Marketing in the Age of Google: Your Online Strategy IS Your Business Strategy, Revised and Updated

TAKING ADVANTAGE OF DIVERSIFIED ACQUISITION STREAMS

Although search is an important way that your potential audience researches and transacts, it’s always a good idea for a business to diversify as much as possible. Social media can be a great way to engage audiences independent of the search-related value of doing so.

On Cyber Monday 2011, for instance, visitors to retail websites from social networks generated 0.56 percent of all online sales. Facebook accounted for most of that traffic (86 percent).12

Looking more closely, it appears that consumers were using social media to find out about deals and coupons from social media when shopping.

The key is to not spam your audience with irrelevant advertising but instead offer them what they want when they want it. For instance, with Cyber Monday shoppers, those coming from social media sites were looking for deals and coupons.13

If someone is complaining on Twitter that they can’t find an eco-friendly laptop bag, send them a link to yours (Figure 9.19).

Figure 9.19 @PlaidDoctrine Twitter Reply Offering Helpful Information

Source: Twitter

If your followers are looking for deals, let them know what those deals are when Black Friday rolls around (Figure 9.20).

Figure 9.20 @DellOutlet’s Missed Twitter Opportunity

Source: Twitter