Let’s assume for a second that there is such a thing as a perfectly optimized website. There isn’t, but walk with me into the land of make believe. For the sake of this exercise, we’ll assume the following:
- All title tags are perfectly optimized
- All content is perfectly optimized
- All page tags are perfectly optimized
- The user experience is perfectly optimized
- The site code/architecture is perfectly streamlined
- Site speed is perfectly optimized
- Mobile version of site performs perfectly
On top of that we’ll assume that there are no changes being made to the site, no new products being added or removed and the site has zero glitches. Essentially, it’s at 100% performance on all levels.
The question then becomes, what is left for the web marketing team to do?
Answer: a lot!
Engagement Matters
Of course, we know that a site is never perfectly optimized. There is always more to be done. Websites are always evolving. New content and products are added and removed. There can always be user experience improvements, and analytics will routinely show areas that need attention to increase sales.
But putting all the on-page optimization aside, there is a whole world of work off-site, or at least off-main-site. Enter social media marketing.
[inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=”@StoneyD”]Social media is an essential part of all web marketing efforts.[/inlinetweet] Sure, you can hire a social media company to create a content calendar for you, write some blog posts and even share some stuff on your social streams, but there are just some things that only you can do.
Nobody knows your products and services like you do. Social media companies can offer a great deal of assistance with social media strategy but only limited assistance with social media engagement. No third-party company can answer questions about your inventory, address specifications or talk with any kind of competence on how to best utilize your product.
On the service side, they can’t set appointments or address specific questions as to how your services or your company works. They can engage on social media channels on a superficial level, but when it comes to developing that customer to business relationship, no one does it like you.
The vast majority of social media marketing is pure customer (or potential customer) engagement. That means you need your best reps monitoring your social streams for quick responses and correct answers. You also need to be available to work with your writers (whether internal or external) to ensure all posted information is accurate and consistent with your company voice and image.
It’s great to hire a social media marketing firm to help you set the strategy and implement it effectively. But the most effective social engagement can only come from one source: You.