Social Media Optimization (SMO)

Its Types and its goals

What is SMO ?Social media optimization (SMO) is the use of a number of social media outlets and communities to generate publicity to increase the awareness of a product, service brand or event. Types of social media involved include RSS feeds, social news and bookmarking sites, as well as social networking sites, such as Twitter, and video sharing websites and blogging sites. SMO is similar to search engine optimization, in that the goal is to generate web traffic and to a site and increase awareness for a website. In general, social media optimization refers to optimizing a website and its content to encourage more users to use and share links to the website across social media and networking sites. SMO also refers to software tools that automate this process, or to website experts who undertake this process for clients.

Types of SMO -1) Social network:

Yes, yes what is social media without your favourite social networking site like Facebook? To others who sit there clueless, social networks are social sites which give its users a platform to meet and connect to people around the globe who share similar interests and passions.

2) Book marking sites:

So, these basically only the technical ones will understand. These sites allow users to save and organize links of infinite online resources and websites. It gives the user the ability to “tag” links, which makes it easier to search, and invariably, share with their followers. StumbleUpon is one an example of a bookmarking site.

3) Social news:

This site allows its users to post news links and other items to reference to outside articles. The other members then vote for the best one which eventually then gets prominently displayed on the site. Best example for such a form of social media is Reddit.

4) Media Sharing:

Almost all of us are familiar with the popular media sharing website: Youtube, and we also hear success stories of people who make it big from here. So, media sharing websites like these, allow you to share different types of media like pictures, music videos or random videos to reach out to a larger audience. It also has features like creating a profile and commenting on other’s post like in Facebook.

5) Microblogging:

Twitter is the most famous micro blogging site. These sites allow users to share certain links, sites etc, on their walls, and these are then posted on the ‘walls’ of everyone who has subscribed to that user’s account.

Over the years social media and the digital market is taking over the Indian subcontinent by storm. With services like social media optimization getting more and more takers, digital seems to be the best way to go!

SMO is becoming an increasingly important factor in search engine Optimization, which is process of designing a website.

SMO was first used and described by marketer Rohit Bhargava on his marketing blog in August 2006,.

He also established important rules of social media Optimization.

The 16 rules of SMO, according to one source, are as follows:

1. Increase your linkability

2. Make tagging and bookmarking easy

3. Reward inbound links

4. Help your content to "travel" via sharing

5. Encourage the mashup, where users are allowed to remix content

6. Be a user resource, even if it doesn’t help you (e.g., provide resources and information for users)

7. Reward helpful and valuable users

8. Participate (join the online conversation)

9. Know how to target your audience

10. Create new, quality content ("web scraping" of existing online content is ignored by good search engines)

11. Be "real" in the tone and style of the posts

12. Don't forget your roots; be humble

13. Don't be afraid to experiment, innovate, try new things and "stay fresh"

14. Develop an SMO strategy

15. Choose your SMO tactics wisely

16. Make SMO a key part of your marketing process and develop company best practices

Goals of SMO -

The goal of SMO is to strategically create interesting online content, ranging from well-written text to eye-catching digital photos or video clips that encourages and entices people to engage with a website and then share this content, via its weblink, with their social media contacts and friends. Common examples of social media engagement are "liking and commenting on posts, retweeting, embedding, sharing, and promoting content. Social media optimization is also an effective way of implementing online reputation management (ORM), meaning that if someone posts bad reviews of a business, a SMO strategy can ensure that the negative feedback is not the first link to come up in a list of search engine results

How SMO benefits you ?With social media optimization, comes a fantastic benefit – it helps you develop a good link profile so that your website gets quality traffic from search engines as well. But it takes time to happen.

It is of extreme importance that your website become a part of the online community in order for your social media optimization to be successful and in order for your site to get more links.

Advantages of SMO -

1)SMO can attract niche customers/clients to your website

2) SMO helps you achieve better return on investment (ROI)

3) SMO is like putting a face to your name – it influences readers to think that one of them have tried your product/service and is very happy about the results – this creates a very positive impression of your business online

4) SMO creates a buzz on the Internet about your products/services, which helps your company gain attention.

SMO vs SEO

Online marketing is all about awareness and visibility. Most of the time, people find your small business

online in one of three ways:

Your company comes up early in search engine results,

You’re mentioned or recommended by another person or website they visit, or

They already know about your company and go looking for you

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a set of strategies with the broad goal of bringing more people to

your website the first way, by improving your search engine rankings. Social media optimization

(SMO) can be one part of SEO—but it also contributes to all three ways people find you online.