Today social media is one of the most effective platforms for web traffic marketing. Discussions about social media are all over the place as their role in the search landscape grows larger. With the search engines indexing Facebook business pages and Twitter profiles, 4 of the top 10 search results for a brand are usually some kind of social profiles. This demonstrates the importance of social profiles for a business. But this also gives rise to an important question, are these social results good or bad for your business?
When a web user searches for your business, apart for your website, he has a number of other options like your blog, Twitter account, Facebook fan page, LinkedIn profile and the like. In case some of the recent comments on your Facebook page are unfavorable, it may result in a lost sale. So there is a possibility of social results distracting searchers and negatively affecting sales. This is especially true if you have opened an account on Facebook or Twitter and neglected to update it. So unless you are ready to make a commitment and put in required efforts, it may be best to keep away from social media.
Although social results can distract potential customers, they also increase your visibility and provide opportunities to develop engaged relationships with new customers. For instance, a web user may not be searching for your brand, but for something that you have discussed on your blog. In this case, your blog can help you gain a new customer. It may be safe to conclude that social media, if used effectively, has many benefits, but if not, can result in lost sales.