Social Media Marketing for Business

You can’t be good or bad at social media; you can only be yourself.

Social Media Optimization (SMO) is the method of social activity that attract visitors to a website through an elevated search rank. It proves there is a science to social media just like Search Engine Optimization (SEO), the process of maximizing visitors to a web site by achieving a top rank on search engines around specific keywords.

Both work hand in glove.

But there is a fundamental difference. SEO is based on keywords; SMO on contents (words, videos, images). When integrated, they are a brand’s most powerful combination for raising visibility and generating business on the web.

Just remember search engine don’t buy products, people do. So be yourself.

How do you make Social Media Optimization (SMO) happen? Here are 12 tips.

1. DEFINE OBJECTIVES AND SET GOALS

   Know your desired outcome at you start – for example, reputation, sales, influence, credibility, charity, traffic/page views – Lee Odden

2. MAKE PEOPLE SMARTER

   If a piece of content makes people seem smart, they’re more likely to share it with their friends. And people like being the first to share information because it makes them seem cool and in-the-know – Mashable

3. INCREASE LINKABILITY

   To optimize a site for social media, we need to increase the linkability of the content. Adding a blog is a great step, however there are many other ways such as creating white papers and thought pieces, or even simply aggregating content that exists elsewhere into a useful format – Rohit Bhargava

4. TAG CONTENT SO IT TRAVELS FASTER

   Make sure pages include a list of relevant tags, suggested notes for a link (which come up automatically when you go to tag a site) – Rohit Bhargava

5. MAKE ACCESS TO CONTENT EASY

   Content that is easy to view through short links (PDFs, video files and audio files), travels further and is more trackable in proving it is driving visitors ultimately to your site – Rohit Bhrargava

6. USE PERMALINKS IN BLOGS FOR KEYWORDS AND SHARING

   When you blog, permalinks automatically capture keywords in the URL titles that search engine look for when the crawl your site; at the bottom of your blog, they make it easy for readers to copy and share – BarnRaisers

7. REWARD HELPFUL AND VALUABLE INFLUENCERS

   Share the content of the people who are sharing your content. It is both a sincere and smart way to raise visibility – Jeremiah Owyang

8. BE A USEFUL RESOURCE, EVEN IF IT DOESN’T HELP YOU

   Add outbound links to areas that could help others. Folks will link to your social site and tag is as helpful or the ‘ultimate’ guide in that space. As this adds up, it will become more and more relevant in search engine results – Jeremiah Owyang

9. DON’T FORGET YOUR ROOTS; BE HUMBLE

   Sometimes it can be easy to get carried away being a BlogStar or industry talking head. Remember those who helped you along the way, and that respect will help all involved – Loren Baker

10. LET GO OF AN IDEA AND LET OTHERS OWN IT

    In the spirit of social media principles, the idea of Social Media Optimization is now out there and belongs to the marketing and PR community. I strongly believe the future definition of this emerging marketing practice will come from the group – Rohit Bhargava

11. KNOW WHO AND HOW TO TARGET

    On the internet as in life, there is always going to be a certain audience you can appeal to and others that you can’t. Listen to who is engaging with you and take the learning to build your audience – Cameron Olthius

12. STAY FRESH

    Social Media is changing and morphing by the minute, keep up on new tools, products and challenges in your social sphere – Loren Baker

Do these tips explain Social Media Optimization to you? Do they prove the value of SEO and SMO working together? Can SMO happen for your business?

Meet Rob Petersen

About the Author » Rob Petersen Rob Petersen is President of BarnRaisers, an online marketing solutions company using social media, the power of community and the proven principles of relationship marketing. Rob was EVP/Chief Strategy Officer for Omnicom and has held leadership positions at FCB, Euro RSCG and Saatchi & Saatchi.

Original Article » 16 Cases Studies Prove the ROI of Mobile Marketing