I’m sure you’ve heard of SEO – search engine optimization… but what about SMO? Social Media Optimization. SMO is the process of maximizing the effectiveness and impact of your social media marketing efforts.
The modern web is driven by much more than just search traffic, and internet marketers must respond accordingly. In order to maximize the number of visitors to your site, you must develop a rock-solid social media strategy. Following are a few ways to take your social media optimization to the next level:
1. Be Helpful on Social Media
Too many brands use social media like a loudspeaker, screaming advertisements at anyone who will listen. Don’t do that. Find a way to personally connect and help your fans/followers. Search out your topic and actively provide answers and insight to people who are asking questions. Then, they’ll happily look up who you are and visit your site – without the loudspeaker!
For example, if you have a website about car speakers, search twitter for “car speakers” and related terms. Whenever you see someone asking a question, jump in and provide some insight. Chances are, that quick answer will have created a long-term follower.
2. Know your audience
Just like with traditional marketing, when using social media, it is important that you know who you’re marketing to. A campaign for Old Spice (targeted to young men) would be much different than one for a high-end Jeweler. Instead of attracting fans, running the wrong type of campaign can totally turn off your audience.
Write out your target customer and plan your tweets, promos, designs, and all elements of your campaign accordingly. Learn to speak the same language as your audience.
3. Ditch Comments, Add Social Media Discussions
Everyone has buttons on their website for sharing on social media sites, but you can do better than just a measly button! The secret is to to engage your audience + your content + social media in a creative way. Instead of asking users to comment on your latest article, ask them to tweet their thoughts with a link back to the article. That way, your reach increases exponentially (your article/link is seen by all of their followers).
In fact, you might go so far as to dump your blog comments and include a message instead that says something like, “Want to share your thoughts? *Click Here* to post your reply on Twitter!” The link would then include both a link back to the article and a mention @yourname.
This is my #1 technique for those who actively create content. Try this one simple tip and you could see 20x more social media traffic to your site.
4. Join Active Conversations
A great way to extend your reach with social media is to jump into already-existing discussions and networks. One person likened Twitter to a BIG party – you walk in (log on) and see groups of people already talking. When you find an interesting conversation, you jump in and add your two cents as well. “Oh yeah, I went hiking in colorado last month, it was killer!” You don’t butt into the middle of the conversation and start pitching your product, but after a while people will begin to take notice of you and ask questions… then you can explain more about your outdoor hiking business. It’s easy and natural to join conversations about the topics you love.
The best places to do this are on the comments of blog in your industry, other people’s Facebook fan pages, Twitter searches, and Youtube. Find others who are passionate about your industry and enjoy discussing your topic with them. The dozens (hundreds?) of friends you make during this process can catapult your brand to new heights.
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Like all other areas of internet marketing and traffic building, whatever work you put into social media optimization, you’ll get equal results back out of it. Take the time to do it right and build upon your success each day. Over time, your social media influence will being to bring your website noticeable traffic and results.