Social Media Optimization Rules
Digital MarketingBefore you can put any of these rules into practice, you may want to understand a little more about the differences between social media marketing and social media optimization.
SMM = Social Media Marketing
Social Media Marketing is strategically using the big social sites to spread the word about your brand or drive traffic to your web presence.
SAINT = Social Media Optimization
Social Media Optimization adds key elements to your websites or content that make it easy to spread on the big social sites.
Rohit Bhargava developed the social media optimization rules 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
1. Increase your linkability
Linkability is the provision of other websites or articles to link to your site. One way to increase your natural Google listing is to increase the number of authority sites that link to you, so increasing your linkability with social media optimization is about making your site more informative and useful to others. You can do this in many ways; blog, white papers, press releases, keyword-targeted articles, RSS feeds, etc. This is the most important step in social media optimization and should be your first priority.
2. Make tagging and bookmarking easy
The act of tagging is marking the website on social bookmarking websites. For example, if you like the content or services provided on a website, you tag it. This will show others that you approve of this site and they will review it, generating viral traffic. To include social media optimization tags on your site, you can add links from tags like Digg, Del.icio.us, Technorati, etc. Also, add the tag links to other pages on your site (not just the home page) and when visitors click the tag button, make sure there is a suggestion box to help your visitor list a tag. relevant label and notes.
3. Reward incoming links
As I mentioned before, one way to increase your natural listing on Google through social media optimization is to get more backlinks. You can do this by rewarding people/websites that link to you (inbound links). Inbound links are links that send people to your site from somewhere else. One way to reward people for linking to your site is to have a “Recently Linked” list that lists all the websites that have linked to you.
4. Help your content travel
Social media optimization focuses on providing useful content to your market. When you publish content, such as an article, video, or audio file, you need to help it reach as many people as possible on the web. You can do this by submitting to relevant high traffic websites. When word gets out about your great content (regardless of format), you’ll receive backlinks to your site.
5. Encourage the mashup
Mixing is using the content of two websites and combining them. For example, YouTube makes it easy to combine your content (videos) on your site. Also, because it’s so easy, you’ve added a video to your site that has a YouTube logo on the video, as well as a link to YouTube. Therefore, encouraging a combination with social media optimization is making it easier for other websites to use your content and mention it to drive traffic back to your site.
Jeremiah Owyang developed social media optimization rules 6 and 7
6. Be a user resource, even if it doesn’t help you.
One thing that all visitors appreciate is honesty. With social media optimization, you need to include links to other websites that will help your visitor reach their goal or find the information they want. Do this, even when it doesn’t benefit you. By linking to competitors or information not created by you, you get the benefits of having comprehensive information on a particular topic. In the end, more people will link to you because you’ve grouped all the information (or links) about a topic in one place.
7. Reward useful and valuable users
Valued users are your best friends. A valuable user can be determined in many ways; they can drive traffic to your site, add valuable content to your site, or help visitors to your site. No matter what they do, if it benefits you, your site, or your service, you should reward them. This could be by sending them a personal message thanking them for their dedication. Other ways to reward your valuable users is to create reward systems, advertise them, or promote their efforts on your home page.
Cameron Olthuis developed social media optimization rules 8, 9, 10 and 11
8. Participate
With social media optimization, you can participate by joining the conversation around your topic (or specific keyword). Simply posting articles and sharing content is not going to keep the hype going. You must continue to share information on other websites. This participation will share your knowledge with more people. One way to do this is to find people who are blogging about your topic and weigh in on the conversation. Also, get involved in forums or other social groups that are discussing your topic. Read the comments on your articles, videos and audios and respond to them.
9. Know how to address your audience
Social media marketing is about sharing content/information. Not everyone is interested in your topic, so be sure to do your market research and post your information and knowledge where it will be understood and appreciated.
10. Create content
Any form of information that benefits a visitor is considered content. The content can be a white paper, an article, a video, an audio, a widget, and the list goes on. Your job is to find a piece of content that piques the interest of visitors. No matter what market you enter, there is always a form of content that they will share with others. Find out what it is and give it to him. This, in turn, will keep them coming back for more useful content. If this happens, then you know your social media optimization is successful.
11. Be real
Internet users are searching the web for specific content. If you provide content that links to a website, make sure the website is relevant. You will not be rewarded for bringing a visitor to a site that has nothing to do with the content they just read (or viewed, depending on the type of content you provided).
Loren Baker developed social media optimization rules 12 and 13
12. Do not forget your roots, be humble
It’s easy to let popularity go to your head. When you become the shining star in your market, be sure to recognize those who helped you get to the front of the pack. (this is somewhat related to #7)
13. Don’t be afraid to try new things, stay fresh.
Anyone on the Internet knows how quickly things change. Keep up with new media content, new types of websites, and new interests in your market. By staying on top of new information, you can maintain top rankings.
Lee Odden developed social media optimization rules 14, 15 and 16
14. Develop a social media optimization strategy
Social networks serve multiple purposes. You need to identify what your purpose is and then post content that furthers that purpose. Some purposes for social media optimization include: brand building, reputation, charity, increase traffic, build reputation, increase sales, credibility, etc. Make sure that while you develop the content that you are posting and creating with that purpose in mind.
15. Choose your SMO tactics wisely.
Of all the content available on the web, only about 10% of people on the web are content creators. The other 90% are consumers and are willing to share your content. Make your content easy to consume and spread. Also make sure you create content that has the most impact on your original purpose (which could be any of the following: brand, reputation, charity, increase traffic, build reputation, increase sales, credibility, etc.).
16. Make Social Media Optimization – SMO part of your process and best practices.
We all know that there are specific search engine optimization tactics that every website should include. Just like you include keywords in your title tags and keywords in your H1 tag, you need to find ways to include social media optimization aspects in your website construction. These can be little details like including social bookmarking tags on your site or encouraging inbound links with the “Recently Linked” list I covered in #2. #3
17. Don’t be afraid to let go of a message or idea and let others own it.
Finally, when you create a movement, spark and idea, or develop a new theme, don’t be afraid to let others follow. Collaboration is key. Others can improve on your original idea and give you credit for starting it. Be sure to give credit where credit is due.