Social Media Optimization
Author Ashley Peterson
entered on 07/15/2008
Apparently because I am a member of Generation Y, I should be an expert on Social Media Optimization (SMO). It is true, I use Facebook and other social media on a daily basis and consider myself Web 2.0 savvy. As a person who was a social media user first and then a would-be marketer, I have a unique perspective.
Part of me thinks that commercializing these media can suck the life out them. But I notice that only happens if it is poorly done. If you play by the rules of the media and the people who use them, you will have a chance. For example, Facebook Fan pages are extremely popular, and they melt nicely into the myriad of other Facebook applications. They aren’t obnoxious. They merely allow users to express the movies, artists, etc they really like. Then other users see that their friend became a fan of “Wall-E.” Instant publicity.
To understand how to play by the rules, it is important to go back to the basics. Wikipedia defines SMO as, “A set of methods for generating publicity through social media, online communities and community websites.” Some in the field call it “social marketing,” but public health officials coined that term in the 1980s to describe using traditional marketing techniques in public health campaigns. I’m going to use SMO to avoid confusion.
SMO started with Rohit Bhargava of Ogilvy Public Relations and his Five Rules of Social Media Optimization. In true Web 2.0 fashion, Rohit’s advice is freely available for use and editing on his blog. http://rohitbhargava.typepad.com/weblog/2006/08/5_rules_of_soci.html
His five rules are a good place to start learning about SMO.
1. Increase your linkability. Optimize content and update it frequently and make it relevant to your audience so they will link to it.
2. Make tagging and bookmarking easy. Build buttons to “Digg” or “add to del.icio.us” into your site for increased usability. And, tag your content with relevant terms for efficient browsing and searching.
3. Reward inbound links. Be polite and reciprocate a link. Links are used as a barometer for success of blogs and Web sites, and help raise the rank of the site in search results. Reward those who link to you by creating visibility for them.
4. Help your content travel. One word: YouTube. Posting portable content to relevant sites will help your content travel further and ultimately drive links back to your site.
5. Encourage the mashup. This means allowing others use your content. The simple version is YouTube's idea of providing code so others to imbed YouTube videos on their own Web sites. Syndicating your content through RSS also makes it easy for others to create mashups, which can drive traffic or augment your content.
In general, the “when in Rome” proverb fits social media. And the best way to become Roman is to become involved in social media. Find the sites and applications your audience uses and start using them too!
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