Social Media Optimization Rules

Before you can put any of these rules to work, you may want to understand a bit more about the differences between social media marketing and social media optimization.

MMS = Social Media Marketing

Social Media Marketing is strategically using the big social sites to spread your brand or drive traffic to your web presence.

SAINT = Social Media Optimization

Social Media Optimization adds key elements to your websites or content that make it easy to spread on the big social sites.

Rohit Bhargava developed Social Media Optimization Rules 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

1. Increase your linkability

Linkability is the willingness of other websites or articles to link to your site. One way to increase your natural Google listing is to increase the number of authority sites linking to you, so increasing your linkability with social media optimization is to make your site more informative and useful to others. You can do this in many ways; blog, white papers, press releases, keyword-targeted articles, RSS feeds, etc. This is the most important step in social media optimization and should be your first priority.

2. Make Tagging and Bookmarking Easy

The act of tagging is bookmarking the website on social bookmarking websites. For example, if you like the content or services provided on a website, you tag it. This will show others that you approve of this site and they will review it, generating viral traffic. To include social media optimization tags on your site, you can add tag links like Digg, Del.icio.us, Technorati, etc. Also, add the tag links to other pages on your site (not just the home page) and when visitors click the tag button, make sure there is a hint box to help your visitor list a tag. label and relevant notes.

3. Reward inbound links

As I mentioned before, one way to increase your natural listing on Google through social media optimization is to get more back links. You can do this by rewarding people/websites that link to you (inbound links). Inbound links are links that people send to your site from somewhere else. One way to reward people for linking to your site is to have a “Recently Linked” that lists all the websites that have linked to you.

4. Help your content travel

Social media optimization focuses on providing useful content for your market. When you publish content, such as an article, video, or audio file, you want to help it reach as many people as possible on the web. You can do this by submitting to relevant, high-traffic websites. When word gets out about your great content (no matter the format), you’ll receive backlinks to your site.

5. Encourage mashup

Mixing is taking content from two websites and combining them. For example, YouTube makes it easy to combine your content (videos) on your site. Also, because it’s so easy, you’ve added a video to your site that has a YouTube logo on the video, as well as a link to YouTube. Therefore, encouraging a combination with social media optimization is making it easier for other websites to use your content and mention it to drive traffic back to your site.

Jeremiah Owyang developed Social Media Optimization Rules 6 and 7

6. Be a user resource, even if it doesn’t help you.

One thing that all visitors appreciate is honesty. With social media optimization, you need to include links to other websites that will help your visitor reach their goal or find the information they want. Do this, even when it doesn’t benefit you. By linking to competitors or information not created by you, you get the benefits of complete information on a particular topic. In the end, more people will link to you because you have collected all the information (or links) on a topic in one place.

7. Reward useful and valuable users

Valuable users are your best friends. A valuable user can be determined in many ways; They can send traffic to your site, add valuable content to your site, or help visitors on your site. No matter what they do, if it benefits you, your site, or your service, you should reward them. This could be by sending them a personal message thanking them for their dedication. Other ways to reward your valued users is to create reward systems, advertise them, or promote their efforts on your home page.

Cameron Olthuis developed Social Media Optimization Rules 8, 9, 10 and 11

8. Participate

With social media optimization, you can get involved by joining the conversation around your topic (or specific keyword). Simply posting articles and sharing content isn’t going to keep the hype going. You should continue to share information on other websites. This participation will share your knowledge with more people. One way to do this is to find people who are blogging about your topic and provide feedback on the conversation. Also, get involved in forums or other social groups that are discussing your topic. Read and respond to comments on your articles, videos, and audio.

9. Know how to target your audience

Social media marketing is all about sharing content/information. Not everyone is interested in your topic, so be sure to do your market research and post your information and knowledge where it will be understood and appreciated.

10. Create content

Content is any form of information that benefits a visitor. The content can be a white paper, an article, a video, an audio, a widget, and the list goes on. Your job is to find a piece of content that piques the interest of your visitors. No matter which market you enter, there is always a form of content that they will share with others. Find out what it is and give it to him. This, in turn, will keep them coming back for more useful content. If this happens, then you know that your social media optimization is successful.

11. Be real

Internet users are searching the web for specific content. If you provide content that links to a website, make sure the website is relevant. You will not be rewarded for bringing a visitor to a site that has nothing to do with the content they just read (or viewed, depending on the type of content you provided).

Loren Baker developed Social Media Optimization Rules 12 and 13

12. Do not forget your roots, be humble

It’s easy to let popularity go to your head. When you become the shining star in your market, be sure to recognize those who helped you get to the front of the pack. (this is somewhat related to #7)

13. Don’t be afraid to try new things, stay fresh.

Anyone on the internet knows how fast things change. Keep up with new media content, new types of websites, and new interests in your market. By staying on top of new information, you can maintain top rankings.

Lee Odden developed Social Media Optimization Rules 14, 15, and 16

14. Develop a social media optimization strategy

Social networks serve multiple purposes. You need to identify what your purpose is and then post content that furthers that purpose. Some purposes for social media optimization include: branding, reputation, charity, increasing traffic, building reputation, increasing sales, credibility, etc. Make sure that as you develop the content you are posting and creating with that purpose in mind.

15. Choose your SMO tactics wisely.

Of all the content available on the web, only about 10% of the people on the web are content creators. The other 90% are consumers and are willing to share your content. Make your content easy to consume and spread. Also make sure you create content that has the biggest impact on your original purpose (which could be any of the following: brand, reputation, charity, increase traffic, build reputation, increase sales, credibility, etc.).

16. Make Social Media Optimization – SMO part of your process and best practices.

We all know that there are specific search engine optimization tactics that every website should include. Just as you include keywords in your title tags and keywords in your H1 tag, you need to find ways to include social media optimization aspects in building your website. These can be small details like including social bookmarking tags on your site or encouraging inbound links with the “Recently Linked” list I covered in #. #3.

17. Don’t be afraid to let go of a message or an idea and let others own it.

Finally, when you create a movement, spark and idea, or develop a new theme, don’t be afraid to let others follow. Collaboration is key. Others may improve on your original idea and give you credit for the start. Be sure to give credit where credit is due.