Thursday, April 12, 2012

Know the Best Social Media Optimization Techniques

A year or so ago just using social media would have been great – nowadays it is necessary to optimize your content and website when it comes to getting the most out of your social media. There is no debating the importance of social proof and social searches. Search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing are increasingly using social networks such as Google+Twitter, and Facebook when it comes to ranking websites. This is another reason to be aware of some of the best social media optimization techniques.

Make sure your content is easy to share




You want others to see and experience your content; it is essential that you make sharing your content as accessible as possible. If someone has to jump through a thousand hoops before they can share something, chances are that they will not do it. Make sure that you have an easy system in place that allows others to share your content.


Social media are great, but do not forget about your website




Truth is that if your business only has a Facebook account instead of an actual website, it is going to look rather cheap. Do not forget about your website, in fact it needs to be a centralized hub where people can gather to find information about your brand. Incorporate your Facebook content and Twitter feeds into your website, link to your YouTube videos but give end-users a single URL to bookmark.



Do not be afraid of feedback




How many times have we seen it in the last few months? A company representative makes a snide remark on Facebook or Twitter and someone ends up taking a screenshot. We have also seen large companies censor legitimate complaints from their Facebook page. If you want to know exactly how people feel about your company or services, offer them a chance to provide feedback. 


If the message is positive, be sure to respond – you may just have made a lifelong fan. If the comments are critical, a quick response is not only the best way to react but also unexpected. If someone has a complaint and they feel that they are being taken seriously, chances are they are willing to give you another chance. This does not mean that you do not have the right to censor those messages that just seem to be hell-bent on spewing venom onto your page.





Reward inbound links




This does not mean that you have to promise a free flat screen television for anyone who sends someone a link. It means that you have to encourage people to want to come to your website. It does not matter if you have funny Facebook status updates, if you provide hints through Twitter, if you have a YouTube channel that introduces people to your company, as long as you make it appealing for people to want to come back.



Acquire (and display) social proof




Social proof not only encourages people to want to read your content, but it also makes them want to share it with friends and family. Social proof means that people tend to assume that the actions of other people provide us with the correct behavior in a given situation. The reasoning behind this is that others probably possess more information about the situation. This means that as humans, we are programmed to learn from the actions of others. Real life examples would be a velvet rope at a nightclub, an exclusive restaurant that does not allow you to make reservations for weeks, or a movie theatre where people are waiting outside to get in. People passing by want to know what could possibly be worth the wait.





This adds to your online credibility. It is normal for most people to want to learn more about what is already popular. Ask yourself, which link would you click – the one with four Facebook likes or the one with several thousand likes that also comes recommended by at least two of your Facebook friends?


Instant Social Media Connectivity




There are many desktop applications for always on or instant access to social media accounts. Popular ones are TweetDeck, Seesmic or Hootsuite. These applications allow fast access to many social accounts within one application. You can view all your social media accounts under one roof in order to manage or distribute your messages. You would also need fast internet connections to access, download or upload messages and content. AT&T is offering great discounts on their internet services you can easily get an ATT uverse coupon and save on your internet service.




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