Search Marketing Digest - Social Media Best Practices
This week, Jane Copeland of SEOmoz offers a nice video tutorial on Social Media Optimization, specifically addressing a few best practices for del.icio.us, StumbleUpon, Yahoo Answers! and Facebook. I would recommend taking the time to listen and review, but here are some of the highlights:
- Social Media Backlash: While the specific reference was related to political opinion (which it is recommended that you leave at the door), it’s important to realize that you may need thick skin when it pertains to social media, more so if you succeed in getting “Popular”. Users can get ugly, very fast, and everyone has an opinion. I recommend following the comment trail, providing constructive discussion if possible, and don’t let “the ugly” get at you too much.
- Don’t Spam: The networks created in social media should be treated like real relationships - share links and information of value and don’t get too repetitive (particularly addressed with del.icio.us but applicable with most social bookmarking sites).
- Yahoo Answers!: Write good quality answers - there is no need to rush to be first, so spell correctly and use good grammar. The “Best Answers” (voted by the requester or the community) are the ones that stay prominent once the opportunity to answer the question closes.
- The Race To Add Friends: I’m as guilty as anyone in making attempts to increase my “friend networks” quickly, but you may want to think twice if you are using social networking sites like Facebook. Use the “invite friends” option to find people you know and actively participate in Groups and Networks to gain new opportunities and new contacts.
Want To Learn More About Social Media?
In addition to the information from SEOmoz, here are three other articles written in the past couple weeks, that provide insight and best practices for working with social media websites.
- Web Strategy: What the Web Strategist should know about Facebook - Jeremiah Owyang provides depth and information related to Facebook and the potential impact on an organization’s website strategy.
- 11 Tips to Enhance Your Digg User Experience - a detailed look at how to spend time and effort when trying to succeed at getting on the popular page of Digg. Tamar Weinberg is a Top 100 Digg user, with a 50% success rate on getting listed there.
- How To Win Friends And Influence People In Social News Networks - 11 tips and recommendations for getting your social network started, for success in popular social bookmarking sites like Digg, Reddit and Netscape.
