Social networks are becoming the new form of communication among friends, colleagues and family. And aside from the socializing aspect of these sites, they’re proving to have a strong impact with online advertising and marketing. In recent years, social media has been a valuable internet-based tool used for the sharing and trading of information. And now famous networks like Twitter and YouTube are giving big name brands reason to think twice about their ad campaigns. 

Motrin Ad Causes Controversy

The power of social media and the influence it can have became evident when Johnson & Johnson recently pulled an online advertisement for its popular pain pill, Motrin, after it became a target on social media networks across the country. The major health care company launched the ad over the weekend gearing their marketing towards mothers who get back pain from carrying their babies in slings. However, female consumers found the ad to be offensive due to its “insensitive portrayal of women’s pain.” 

WIthout missing a beat, consumers quickly took to their blogs and video-sharing sites like YouTube and Twitter to voice their anger and disapproval of the new Motrin ad. 

The Influence of Social Media

So what was the result of all of these bloggers exposing their outrage at Johnson & Johnson? The pharmaceutical company quickly pulled the ad from the Motrin site and made several apologies on both their site and blog to any consumers they had offended. 

“It was meant to engender sympathy and appreciation for all that parents do for their kids, but did so through an attempt at humor that missed the mark and many moms found offensive,” explained Kathy Widmer, vice president of marketing, on J&J’s blog.

The company is also yanking the ad from all magazines.

This is just one instance that proves just how influential social media has become in today’s society, so influential that it can sway corporate behavior at Fortune 500 companies like Johnson & Johnson. Among other social media networks that have reared their head as influencers in an ever changing web-based world, are Facebook and MySpace, two sites that have changed the way that youth and adults alike communicate and share with one another. Whatever happened to the simple days when your cell phone was your primary means of communication? Long gone.

SEO Breakdown

Let’s face it, these days everyone is “connected”, whether it be through our various social networks,cell phones, blogs or Twitter accounts. And the one common thread that all of these connectors have is the importance of SEO to get information out and drive traffic in.

Search engine optimization (SEO) helps to improve the volume and the overall quality of the traffic that is going to your site. This level of traffic is detected by organic search results and typically the higher your site ranks, the more people will visit your site; therefore increasing sales.

Effectively Optimizing Your Site

Seeing as there are so many sites competing with each other for that top spot on Google, as well as other search engines, it’s essential to know some basics about SEO. The following are some tips that will help you to effectively optimize your site and ensure that your site gets steady traffic:

Find the best keywords- Knowing what words need to be keyword optimized and implementing them will help searchers find your site faster

Research your competitors- By being aware of your company’s competitors and their marketing strategies you can gage your own SEO tactics

Optimize your website title- Including keywords in your website’s title will only help to increase traffic

Use headings- By using headings to address different topics on your site, and keyword optimizing your headings, your chances of driving more traffic will increase

Create a site map for your page- Creating a site map for you site will grant visitors easy accessibility to different parts and increase your clicks per page

Buy multiple domains for your site- Purchasing multiple domain names for your site, will help minimize your competition

Use bold text to highlight title, headlines and important information- Using bold text will draw more attention to the important aspects of your site

SEO as an Internet Marketing Strategy

SEO has been used by some of the top companies in the world as an internet marketing strategy since it considers how search engines work and what people are searching for on a day to day basis. When optimizing your website all you need to do is edit your content and HTML coding so its relevant to specific keywords. By making edits to your site you can also remove barriers that may stand in the way of the indexing activities of search engines.