What is Social Media Optimization and How Can I Do It?

Social media optimization is one of the primary online marketing strategies you need to know--and it's getting more important every day. It is a catch-all term for making your pages more visible in social media searches and easier to link to.

It also refers to making your content easier to distribute via other websites, in a way that helps instead of hurts you (i.e. doesn't violate your copyright, brings in good social media traffic, etc.). Her are some social media optimization basics.

One of the most basic things you can do to improve your standing with social media is to place social media buttons on your web pages. Sites like Digg, Reddit, Sumbleupon and Technorati all have graphic buttons you can insert into your web pages, which make it easy for users of those sites to add you to their favorites list on those sites.

Finding those buttons isn't hard--it's easy to find the html for these buttons on each site (you can use Google or the site's own internal search engine). If you used WordPress to build your site, or you're running a Wordpress blog, a plugin called Socialble lets you add these buttons with the click of a mouse.

Digg.com has a special "Digg This" button that can work out better for you, if you think you'll be getting a lot of Digg traffic. This button allows members to vote on your site instead of adding a new bookmark or story. More votes give you a more powerful link/story, vs. many smaller ones. A few other social bookmarking sites--like Sphinn--offer this as well.

RSS feeds are another good way to increase your social bookmarking optimization, if you have a blog. Sites like Technorati--the number one social media and bookmarking site for blogs--and Google Blog search use RSS feeds to index blogs. Having an RSS feed also

Adding an RSS feed is relatively simple. Feedburner.com provides an easy way to RSS feed to your blog, making it great for beginners. It also offers tracking, and

Using video and photo sites is another essential part of social media optimization. You'll definitely want to get an account with Flickr.com. Then, add all the images from your blog or website, and link them to the appropriate pages or posts.

Video sites are good for increasing your visibility, as well. You can make a video of yourself or a friend using a product or talking about your niche. You can also use software like Camtasia, to make instructional videos.

Once you've done this, add a black bar at the bottom of the screen, with your website's name on it, then submit it to YouTube, Google Video, and any other video sharing site you can think of. If your video catches some attention, it may wind up on other people's blogs or websites. This helps out the website owner by providing free content--and helps you out by providing "free advertising" and social media optimization!

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