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Social Media Optimization vs. Social Media Marketing


In the context of Internet marketing, social media has two important aspects. The first, Social Media Optimization (SMO), is about building ways for supporters of a brand or company to promote it themselves throughout a variety of online social media venues like social bookmarking (Digg, Reddit, del.icio.us, etc.) and user-generated content (video, photos and comments).

Methods of SMO include adding RSS feeds, social news buttons, blogging, and incorporating third-party community functionalities like images and videos. SMO is in many ways connected as a technique to viral marketing where word of mouth is created not through friends or family but through the use of networking in social bookmarking, video and photo sharing websites. Social Media Optimization is related to Search Engine Marketing (SEM), but differs in several ways, primarily the focus on driving traffic from sources other than search engines, though improved search ranking is also a benefit of successful SMO.

The second aspect, Social Media Marketing (SMM), is a set of methods for generating publicity through external social media channels such as online community Web sites and blogs. An effective method to generate publicity is to write content that is remarkable, unique and newsworthy. This content can then be marketed by popularizing it or even by creating a "viral" video on YouTube and other video sites, including getting involved in blogs, forums, and niche communities. Social Media Marketing is considered an integral part of an online reputation management (ORM) or Search Engine Reputation Management (SERM) strategy for companies or individuals who care about their online presence.

According to Lloyd Salmons, first chairman of the Internet Advertising Bureau social media council, "Social media isn't just about big networks like Facebook and MySpace, it's about brands having conversations." These conversations can create positive buzz about your products or company which lead to increased traffic and ultimately increased revenue for your business.


What Social Media Marketing is not...

It is important to highlight - in social media's case - what Social Media Marketing does not stand for. Most individuals confuse it with advertising on social networking sites. It is anything but that. Advertising placed on these social networking sites appears more as a result of users' social actions or the context in which they visit. Networks monitor what users are doing and place relevant ads next to the content with the assumption that they will be clicked.

Social Media Marketing is also not about spamming. It is not about copying certain links and spamming it in discussion groups and forums. It is important to create value for the people with whom you are creating dialogues.


So how can marketing within social media channels help my business?

Social Media Marketing is all about collaboration between people to generate brand recognition or product familiarity. It is about participating with your targeted audience and sharing information with the premise of providing value in the form of content. Users of social media sites do not want to buy. Users visit these types of sites to find resources that will help them in the future and are not interested in a sales pitch. Nevertheless, a well executed SMM post that goes viral or a frequently updated business blog can bring thousands of new visitors to your site because of exposure and referrals. The traffic-generating potential of social media communities is huge and continues to grow.

Because social media users are accustomed to finding valuable resources for free, they expect interesting and useful content from you for no money. If they like what they see, users will promote your content by adding a link to their list of social bookmarks for the rest of their network to see or help to drive the conversation by incorporating user-generated content.

At this point you are starting to get attention from your targeted audience. Better still, your brand has formed a relationship with these users and they in turn will start to promote your message for you leading to an increased audience of interested and qualified customers that will be more open to a sales pitch and other forms of traditional marketing.

Black Rhino Media can help you convert social media traffic into revenue opportunities for your business. Our team of social media experts and developers can work together to establish a blog for your business or generate RSS feeds for your Web site content. We can even help you establish a business-specific Facebook page or Twitter page. We'll help you define which kind of users you should be targeting and which social media channels to focus in on to maximize your traffic and social media conversions.
 
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