Daily Website Design Tip: Show Them How To Find You

Today is an interesting day for me. Over the last months I've been actively learning how to use all the major social media tools that have become popular...Twitter, Facebook, HubPages (goodness I could make a really long list here).

I realized that I had gotten used to all of my OWN social media tools and how they feed each other feeling like a fuzzy maze in my mind. That all stopped after I committed to spending some quick time each morning evaluating where I am at with each of my social media outlets (Twitter, Blogger, Facebook etc...).

Maybe you can relate to that fuzzy feeling? If you'd like to do something about it, I have a few tips for you that might help make everything a bit clearer and a bit easier to manage (for your customers too!).

1) Create a login sheet for all your social media outlets.
List each site name in bold and beneath it, the URL of your direct address (if you have one, such as on Twitter), and your username and password. If you've signed up for more than a few networking sites, this list will come in handy in a pinch!

For sites like Twitter, if you're not sure what you're address is, it's typically Twitter's URL followed by your username. For instance my Twitter address is: http://www.twitter.com/kgarren

2) Create a "Social Media Map."
Using a blank sheet of paper, draw your Social Media Map using circles to represent each social networking site and a square for your blog(s). Connect the sites together if a particular site feeds your iformation to another.

For instance, my Social Media Map starts with my blog. I currently have circles representing my accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Squidoo and others. Because my blog is fed to Twitter (via TwitterFeed) and Squidoo, I draw a line with an arrow from my blog to the Twitter and Squidoo circles. This tells me that information flows from my blog to Twitter and one of my Squidoo lenses.

With each new network you join, add it to your map. Spend 5 minutes a day reviewing your "map" and revise as necessary to stay current and in focus.

3) Show Your Customers How To Find You.
You'll also want your customers to know where you are online. To help them see your social media networking tools of choice, create a "Connect With Me" page on your website. For each of the sites your use that provide direct access to your profile or content (such as Twitter or Facebook) list these sites along with your unique URL.

Not only will customers who enjoy spending time on the Internet probably like to connect with you this way, the search engines will pick up and index your links as well.

p.s. don't forget to check your site statistics each month to verify what site is sending you the most traffic. Once you know, you are in a position to maximize the traffic and potential targeted customers you can receive increasing your efforts at networking and building relationships using that site or sites.