Gettin’ Social

There are a lot of tools out there that can help web designers, search optimizers, and business owners track the metric value of their social media campaigns. However, it seems that most fall short in some areas and the ones that don’t are quite expensive.

Over the next few weeks, Google will be establishing a new set of reports available in Google Analytics that will not only help you track referrals from Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, and Google+, but give you insight into how your content is being shared. Google’s blog post states there are three main goals the reports can help marketers accomplish:

• Identify the value of traffic coming from social sites and measure how they lead to direct conversions or assist in future conversions.
• Understand social activities happening both on and off of your site to help you optimize user engagement and increase social key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Make better, more efficient data-driven decisions in your social media marketing programs

Anyone who handles social media should be excited for this release. If you have any questions or would like to discuss adding analytics to your website you can contact us at http://www.satori-design.com/contact/.

When Google Plus came out I knew it was going to be important, I just didn’t know exactly how.  I have been following the blogs and news trying to understand just how this social network was going to become the powerhouse that experts predict.  Well, as the facts are rolling in I am going to keep posting them here for all of you to read.  Here is a short list, everyone loves a list right?

1. More followers equals better search rankings.
   Unlike Facebook likes, the more +1′s you get the better you will rank.
2. Claim authorship for your articles.
   If you are a blogger you can link your name directly to the articles you have published on the web.
3. Connect your Google+ Page to your website.
   When you incorporate your Google+ Badge or insert the code into your website, new relevant content becomes a part of your search results.
4. Group your contacts and friends into different circles.
   Grouping is something that Facebook has tried and ultimately failed at. With Circles you can send a specific message to a defined group of people.
5. Harness the power of Hangouts.
   I have been giving web tutorials over Skype for a few years, however Google Hangouts allows for an entire group to be present. This can be extremely cost efficient for office meetings or for informative sessions with customers. See the video below.