The social media race is well underway, and the two major players are running as fast as they can to catch attention and grow their numbers.  Facebook, with its 400 million members, is driving more traffic to the major portal sites today than Google; Google, still the leader with its 67% of the search engine traffic, has rolled out Buzz to compete.

Google made some major missteps in rolling out its Buzz, but that will pass.  Once Facebook introduces its own email product (development well underway), the competition will become even mightier.

What does this mean for your web site marketing strategy, and is there a common element addressing both of these tools to improve your traffic?

Well, obviously, you need a presence on Facebook.  Your presence can’t be static, though.  It is no more true with Facebook than it has always been for your web site.  The “Build it and they will come” Internet strategy has never worked, and it still amazes me that so many think they simply need a web site to make their fortune.

Actually, let’s expand the discussion about social media to include Twitter, because it’s an excellent tool in its own right as a part of an overall social media marketing strategy.  And, the right tool for the right job applies as equally in this mix.

The element common to all of these tools, one so often overlooked or neglected, is actually the starting point in your social media marketing strategy.  The concept that “Content is King” has morphed just a bit, but it is as valid a concept today as it ever was.

Think about this carefully:  Social media works only if you have compelling content and something interesting to say.  Punch up your copy first – then invite guests.

Your strategy in the social media arena will be wasted energy if you have nothing of value to say on your website.  Traffic is one thing; but a clear “call to action” and meaningful content to back it up must be in place before the guests arrive, or the effort you invested inviting them will be for naught.

We’ve preached content growth and content refreshing, carefully planned, strategized and crafted around the most appropriate keywords for your business, for years.  It’s as true and necessary today as it has ever been, and it’s the reason we’re writing this piece to our blog today, as a matter of fact.

We want visitors to find a good take-a-way, something worthwhile and of value.  We want our visitors to find enough of interest in our content to help with their own online efforts, and hopefully something sufficiently useful to make them want to return later to learn something else of use.

We’ll then use our social media strategy (Twitter and Facebook, at least) to promote this piece, and hope it brings those visitors.  Excerpt feeds to our home page place these thoughts prominently for those visitors to see, as does our use of the Twitter Widget in the home page’s right side bar just below those excerpt feeds.

But, it starts with the content of the site.  We’ll say it again:  Social media works only if you have compelling content and something interesting to say.  Punch up your copy first – then invite guests.

By taking that first step, by offering that meaningful content, you’ll be ready to entertain and inform your guests when they arrive.  Neither your time nor theirs will be wasted, and you’ll have a much better chance to engage them in a solid conversation.

That is the point of the exercise, after all.