that websites give you control over your:

» Message and stories: On your website, you can take all the time and space
you need to tell your story your way. You can sprinkle your message through-
out the site and emphasize your changing priorities as they develop.

» Website data: You have access to all your data and you can analyze it in any
way it makes sense. Of course, you want to analyze data from all the social
media sites you are on. But you don’t need to worry if a social platform
changes its policy about access to their analytics.
» SEO: By optimizing your website content for search engine optimization (SEO)
you can help your customers find you.
» Product sales: Selling directly from your website gives you total control over
how the product is presented and received.
» Customer information: Your mailing list and subsequent customer informa-
tion are protected by your website controls.

In this chapter, we give you recommendations on how to retool your corporate
website to allow for the most effective use of social media marketing, along with
tips for integrating your corporate website to the social web in a meaningful way.

Focusing on the SMM-Integrated Website

Today’s consumers are not as easily impressed as they once were. They want more
than an ad campaign; they want a committed, longer-term relationship with your
company to which they give their time and money. And given that you spend
money advertising to your customers, it only makes sense to generate more than

304 PART 5 Old Marketing Is New Again with SMM