Social networks are growing exponentially, carrying millions of conversations and social interactions and presenting a huge opportunity to increase your brand or business’ exposure. But, this growth means that the online realm is becoming more saturated with media messages and more complex to navigate.

Newfangled approaches like gamification, QR Codes and NFC technology are springing up to capture user interest, but often the best approach is to pare your strategy back to the basics - findability and content (which have never been more important).

These two concepts are reflected in Social Media Marketing (SMM) and Social Media Optimisation (SMO), two terms used interchangeably to describe marketing through social media. However, SMM and SMO do not mean the same thing, and their application to business have very different outcomes. So, how do they differ and how can they be used to ensure a powerful social media presence?

Social Media Optimisation

Think of SMO as brand building.

SMO is the process of enhancing and positioning your brand through social media and online communities to raise awareness, build reputation and drive unique, qualified visitors to your website.

Web users act as carriers of your message and brand. Therefore, maintaining an SMO strategy involves engaging, communicating and interacting with target audiences on blogs, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Digg and StumbleUpon to maximise your business’ visibility and ensure your company is talked about and commented on by those who can spread your message. This in turn will generate social recommendations, traffic and sales leads.

Here’s how you can implement SMO:

• Carefully examine the available social media networks to determine which will most benefit your business. Not every social media site will suit - think about where your customers are, and how they are interacting online. You want to be within view of the social circles of your customers;
• Once you’ve determined your preferred social networks, learn what type of content works best there and how you can tailor that content to the audience to ensure click-throughs;
• Timing is everything. Consider how the Facebook EdgeRank algorithm affects which of your page’s updates are appearing in your fans’ News Feeds. Update your status on nights and weekends to increase visibility and engagement;
• Increase linkability by making tags and bookmarks readily available for your customers and fans to share your content with others;
• Participate in user communities as a helpful resource to build your reputation;
• The more compelling, dynamic and usable your website, the more likely visitors will share it with their friends. Regularly update your site to give users a reason to come back again and again.

Social Media Marketing

Social Media Marketing is the practise of using Facebook, YouTube and Twitter to promote a business, product or service.

SMM plays more of an active role in “pushing” people to your website through the creation of compelling content. The content, which may include blog articles, promotional videos, photos or contests, are promoted through the social networks, with some sort of viral technique involved. Users feel compelled to share the content with their peers, who then share that content with their peers, and so on. Therefore, SMO is critical to SMM because you must have the authority, fans and followers to guarantee wide distribution of your marketing message. The result is social buzz and interest in your goods or services.

We all know the Old Spice Guy, thanks to a viral marketing campaign

Here’s our tips for effective social media marketing:

• Create content that is interesting, valuable, humorous or attractive to your audience to make it sharable;
• Think outside the box. How can you creatively engage your audience? You could create a dedicated microsite, game or iPhone application;
• Use social media functions effectively to encourage viral spread. Include Share buttons and offer an incentive for sharing.

Mastering the basics, SMO and SMM as part of your social media strategy will have positive implications for your business in increasing your visibility, boosting your reputation and building a customer base of loyal, interested fans and users.

Do you have any questions about effective SMO or SMM techniques? Contact us today to see how we can help you boost your social media and web presence.

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