Digital Marketing

F.Y. M.COM – Business Management (SEM 1)

Topic: Social Media Optimization

Arnav Bothra
Roll No: 015
 INTRODUCTION – WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA
OPTIMIZATION
• Social Media Optimization (SMO) is the use of social media networks to manage and grow an organization’s
message and online presence.
• As part of Digital Marketing Strategy, Social Media Optimization can be implemented to raise awareness of
new products and services, interact and engage with customers and help to mitigate potentially damaging
news.
• Various social media platforms can be used for Digital Marketing and Social Media Optimization such as
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat, Pinterest, etc.
• Social Media Optimization usually directs the public from these social media platforms to the company’s
website, where more information can be provided.
• For example, a campaign to raise awareness about a new automobile on social media may direct the visitor to
the automobile company’s webpage/url that provides more detailed information about the new car that it
launched such as information on local dealerships, scheduling a test drive, waiting period for the delivery of
the car, specifications and features of the car, etc.
 SOCIAL MEDIA OPTIMIZATION PROCESS
The various steps involved in performing and implementing social media optimization is listed in a
chronological sequence below:

• 1. Create a Plan – Establishing clearly-defined goals to structure campaigns around. The goals should be
specific and measurable, hence it’s good practice to work with metrics as it is easily measurable.
• 2. Build Social Media Profiles – They are the foundation of any SMO strategy. The more information
included in a profile such as profile picture, address, contact information, etc the more helpful it’ll be to the
public and help people associate the social media pages to the business, thereby increasing brand recognition.
• 3. Conduct Keyword Research – Focusing on phrases and topics that attract and are liked by the Target
Audience. However, the need is to focus on keywords trending in social media. When you learn what
interests the target audience, content can be well-tailored around those interests.
• 4. Post Original Content – Original content is a great way to get people interested in your business and can
drive users to other platforms of your online presence, like a website or blog. Content can have a significant
impact on the SMO strategy. You can bring more people to your social profile and earn new followers simply
by creating and sharing effective content.
 SOCIAL MEDIA OPTIMIZATION PROCESS
• 5. Schedule Posts – Scheduling posts on social media in advance helps to avoid having to log in to
your account multiple times to publish new content. While scheduling content, you can publish it
when the target audience is active on each platform helping to maximize the reach.
• 6. Include Social Buttons on Website – Adding buttons that link social profiles to websites is an easy
way to encourage site visitors to connect with you on different platforms. Adding social sharing
buttons enables readers to easily share content on their own social media accounts, and the easier it
is to share the content, the more likely they will be to do so.
• 7. Monitoring Social Media Analytics – The need to monitor the performance of posts on social
media pages is to see which methods are most effective for the business. This approach will give a
clear idea indicating the type of posts which are successful as well as posts that do not garner as
much interest. For example, if a post receives a lot of engagement, this is a clear indicator that it is
interesting to the target market.
 TECHNIQUES AND STRATEGIES IN SMO
There are techniques and strategies many companies use that give the best results in optimizing social media. The
following techniques and strategies are listed below.

• Social Media Management Tools – Companies using various social media platforms use internet-
based tools designed to improve the organization and delivery of their content. These tools allow an
employee tasked with creating social media content to program content across several platforms
simultaneously, as well as respond to any engagements on the posts including comments or messages
from the audience. Some popular social media management tools include Loomly, Sprout Social,
Buffer, PromoRepublic, Hootsuite, etc.
• Viral Marketing – Social media platforms allow users to share content on the internet almost
instantaneously. Because of this, many companies try to create shareable content that users will pass
along to their friends and connections. This strategy, called ‘Viral Marketing’, attempts to accomplish
a broader reach by attaining engaged users of social media platforms to share content rather than
banking on users to find the content on their own.
 TECHNIQUES AND STRATEGIES IN SMO
• Integrating Social Media with Other Marketing Channels – It is fundamental to integrate the
company’s social media with other channels to be successful and not limiting to the company blog or
website. The company can boost its open and conversion rate by incorporating a button linking its social
media channels to its own business email address. This approach ensures clarity amongst the company’s
customers and contacts that there are other platforms on the web where they can engage with the company.
• Strategically Reuse Content – The concept of ‘Content Shock’, tells us that creating great material to
publish on company channels is an increasingly challenging task. Therefore, the need to reuse content
strategically and intelligently is of utmost prominence. For example, an article for which a company has
devoted a lot of research and time can serve as a basis for creating fragments in other formats such as
infographics, webinars, ebooks, etc. This way, a company can better distribute the focus of its content.
• Finding the Optimal Posting Frequency – The correct frequency of posting to social media profiles is
crucial to an effective strategy. Posting too much can tire your persona, while a low volume of posts can
make you be forgotten. The only solution to identify the optimal balance is by performing more and more
tests. A company will better understand the persona’s behavior and identify frequency levels that provide
the best results.
IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA OPTIMIZATION
Social media optimization is considered as one of the best tactics to thrive in the social media ecosystem. There
are 5 key reasons why SMO is necessary.

• 1. Ensures a Strong Presence on the Web – Effective SMO ensures a strong web presence for a
business and establishes the internet authority of the brand. Not only does it introduce people to the
business but also aids in branding, improving brand visibility and recall.
• 2. Increases the reach – SMO provides the opportunity to reach out to a niche audience. The
medium allows to position the brand to the customers on their own terms. With accessibility through
mobiles, video and audio, customers get an opportunity to reach out anytime anywhere.
• 3. Drive more Traffic – SMO is a great source for traffic generation. The social media channels
allow you to reach customers worldwide. Moreover, this can happen without substantial extra
investments.
• 4. Lead Generation – SMO is increasingly used in ‘Lead Generation’. Tapping into social media
channels can transform the lead generation campaigns significantly.
• 5. Improves Search Engine Ranking – Since search engines have started acquiring data from social
media channels and showing them on the search results, SMO has gained prominence.
 SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION & SOCIAL
MEDIA OPTIMIZATION
• While SMO and SEO have similar goals–to generate
web traffic and increase awareness for a company’s
website–SEO is the process of increasing the quality and
quantity of website traffic by increasing the visibility of
a website or a webpage to users of a web search engine,
especially Google. Whereas SMO focuses on driving
traffic via social media platforms.
• Google updates their ranking factors frequently which
makes it important that social media platforms are fully
optimized. The value of social media signals is never
stagnant and can be subject to change; hence an effective
SMO will ensure that the company stays prepared if their
value increases.
• Therefore, SEO is essential and should be used in
conjunction with SMO.
SOCIAL MEDIA
OPTIMIZATION SUMMARY
 KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER

• Social Media Optimization (SMO) involves using social media platforms to grow a company or
organization’s online presence.
• SMO can increase awareness of new products and services and allow organizations to connect
with customers.
• Popular social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, etc can be used for
digital marketing.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Social Media Optimization (SMO) are great to use in
conjunction with one another performing similar functions for different areas of any digital
marketing strategy.
• Low Marketing Cost – Social media optimization is more effective, both in terms of money and
as a method compared to traditional marketing methods.