Boost Your Social Media Optimization - Top Tips for SMO

SEO is Dead, Long Live SMO

The concept of SMO has been discussed for a while and most people and businesses are ensuring that have a presence on all the major social media sites. But getting it to work for you and optimizing it are much tougher than simply putting your brand on the many interfaces such as Facebook and Twitter, Google+, and some of the newer ones.

How can you maximize the interaction and influence the way share your content on Social Networks?

The first step is to optimize the tags, that is what people are sharing. If your links on Facebook only have title, and don't have a description and a compelling image then you then you determine what everyone sees. The default image provided by Facebook is unlikely to related to your content - not a good way to start.

So take control of the titles, images and snippets that people share on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

You can also have more control through SMO meta tags.

There are various website tools that can show you whether you have alls the element and tools on your website for SMO. But throwing all your links and posts out there in confetti showers will quickly have your stuff directed to the 'Spam Bin'. More needs to be done.

Understanding the social media constellation
Understanding the social media constellation. Source: Public Domain
We all are in this together. Understanding social media marketing
We all are in this together. Understanding social media marketing. Source: Public Domain
Optimizing Social Media engagement requires skill and considerable expertise and knowledge
Optimizing Social Media engagement requires skill and considerable expertise and knowledge. Source: Public Domain
Social Meda is the new revolution sweeping the Internet
Social Meda is the new revolution sweeping the Internet. Source: Public Domain
You need to understand your audience and their specific needs to be successful with social media optimization.
You need to understand your audience and their specific needs to be successful with social media optimization. Source: Public Domain
You need to understand which media works best for your niche to engage your audience
You need to understand which media works best for your niche to engage your audience. Source: Public Domain

Key Requirements for Social Media Optimization

Technical Efficiency - This improves and optimizes your brand and presence. Your site should efficiently deliver what your users want.

Well Established Authority - To be shared you need to become a notable authority in your chosen field. This does not just happen, it requires work and engagement. This may require a deliberate strategy to build this reputation via forums, webinars and other ways to get exposure. It may also require formal verification by various authorities.

A Reliable and Trusted Reputation - This is about trust and the rewards it can bring to you. If people don't see you as a reliable and qualified source why would they pass on your links? This means developing a proactive strategy for engaging with your users, conducting polls and inviting feed back to built an excellent reputation with your audience. This reputation has to be specific to the services you offer, not a general reputation.

Optimal Engagement - What you offer must be attractive, grab and hold people's attention in engagement that you can measure. This means providing what people want in the way that they want it in the most efficient way possible. Getting feed back from users can do wonders for recognising 'bottle-necks' in what your site delivers are things that many users don't like or regard them as being deficient in some way.

Media Designs Matched to the Platform - The One-design-fits-all approach really does not work for SMO. Get to know the intricacies of each social media platform so that you can maximize your influence and to deliver what your users want. This requires skill and creativity. It may be better to out-source the development of the design for each platform.

Leadership Credentials - To be shared you need to be seen as a leader and a source of originality and creativity in your target area. This means building a reputation and genuinely engaging and making innovations in your niche.

Social and Communication Skills - This may mean hiring people to run your social media campaigns is you don't have the skills in your organisation. You need to develop plans and ways to monitor, assess and track your progress and success for SMO. 

Tips for Optimization of On-page Content


Images and Photos are very valuable - make sure you display good quality, and large images, that can be picked up by Pinterest and other sites.