Tips on Social Media Optimisation (SMO) – Engaging with customers through the social networks

Around half of all online advertising spend goes on paid search and Amanda Watlington discussed at SES New York on what these means for hands on executives and entrepreneurs not accustomed to online marketing.

Managing Search Marketing has never been easy and Amanda spent time this year running courses for those with little to no understanding of the process, highlighting not just what the requirements are for a successful campaign but how to manage it correctly.

One of the areas she covered was the use of Social Media as part of the marketing process and that’s a point I wanted to touch upon in this post.  Unlike Paid Search it’s a long term strategy that requires forethought and effort – hopefully this article will help you understand it a bit more.

While services like Twitter and Facebook fan pages have taken off in the US many companies still see no value in them or simply aren’t aware they exist. Europe and the rest of the world are further behind, only just starting to incorporate Social Media Optimisation (SMO) into their marketing strategy – engaging with customers on their level by becoming part of their community.

If you consider yourself as a product, you carry out SMO each time you post a message on facebook, make friends on myspace or tweet from your mobile – this I feel is a point marketing managers and entrepreneurs need to keep in mind when engaging in SMO. If you can do it everyday with no trouble there’s no reason why your company can’t.

However before you sign up and start posting ask yourself the following questions:

Is my target audience using this particular service?

Be sure about this, do some research – but if the answer is no then move on to the next one – find the people you want to connect with; don’t wait for them to find you.

Is it suitable for me to engage with my customers directly?

How are your customers likely to respond to you or your colleagues personally posting thoughts / ideas / updates for them to see? Usually the answer is positive but no one knows your business as well as you so ensure it works before jumping in.

If I were receiving this, would it interest me? Would it interest others?

If you don’t know, try getting involved in some networks on a personal level and look around at what others are doing – are there any that stand out? Why? Could you use a similar strategy to appeal to your customers? Too often a manager will go with their ‘gut feeling’ only to find it doesn’t work, writing off SMO as useless and never giving it a second thought.  Remember, you’re engaging with customers on their level and interests which are not necessarily your own – find out what they are and how to appeal to them before you go wading in.

Is what I’m contributing to this network of value to other members?

(Simply posting self promotional headlines and sales pitches does not work)

By ‘of value’ I mean to say – does it provide me as a potential customer something useful, thought provoking or exciting? If it does I’m a 100 times more likely to use it myself and pass it on. Viral videos work on exactly this principal – provide the user with something they enjoy and they’ll do your promotion for you.

Many business’s have signed up to these services and moved directly into publishing ‘latest offers’ adverts or sending marketing mail shots to the friends they’ve connected with – there is no faster way to get yourself blocked and no surer way to damage your potential sales stream.

So go out and explore these services, see how they work and how you could utilise them for the success of your business. Ask yourself the questions above and be confident that you understand how and when to get involved, but most importantly, understand when not too.