Social media marketing (SMO)
Social Media Optimisation (SMO) is a form of internet marketing where social media is used to generate interest in individual, business or brand. Web 2.0 has opened up the web allowing visitor interaction on many levels. SMO has become a strong marketing strategy to drive targeted traffic to your website. With the growing involvement of users with forums, social bookmarking sites, blogs and social networking sites it is possible to promote a presence and control how it is perceived by potential customers. Many existing communities are already discussing your topic, brand or service and it is important that you get involved with these discussions.
SMO is done by placing you on many community websites, creating RSS feeds, adding social booking tools on your webpages. Adding your site to social bookmarking sites, creation of blogs, online press releases and article submissions. Through this methodology you will drive awareness deep into the internet increasing your sites reach to users of the internet. In many ways SMO is a form of viral marketing, by sharing your opinion, site link and message this is filtered throughout a community where it can then be passed on by community members.
Technology has advanced to a point where it is possible to create sophisticated profiles on sites like Facebook and MySpace which can be used to generate a following (supporters or fans) that can be marketed to freely and instantly. These profiles reflect a brands identity and with many individuals starting unofficial profiles for brand names it is becoming increasingly important that online reputations are managed more carefully.
Social Media is a fast growth area and SMO is relatively new and has the following main benefits.
- Providing fresh content on the internet on a continues basis.
- Driving targeted traffic to your site through bookmarking and blogs
- Increasing inbound links to your website aiding in search engine optimisation
- Improved visibility for you, your business or brand
- Online reputation management within your control