Every new website faces a daunting problem: “How do I get people to visit my site?” Most websites have only a handful of options. They can spend money to promote their brand and URL through advertising networks and other websites, bringing traffic to the site directly. They can invest in developing their content management system and their online reporting techniques to draw traffic from Google and other search engines, commonly called Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Or they can build a social media following on Twitter, Facebook or any of the dozens of other specialized social media platforms available today that refer traffic to the website. This last technique is often called Social Media Marketing. When planning a new website, each of these audience development techniques should be planned into all aspects of the site – content, software and hosting.

When Ujyaalo 90 Network in Nepal began planning their online presence in 2011, they faced a problem. Google, the dominant search engine in Nepal, was still relatively under-developed in the Nepali language, the primary language of Ujyaalo 90. They faced an environment in which depending on Google alone to drive traffic might not show immediate results. In addition, they faced a market that was moving online quickly, but predominantly through mobile phones. So after internal discussion and analysis, Ujyaalo Online developed a plan to build their Facebook fan base as their primary online marketing tool. Facebook gave them access to Nepal’s rapidly growing online audience and a familiar mobile platform to build on. SEO was also pursued but only as part of the development of the site’s content management system. The timeline below explains how Ujyaalo used Facebook to grow into one of Nepal’s largest social media and online media outlets.