Social Media
With the popularity of websites like Facebook and Twitter, increasingly brand discussion and discovery is occurring outside the realm of the traditional website experience. In March 2010, Facebook eclipsed Google as the most-viewed site in the U.S., while Twitter increased over 75% in usage from 2009. Social Media Optimization (SMO) or Social Media Marketing (SMM) is the process of targeting social networks to attract attention to a brand or visitors to a website.
Key Element 1:
Create shareable content
Consumers’ internet browsing experience is now inherently social and they can carry their identity nearly everywhere with them on the web and as they come across interesting, informative, or entertaining information they can broadcast their approval (by way of likes or tweets) to their entire network. The result is similar to a link but with more authenticity and almost guaranteed relevance.
Key Element 2:
Make sharing easy
There are a myriad of different ways for consumers to broadcast their approval of content and it is important for web marketers to facilitate the ease of sharing be it through liking it on facebook using the Open Graph protocol, tweeting it or embedding it on their own site etc. As ways to use users to increase traffic to your website and increase your brand’s following on social networking sites as well.
Key Element 3:
Reward Engagement
By offering exclusive content or offers to users who “like”, tweet, or embed your content you encourage them to continue spreading the word thereby increasing your audience in the long term.
Key Element 4:
Proactively Share Content
This rule encourages web marketers to not only rely on users to share their content but stake a claim in the relevant social media spaces and share their content themselves via these avenues.
Key Element 5:
Encourage the mashup
Allowing and even encouraging users to make their own version of your content by adding their conmments etc. This gives your users a sense of ownership when it comes to your content and will encourage them to disseminate it even further.
Key Element 6:
Social Media Tracking Tools
- Social Media Monitoring Tools
http://gigaom.com/collaboration/roundup-social-media-monitoring-tools/ - Top 8 Social Media Tracking Tools
http://www.frogloop.com/care2blog/2009/6/29/top-8-social-media-tracking-tools.html - 26 Free Tools for Buzz Monitoring
http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2007/08/26-free-tools-for-buzz-monitoring.html - 12 Social Media Monitoring Tools Reviewed
http://sixrevisions.com/tools/12-social-media-monitoring-tools-reviewed/ - Tracking Methodology for Social Media
http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/1692630/online-media-tracking-methodology-social-media