I had been thinking about the role of SEO and SMO in internet marketing lately and decided to do a cursory search and that's when I found Jason's article. It's not the driving force behind this post but it does give it some legs since Jason and others have deemed some of what is done on the level within SEO and SMO circles as unacceptable.

Over the last year and half and even before that, I have engaged in some pretty healthy SEO as well as SMO for clients. And it has worked. I utilized what was available and knew what I was doing. According to Calacanis that would make me a snake oil salesman. Talking SMO then, Calacanis said the following:

Anyone who hires an SMO firm is an idiot. The whole point of social media is TO BE REAL NOT FAKE!!! Just be yourself and participate… that’s all it takes (and note, participation is not just putting in your own links, it’s voting/commenting on/submitting other people’s content too!).

To which I have to say that "SMO is the process of realizing that being authentic and strategic within a social media marketing context or environment can be beneficial.

Here's a generic example. I have a demographic of women smokers in their mid 30's for instance. They  happen to use Facebook. So I create a widget that provides them a way to maybe quit smoking and track the results and share them, which in turn drives them to a blogsite, a branded microsite and a branded community. To get this ball rolling, I've also seeded/posted articles related to all of these sites and the product and the campaign on Digg, Stumbleupon, Delicious, Technorati, Propeller and say Reddit. All of these linked together creates a tremendous opportunity and buzz for these users to not only meet, but also to share, and perhaps learn more about a product dedicated to them. Does this mean that what I have done is black-hat or disingenuous? No. Does it mean that I have taken certain elements, linked them together and have enjoyed the linky-goodness via SMO and SEO? Yes. Am I bad? Am I evil? Am I hiding? Am I not being "transparent enough"?  Why can't I let these social bookmarking sites know about a product launch?

Want a good example?  Buddy Media created the Check your Dudeness app for Facebook-Couldn't this be construed as some element of SMO? They're taking a product, a branded one and using social media to promote it. Is that gaming the system? No.

We need to get away from the fact that what the system allows us to do, does not neccessarily mean that we are up to no good, or that we're not being transparent enough. Ok I get it. I don't need to be told over and over and over again to be transparent and authentic. Yes there is a difference between black hat seo and white hat seo as well as black hat smo, no doubt about it. Just check akismet for aspects of that. But.. most of your brand marketers are only using the tools that are available. I can show you at least 130 examples where companies used certain aspects of social media to promote or further their brand exposure using some of the above mentioned sites and tactics. This doesn't mean that they are operating behind a cloak of deceit.

Listen, there is a big big difference between gaming the system and utilizing what is provided to promote your product, your brand, and your company. It truly boils down to how you use it. I'm all for engaging in conversations but someone has to start the conversation. The better you are at starting a conversation, the better your chances are of someone listening and responding back. Maybe we should be looking at not how to be transparent and authentic, but more on the proper way to enagage and start the conversation.

But where's that THAT?

Brill's presentation is as boring and defaultish (Or I should say defaulty?) as it could be NOT! You know, take any presentation on Social Media (there are lots
out there), where you can find nice words, kinda web two point oh!, engagement, sharing is caring, then treat it like a Holy Bible and yeah, you've made it, you and your campaign are both Überkul!

But look at the eyes of truth!

Facebook group has barely 1000 fans and all the talk is pure jibber jabbery, Youtube channel is dead as TV for me and you know, it would be definitely interesting to do my own case study on Cisco SMO campaign.

By now router gets beaten by a rooter:

Have a nice night!

Andrius K. aka endis

What is Social Media Optimization?

Social Media Optimization, also referred to as SMO, is a set of viral marketing techniques that triggers widespread popularity when executed in an organized and planned fashion. The increasing use of social media networks has opened a new opportunity for online marketers to harness this social networking tool to their best advantage.

What Are The Types of SMO?

Usually, SMO comprises a list of actions in collaboration with popular social networking tools and sites, which effectively includes:

Social Networking – Custom Applications on Facebook, MySpace, Orkut
Content Syndication – Using RSS, PDFs, Videos to Encourage Content Mash Up
Blog Optimization – Create, Manage, Engage Audience with Relevant Content
Bookmarking – Tagging Your Pages with Popular Bookmarking Websites
Forum Participation – Building Brand Identity through Participation

Does SMO Translate Into Higher Revenue?
[caption id="attachment_12" align="alignleft" width="128" caption="Monetize Your Online Business"][/caption]

Yes, it does, with an organized effort to publicize your online business on various social networking sites where your prospects already exist, social media optimization is a highly effective tool to mobilize, socialize and monetize your business. Basically, it improves the linkablity of your website and helps drive higher volume of traffic to your website resulting into higher conversion.

Last month our Social Media article focused on how to get the most out of YouTube.com. This month we will focus on how to get the most out of using your own photo galleries and floor plans to drive traffic using Online Photo Management and Sharing Community, such as Yahoo’s Flickr and Google’s Picasa.

Why do you use these online communities to share photos?
It’s all about building interest to drive traffic. You never know where your next lead will come from, so these online communities are a great way to show off your interior designs, architecture, community features, community events, and more – all in an effort to build a rapport with the next future home buyer. Think of online communities as a networking tool, and you will understand why these sites are important in driving traffic and delivering eLeads.

Using these online tools process an extra bonus too - they can help boost your overall SEO, because these sites count as part of your “free” links. And if people actually click on your images (and Flickr now offers video to compete with Google’s YouTube), and go to your site, then your site’s popularity increases increasing your search engine positioning.

Are Photo Sharing Websites hard to use?
Once you set up your free accounts, you just upload your photos through your photo account manager. You can even crop and edit your photos online – no special software needed! Categorize your photos by community or photo type (interior, exterior, community events, etc) and add keyword tags to these photos so your images can come up when someone searches.

5 Specific tips for Photos:

1.      Have good-quality pictures.

2.      Title the image appropriately using a one to two keywords.

3.      Add a description for the photo or write an article to go with the image.

4.      Always tag your images with keywords. Be specific, and add as many tags as appropriate, using optimal terms as phrases. Don't overdo the number of same keywords.

5.      Make photos publicly viewable - sharing pictures with news organizations, for example, can help bring valuable “free” inbound links to your site.

How much does this cost?
Here’s the best part – it’s free! It does take time to do this though…and it can be addictive! But adding something new each week is a better strategy instead of uploading everything you have all at once.

What are these free photo sharing web addresses?
Flickr.com. Picasa.com, snapfish.com, webshots.com, shutterfly.com, and photobucket.com are among the most popular.

Want more tips & tricks for maximizing your online photo sharing communities? Email me at debbie@creatingwow.com or call 321-285-1660x 4 for more help or to hire Meredith Communications to produce these videos or uploads for you. See you next month for more social media optimization tips!

• Social Media Optimization in Deutschland von Eikyo.
• "Factors that improve online experiences" von idea.org.
• Querdenken 2008" von consulteria.
• Reklamationsbearbeitung von Anne M. Schueller
• "Projekte mit Launch Management auf Kurs halten" von Roland Berger Strategy Consultants
• Online-Studie zur Nutzererfahrung vom Institute for Dynamic Educational Advancement (IDEA)

please suggest How to Get Indexed in Google Quickly

please tell me How to Get Google Page Rank PR Quickly

Illustration: Elisabeth Widmark (2007 )

Hur söker distanseleven information?

I diskussionerna pratade vi även om vikten att vara informationskompetent; att kunna snabbt precisera vilken information de är ute efter, kunna sovra vilken information som är relevant till uppgiften, samt att kritiskt kunna granska de källor de använder. Många av eleverna ansåg att främst källkritik är en viktig del i deras informationssökande och lärande, inte minst när de i många fall tvingas att skaffa material och information på egen hand. Många tankar kom även upp hur man exempelvis är källkritisk när man intervjuar personer, eller hur man kan bedöma en webbsida källkritiskt och vad som kan anses vara bra och relevant material.

För att läsa mer om källkritik har skolverket en bra informationssida kring hur man källkritiskt värderar information. Läs mer på Kolla Källan!

Läs på Stora Sökguiden (Blekinge Tekniska Högskola) vad informationskompetens innebär.

I am bored with old Search Engine Optimization Techniques like blog posting, link building, link exchange, forum posting, rss and in on page title, body, content, meta tags....

Does anyone knows about Search Engine Optimization New Techniques...

Please tell me Search Engine Optimization New Techniques....

Does anyone knows about Google Next PR Update Date?

I am a SEO and want to get fake page rank on my blog. Please tell me How to Get Fake Google Page Rank.

TopRank presentation on social bookmarking services, SEO and social media marketing.