Social Media Optimization…Getting to the Front of the Line

Social media optimization. I firmly believe it’s here to stay. For those who don’t understand exactly what it is, I’ll offer a simple explanation: Increasing your visibility and other’s awareness of who you are by leveraging the power of social media (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, forums and other online communities).

Along with SEO (search engine optimization – which is using keywords, linking, and other tactics to rank with the search engines) there is SMO (social media optimization) which goes hand in hand with SEO.

The basic principles of Social media optimization are really no-brainers, but as with anything that we think everyone should know–it’s best to list the simple things that are sometimes overlooked.

1. Increase Your Website or Blog’s Linkability: Many sites are “static” –meaning they are rarely updated and simply used as a storefront. Traffic figures aren’t growing and neither is the potential for other sites to link to yours. What would be the benefit? None. Who wants to swim in a stagnant pool? Your site, first and foremost, needs to be updated regularly with intelligent, useful information. If your last blog post was written in 2008, you’re in trouble.

2. Blog to the World by Using a Translator: If you are running your site with a WordPress Blog, there is an amazing plugin, WordPress Global Translator Plugin by Nothing2Hide that allows you to cross the language barriers that often divide us. We always say, “Doing business on the web is like having the entire world as your customer,” but if they can’t understand your site,what’s the point?
WordPress Global Translator is a stand alone WP Plugin (which means it doesn’t require any additional files to work). Just activate the Plugin and it puts a small table of international flags in the header of your blog which, when clicked, will translate your blog content into that flag’s language.

Currently, 10 languages are supported, providing cross translation between English, French, Italian, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and Arabic.

You can control the placement of the flags within your WordPress Theme. There are many options to controlling how the flags will look and be laid out on your page, as well. You can have them in a single row, two rows, etc.

3. Help Your Content Travel: Unlike SEO, which is mainly about making changes to your site, SMO is all about spreading yourself all around. When you have content that can be portable (PDFs, video and audio files) submit them to relevant sites. Your content will travel further, faster, and ultimately drive links right back to your own site.
Some individuals are very protective about their content, but in the long run, it’s better to spread yourself around.

4. Be a Helpful Resource, a Storehouse of Information: Many people, especially new blog creators, don’t like to fill their site with outbound links that can be useful resources to their readers….I have two words for that kind of thinking, HUGE MISTAKE. Yes, if you provide a list of outside resources the reader will leave your site to go check it out…but (and this is one of those ‘no brainers’), they will keep coming back to you as a trusted resource because they trust your opinion. Plain and simple–the more value you ADD, the more valuable you BECOME.

5. Develop a Community Atmosphere: I communicate with frequent posters and regular visitors on a consistant basis. It’s all about relationships. A sense of belonging is what we all desire and I rely on and am as emotionally attached to my readers as they seem to be to me. I try to reply to blog posts, even though it’s not always necessary–and believe it or not, a sincere ‘thank you’ goes a long way.

6. Be Real: When I was in my twenties, I was somewhat of a chameleon. Being in sales, I would always try to size up what my client wanted me to be an I would project that. It worked for me at the time I suppose, but the real way to succeed is to find yourself, realize who you are, what you stand for and hang on to that for dear life. You’re never going to please everyone, so don’t try. The people who are part of your online community are the ones who found something different or intriguing about you, so don’t lose yourself in your quest to be liked by everyone.
I, for instance am sarcastic, extremely sarcastic at times, and like to speak my mind. I don’t want to provide the same regurgitated sludge that is on every other site. So, mix your own personality with valuable information and you’ve got a recipe for successful social media optimization.

7. Don’t be afraid to try new things and new ideas: It may be something that no one else is doing and your idea may go against the grain of popular belief…..GOOD FOR YOU!

8. Dig Deep and Share Really Valuable Stuff: When sharing news, links or media objects on your preferred social media outlets, be them Twitter, Facebook or Friendfeed, go for the meat. Share first and foremost things of great value to your social community. Yes, chat, provide feedback, compliment and congratulate when appropriate– but do not make this the end activity of your social media presence.

9. Help Others Fulfill their Destiny: This is a big deal and by helping others reach their own financial success, you will reach your own. Has an aquaintance written a killer book? Review it on your site and encourage others to purchase it. Basically, get out of your own way and brag on other peoples cool stuff, not just your own. It’s kind of like the Twitter folks who have thousands of followers but only follow 25 people themselves. What message does this send? “I’m more imporant than most of society and I have no real desire to hear what others have to say.” It may work for a while, but mark my words, these people are setting themselves up for disaster.

With these basic SMO tools under your belt, you will be well on your way to reaching your web success goals!

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Tagged as: social marketing, social media