Social Media Optimization: Is SMO the New SEO?

Copyright © 2009, Ektron Inc. All Rights Reserved

Social Media Optimization: Social Media Optimization: Is SMO the New SEO?Is SMO the New SEO?

5 essential elements every organization needs to know5 essential elements every organization needs to know

Bill Rogers, CEO, Ektron, Inc.


Spreading the messageSpreading the message

CommonCraft.com produced video Twitter in Plain English, available on:

CommonCraft.comYouTubeTwitterVimeoAnd more…

Spread virally to mainstream media

CNNABCNPRCBS


Reaching out to your marketReaching out to your market

Social media is the way to reach out to and educate your audience and expand your market space

Ektron is using the video, Web Content Management Explained to:

Redefine what content management meansReach new audiencesGrow the Ektron brandPart of social media strategy


Search Engine OptimizationSearch Engine Optimization

Used to be able to optimize only some pages for good organic search rankings

Social networking has changed WebSearch engines want to display the most important sites

Will start measuring social mediaGoogle SearchWikiGoogle has added Digg tools to their search barSearch engines are indexing Tweets


Search Engine OptimizationSearch Engine Optimization

Traditional SEO

Still criticalHave to find information before you can talk about it


Social ProofSocial Proof

Both searchers and search engines are looking for “social proof”

Your organization needs to understand it in order to maximize itTurn your site into a trusted source and encourage social media to grow your placement in organic search engine returns


Social MediaSocial Media

Social Web/Social Media

Twitter, Facebook, mySpace, etcCommunications platforms where people will spread the word for you, good or bad

Web 2.0BlogsForums and discussions boardsWikisMultimedia

YouTubePodcasts


5 elements to maximizing SMO5 elements to maximizing SMO

Content is king

Understand the phenomenon of “Social Proof”

Product Reviews, Ratings and Forums

Hooking into the Social Web

Understanding the importance ofoff-page communities


Content is kingContent is king

Good content on your Web site is foundation for organic SEO and SMO

It’s the reason people will find and come to your siteIt’s the reason people will talk about your siteEstablishes you as a trusted expert

Keeps people coming back



Need good content management to make sure it’s always good content

No longer enough to make it easy to update sitePermissions and approval chainsMetadata controls and checksTraditional SEO

People still need to be able to find information



Bad content = bad press

Spreads over social media just as fast, if not faster than good contentSpend more time cleaning up the mess than promoting your good information

Make sure your content is good and establishes you as the place to go


The phenomenon of “Social Proof”The phenomenon of “Social Proof”

Trust building on communities off your own Web site

Increases your status as expertsOther experts will start to refer to you as expertsSearch engines indexing social media sites will notice more activity about you

The more people that are “talking”about you, the more your backlinkswill grow organically


The phenomenon of “Social Proof”The phenomenon of “Social Proof”

Understanding social proof

Get people to join in and grow your conversationBuild social ranking


Product Reviews, Ratings and ForumsProduct Reviews, Ratings and Forums

Encourage user participation on your site

Gives you a level of control to respond to reviews that you don’t have off your sitePeople will talk about reviews and happenings around your product

Spreads the word that links back to your site


Product Reviews, Ratings and ForumsProduct Reviews, Ratings and Forums

Testimonials

Gives you the “read what our customers are saying about us” marketing toolUse them to drive people to your site to participate in user-generated content

Forums and discussion boards

Promote the conversation on your Web site


Hooking your site into the social WebHooking your site into the social Web

Make your site part of the information flow on the social Web

BlogsForums and discussion boardsCommentingRSS feeds


Hooking your site into the social WebHooking your site into the social Web

Give visitors the tools to spread your message

Social barMake it easy for visitors to spread your message via popular social media (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, mySpace, etc.)

RSS Feeds and Web AlertsGet updates to interested readers in real time


The importance of off-page communitiesThe importance of off-page communities

Off-page communities are where information crosses to new listeners

Your on-site conversation can find new audiences on other sitesReaders and communities are natural link buildersPeople who learn about you on one community will take you to others


Getting startedGetting started

Optimize your Web site for your social media strategy

Content management to ensure good contentImplement Web 2.0 features for interaction and user-generated contentAdd social sharing tools (ShareThis, Add This, etc.)

Choose how you want to use social media

For networking: Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, Ning, Toolbox.comFor linkbuilding: Squidoo, Weebly, Del.icio.us, Digg, PropellerFor both

Identify your audience, find out what communities they are part of and participate in them

Find them via Twitter and other social mediaDon’t overwhelm yourself by trying to join every communityCommunities link to other communities, spread the word organically

Get other people in your organization active in relevant communities


Q&AQ&A

Bill Rogers

[email protected]

www.ektron.com

Social Media Optimization: Is SMO the New SEO?

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