Social media optimization (SMO) is a first-cousin of SEO (search engine optimization). The term has been around for a while, but I first came across an in-depth discussion of it in Brian Solis' recently updated version of Engage. In a nutshell, SMO is the process of driving traffic to your brand site by channels other than search engines, while at the same time using that social media to drive your brand higher in the search engine results.
Using the one-two punch of inbound marketing techniques and basics SEO concepts, you can increase your brand's search engine muscle and draw people to your brand site in a more seamless experience.
1. Inbound marketing: Countless blogs, books and white papers have been written about inbound marketing. Basically, it's the idea of creating information that helps you get found, rather than buying or begging your way in through traditional print, TV, online, and radio ads. Brian Halligan of HubSpot is a well-known inbound marketing expert. You can start with a primer of his here, in this updated HubSpot post.
I don't want to simplify something that is really a strategic concept, but the main object of inbound marketing is to "aim" your social media channels at your brand's website. Understanding each channel's culture and creating content that adds value to that audience is a key here. In Solis' words: "In social media, inbound links increase the weight and visibility of social objects. These links serve as orbiting satellites that beam signals (or traffic) back to the source and can be measured in views, ratings, retweets, likes and favorites. This boosts stature and credibility for perception when someone stumbles upon the object." In layman's terms, these inbound links not only send people to your site, but they are found by search engines and increase the "weight" of your brand site in the engine's eyes. I encourage you to explore inbound marketing as a social media strategy. Read up on blogs, or better yet, get the Inbound Marketing book written by Halligan and Dharmesh Shah. Explore how to create that "viral loop" that gives your visitors a seamless experience between all your online channels. Always point people toward home.
2. Search Engine Optimization: The second piece of the one-two punch is something I am an admitted novice at-just didn't want you to think I was purporting to be an SEO expert. Hey, I bought SEO for Dummies and have a friend who is an expert. But, I don't think you need to be an SEO expert to employ some basic methods to increase your SMO.
Start with keywords. When I first started blogging, I didn't pay much attention to tags. Then, I had a visit with my SEO buddy. I thought those cool keyword word clouds were so impressive. The bigger, the better. I had no real strategy, just wanted to hit every angle with every entry. Turns out that isn't a great SEO strategy. My friend gave me a good piece of advice: make a list of phrases you would use if you were looking for information on this subject. In other words, think like a potential customer. In order to do that, I had to make sure I was writing to add value. Big paradigm shift. Become familiar with the classification context known as folksonomy. Also, check out Google's info on keywords in their Adwords material.
Pay attention to keyword placement. Does the title convey the content? I know it's cool to use catchy phrases to get your blogs retweeted and picked up by RSS syndicators. However, that's a key place those search engines are looking as well. How about your first paragraph? Are your content keywords related there as well? And what about those tags? Remember, what would other people use to search for this content? Are you tagging photos, videos, and other online content besides blogs?
Use social networks to increase the visibility/ranking of your content. I know it's a lot of extra work, but it pays to use social bookmarking channels, get an RSS feed, list your blog on syndication sites, and cross pollinate your material on multiple social channels. Word of caution: I didn't say automate. Automation can be invasive to social media channels by not respecting the culture of the medium. I'm not a fan of automating Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn channels together. It probably takes an extra 30 seconds to change up the text of a post to appeal to different audiences using an aggregator like Seesmic (free) or Sprout Social (cheap). Do you think people want their Facebook news feeds to look like Twitter? Bottom line: this is a relationship building process, not a broadcast.
I know this isn't an exhaustive list by a long shot, so I'm hoping you will add your thoughts about how to increase your SMO in the comments below. There's a lot of content floating around out there. Solis reminds us in Engage: "We are competing for the moment and competing for attention." Good luck on your SMO.
An article from