A Web Designer's Guide to Social Media

Do you know anyone that doesn't have some sort of social media page? Today everyone has at least one account to use as the main ways to contact estranged friends or family, and to connect with groups and establishments. One of the best resources available; there are endless possibilities to find anything that you want and have access to anything you need. After you develop your skills and branch out, you being to build your own resources to give to others and start to build followers that establish your media. It also gives you the power to interact with individuals on endless topics, with endless opportunity for clientele engagement. Furthermore, social media is now a great resource to get the latest scoop in everything that's happening in your particular niche as well as a chance to gather loyal followers, readers, and more.

Also, these types of sites build trust between people and your business, as well as useful relationships. Another good thing that these types of media sites provide is a medium for content and sales. Producing the same content over and over will eventually pay off with Google organic traffic, as well as those that rely on your message or service. After you commit to the process of moving to social media; the next step is deciding which social networking sites you're going to associate with.

Maximize Your Efforts - Look Before You Leap

When deciding which media networks to explore, there are several factors to consider. The first and foremost is how to maximize your money with a minimized time schedule. You have to go out of your way to save time for yourself and others; and match the offers that people are making- being sure to not make people wait on your for results. Secondly, you need to express that you help people find deals- because getting money is hard. Also, always have fun; and if you're not having fun, make it seem like you are. Everyone gets unhappy with what they're doing, and honestly, no one wants to hear you complain; so keep it lighthearted; and this will establish trust with your audience because they enjoy your work. These tips help build a repertoire with clientele regardless of your affiliation with social media outlets. It's important to realize that people spend on average of 3 hours a day on social media outlets alone; mostly on just six sites overall.

Are You Aiming for a Niche, or Just an Audience?

Any web designer aficionado will tell you that there are really only six major social media sites. These sites are Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Dribble, Instagram, LinkedIn and Google+. These different sites all have their comparative positives and negatives. Just like with anything you publish for people to read and criticize; you have to make sure that you're not only targeting the right audience, but that you're also targeting the right information.

Obviously, Facebook is king when it comes to social media. With over 1 billion active users online every month; you're bound to find at least one person who will go absolutely bonkers over what you've got to offer. There are a ton of active groups; mainly because Facebook really gives users the easiest access to consumers and businesses. Everyone is using Facebook for different social purposes too; making it the perfect playground for an entrepreneurial spirit- with engaging resources for individuals to connect. Better yet; it's free to create and moderate groups, post advertisements, and network. There's really nothing better than free advertisement for any potential good or service.

In a close second is Twitter; exploding in recent times because of the power and popularity it's gotten. Twitter has become the go-to channels for most people trying to keep in touch with local and global trends, and every single author, blogger, thought-leader, restaurant, service industry- all with followers, keeping up social discussions with potential clientele. Because of these factors, Twitter is gaining a lot of strength from a Public Relations/ Ad marketing standpoint; it would be pretty foolish not to include your prospective business in this list.

Third, Pinterest has developed into a niche market for over 70 million users, and it's quickly becoming the place to go when it comes to discovering new things. Each single pin you open becomes something new and exciting and unknown. People then collect your pins and add them to their own walls; and before you know it, your awesome idea has netted you a niche spot all over the internet. This social network is most popular with women (about 70 percent of the audience) but don't let that slow you down. Pinterest was designed and positioned for discovering new products, recipes, artwork, places to visit and a ton more- and the best part is that if you're doing something right and your ideas get shared; you gain notoriety on search engines now filled with categorized web pages with designated search engine optimization- even more free advertisement for your good or service.

Dribble is also a great place, if you're looking for another niche type audience. The focus of this social media sight is to develop what you're working on. It's full of a network of web designers, graphic designers, illustrators, icon artists, logo designers, even typographers and other creative types that share small screenshots showcasing their work, the processes they go through, and everything they currently have to offer. It has quickly become one of the top marketed and popular design websites out there, attracting millions of monthly business minded people trading inspiration and opportunities. What's unique about this is that everyone on Dribble is super polite and adheres to Dribble's site etiquette; providing an alarmingly calming transparency that's a great browsing experience.

Start Small- One Step at a Time

Start working with baby steps. There are a ton of applications and programs to help you maximize your outreach on social media, too; like Hootsuite to save time with automated tasks and management, and Buffer to manage multiple social media accounts at one time by quickly scheduling content from the web and collaborating with team members who are analyzing statistics on how your posts are performing. With this application you can share or post anything you like from one easy to use interface instead of bouncing back and forth. There are even Twitter clients that maximize the potential there, too- tweet scheduling as well as monitoring search results of new tweets- helping businesses or blogs keep track of received comments and social shares. With these applications to help, it really helps to lessen the learning curve while still providing valuable business experience. The absolute most important piece to success is the ability to understand which of your tactics will work best for social media, and which ones won't; but most of this information is only really available through trial and error.