March 25th, 2010 by Susie

Social media optimization (SMO) is a relatively new idea in terms of SEO, but given the huge popularity of social networking sites it’s a tactic that should never be overlooked. It’s basically a way to use these sites to promote your business, and doing it effectively can lead to huge success. So, to help you get the most out of SMO, here are a few top tips to help you on your way.

1. Have profiles with as many social sites as you can. There’s no point just joining Twitter and expecting it to pay off, as you’ve missed out numerous other markets and won’t get such a wide audience. Make sure to have active profiles with all the major options including Facebook, Digg, Linkedin, and use them to your advantage.

2. Make sure that your profile is relevant, informative and contains as much information as necessary – as relevance is as important in SMO as it is in search engine optimization. Your profile needs to contain details about your business as whole, as well as other necessary extras such as its location, web address and contact information.

3. Join in with discussions, both on your own profile and on others. There’s no point being sedentary, and interaction with your target market is one of the easiest ways to appeal to customers and to get them interested in what you have to say.

4. Start slowly. Don’t join these sites and start to bombard your followers with updates as that’s liable to put people off, so instead send them a few carefully-targeted updates, when relevant and necessary, to have the most effect. But, remember that there’s a fine line – you don’t want to seem inactive either, so make sure that your content is regularly updated to give people something to talk about, just don’t go overboard.

5. Have a blog. This tip may seem obvious given that just about everyone has a blog these days, but it’s still an important point to remember. Having a blog allows you to post relevant articles that get your audience talking, and starting discussions can be a great way to increase your presence. Giving them something interesting also keeps them coming back for more and is also a great way to advertise (in moderation), so make sure to keep it regularly updated with fresh content.

6. Don’t use SMO as a way to blatantly market yourself. Spamming is all too common these days and no-one appreciates it, so make sure to avoid such blatant tactics. Instead of simply posting a link to your site in comments sections, try making a carefully-thought out comment with a signature containing your address at the end. Saying something interesting and thought-provoking is a far better way to spark interest and will lead to much better results.

These are just a few tips on how to succeed with SMO, and there are sure to be many more besides. Above all it comes down to being subtle, taking your time and keeping your followers/friends/fans interested in what you’ve got to say, so make sure to interact with them and keep them updated and you’ll be well on your way to Social Media Marketing success.

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