Social Media keeps on evolving…

Last week there was a lot of news in the online marketing world. First we learned that Facebook can now track your every move on the Internet. An update to their privacy policy reveals that this includes all of your searches, even if you are logged out of their app.

Next Google and Twitter announced that they had struck a deal to put real-time tweets back into your search results. The two companies didn’t disclose the details, but it appears that Tweets from your Twitter feed will play into the results that appear on your search results page. As a marketer, if you are not using Twitter perhaps it is time to start tweeting if you intend to remain relevant to the Google search engine.

We also learned that Pinterest is working on a plan to add a “Buy Now” button to pins as early as this year. Pinterest is laying the groundwork for an e-commerce offering with a “Buy” button that could launch in as little as three to six months, according to multiple sources. The Buy button would allow Pinterest users to order and pay for some of the products they discover on Pinterest without leaving the company’s website or app.

What does this mean for your website?

One of the things that I have been teaching for years (and I talk about extensively in my book, “Amazon’s Dirty Little Secrets”, is that Internet Marketing is not about getting listed on page one of Google and hoping that people happen to find you for the keywords you think they are looking for. Internet Marketing requires you to work your online business just like you work any other business – it requires you to actively engage with your customers through all forms of social media. Online shops that stand alone with no social media presence, blog, articles, publications, and videos do not perform well and sell less than those that do. Here is an article that sheds some light on this: http://www.ecwid.com/blog/how-to-use-content-to-attract-customers-to-your-store.html.

The point is, social media will continue to evolve. You must keep up with it if you are going to be relevant online. But the good news is that Google is continuously looking for ways to bring the most relevant information to their users with the best search results possible. The reason why Facebook is now tracking your every move on the Internet (as Google has done for years), is they want to bring you the best content. As an Internet marketing or website owner, it is your job to provide that content. And when you do, the search engines tend to take care of themselves.