Using Social Media to Get Traffic

If you haven't begun using social media applications as part of your Internet marketing campaign, you're missing out on a golden opportunity. Social media has become one of the most effective ways to submit articles and get traffic to a web site. Social Media and social book marketing are similar so we will address both of them in this article

What is Social Media?
Social media is a term given to the Internet tools people use to submit articles and share electronic information. Some of the forms social bookmarking can take on include blogs, forums, bookmarking sites, and news sites. Most social media sites actively encourage users to submit articles, photos, links, and other content. They want to get traffic to their site and don't mind if you get traffic to your web site in return.

How to Get Traffic
It is possible to get traffic --a lot of traffic--through social media marketing. However, you need to make sure you do everything just right if you want to make the most of your marketing efforts. You can't submit articles to just anyone and hope for the best. You need to choose the right social bookmarking outlet. To start, it must be popular. If the social media site doesn't get traffic, your site won't get traffic either. Choosing a social bookmarking application that openly encourages users to bookmark or submit articles is important as well. It is also a good idea to select a site that makes it easy to submit articles and get traffic. Social media can be valuable to an Internet marketing campaign, but it is only one part and shouldn't take up too much of your time.

Choosing a Social Media Site
Social media tag sites and news sites that work well include: Yahoo! Buzz, Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Fark, Slashdot, Ebaum's World, Delicious, and Propeller. Yahoo! Buzz is probably the best place to submit articles and get traffic. Webmasters who have a top page story on this social bookmarking site report getting an average of 500,000 to 1,000,000 unique visitors in a 24 hour period.

Do's and Don'ts
Social bookmarking sites are a wonderful way to promote web sites, blogs, and affiliate marketing programs--if you go about it the right way. Here are some do's and don'ts that will help you make the most of the experience:

Social Bookmarking Do's
Do find a social bookmarking site that has users who will be
interested in the types of affiliate marketing programs, blog, and web site that you want to promote. Do read the site rules. If you don't go by the book, you will most likely be banned. Do tag your web site,blog, and other web presences so people can find you and your submissions in the site's search engine. Do network with other bookmarking users. You will get more traffic to your blogs and web sites and make more money through your affiliate marketing programs if you have friends to help promote your submissions. Do encourage the people who visit your web site and blog to bookmark them.

Social Bookmarking Don'ts
Don't promote your affiliate marketing programs too directly. Sales copy is considered spam on some bookmarking sites. Don't create multiple accounts from the same computer so you can vote repeatedly for your submissions on bookmarking sites. You could get banned. Don't expect to get visibility on the home page every time you make a submission to a social bookmarking site. Nobody is that lucky.

Don't be afraid to submit and bookmark content from other blogs and web sites. Don't forget to promote your blogs and affiliate marketing programs on your web site. Marketing through bookmarking will get traffic to your site, but it is your responsibility to turn that traffic into paying customers. Don't forget to put links to bookmarking sites at the bottom of your blog.

How to Submit Articles to Social Media Sites
Every social media site has different rules for users who want to submit articles. It is essential that you follow these rules when you submit articles or other content. Social bookmarking sites are sticklers. They don't care if you are trying to get traffic--if you don't follow the rules you will not be allowed to submit articl s and you may have your account banned.

There are a few other rules you will want to keep in mind in addition to site rules. To start, you should only submit articles that are high quality and interesting to the people who frequent social bookmarking sites. If an article is poorly written or geared towards the wrong crowd, you will not get traffic. You should also try to submit articles from other sites beside your own and participate in the community whenever possible. While your ultimate goal is to get traffic, you shouldn't make it obvious to social media users.

Cliff Posey, owner of Websites That Succeed at http://www.webbusinesstoolsonline.com/ provided this article. Cliff also ownd Love Song Cared and Radio Career Consultants and has had success with all these sites,

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