How do you highlight your social media presence with SMO?

Every brand would like to have dedicated and engaged social media followers. Getting them on platforms like Facebook or Instagram is a no-budget way to increase brand awareness. However, creating and growing a follower base is no easy task. It is not enough to be present on social media. It is necessary to implement social media promotion optimisation activities into your marketing strategy. Read on to find out what goes into SMO and how it connects with SEO. Also learn tips to highlight yours more strongly on social media.

Why optimise social media activities?

According to a report made available by the portal Statista over 3.6 billion people used social media in 2020. This number is predicted to grow to 4.41 billion in 2025! You have the opportunity to reach these active users, but to do so, you need to optimise your social media. 

Social Media Optimisation (SMO) is an activity that can be divided into two fronts. The first is to analyse and adapt content and profiles to be in line with social media best practice. The second is adapting the website for effective social media promotion. The idea of SMO - just like SEO - is based on testing. Why go to all the effort? Although many brands give the impression that their social media efforts require no effort at all, in reality, the highest-performing accounts do not ignore even the small details of optimisation. 

Benefits of SMO

The benefits of SMO are threefold:

1. increases the visibility and reach of the content, which results in greater engagement (clicks, traffic, etc.).
2. allows the overall return on investment (ROI) and results of social marketing (sales, brand awareness) to be assessed
3. enables the development of a consistent process for creating content that works well (for a specific brand)

Optimising a website for SMO - what does it involve?

Let us start by explaining what SMO activities directly related to the website. 

First and foremost, it should be on the company website:

• include widgets with links to social media profiles - is an effective and convenient way to gain new followers and likes
• install a plug-in (e.g. WordPress Social Media Icons) i add icons for quick sharing of content from the website on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube, etc.
• enable visitors to comment using their social media accounts by installing Disqus. This is a great convenience for Internet users and will make them more likely to leave a comment

5 tips - optimising social profiles and content

You have already learnt some of the activities that SMO does on a website. Now it's time to learn 5 tips to not only attract more traffic to your websites, but also expand your reach on social media.

Audit your company profiles

Firstly, you need to make sure that the brand's accounts are in line with its business objectives. This requires a general audit of your social profiles with a focus on branding and marketing. Assuming that a profile (e.g. on Facebook) is someone's first encounter with your company, you need to ensure consistency, keep customers engaged and above all - you cannot mislead them!

Among other things, what should be taken into account during an audit?

• Are the social media creations consistent with the company's other online presence (logo, fonts, hashtags)?
• do the marketing messages and their language match the existing communication?

Include business-important key phrases in your profiles and content

Don't worry: you don't have to 'stuff' keywords into your content to increase your social media visibility. Start by researching popular industry keywords and phrases that social media users search for. Then apply some SMO techniques related to search:

Encourage employees to share company content

According to a survey conducted Sprout Social 67% of respondents use social media for professional purposes. In contrast, social media users are more likely to connect with people they already know than with brands. They are more likely to read a post about a brand shared by a friend than from the brand itself. It is therefore important to encourage employees to share company content on Instagram or Facebook.

Use visual content

Content Visuals are effective in catching the eye as the user scrolls through your channel. The more visual content you can incorporate into your strategy, the better. An example? According to data presented by Buffer Tweets containing images get 18% more clicks, 89% more likes and 150% more retweets!

Use (but don't overuse!) hashtags

Hashtags can help to increase the 'discoverability' of your profiles. For example, when adding posts on Instagram with a hashtag, you can expect 12.6% more engagement than if you add a post without hashtags!

SMO and SEO - what do they have in common?

Some people assume that all it takes to rank highly in search results is a fast site with high-quality content and relevant metatags. However, Google's algorithms take more factors into account, one of which is social signals. Social media success as measured by the number of followers and their level of engagement can be positive signals for Google. Basically, if your profiles and content are optimised, you are likely to perform better in the SERPs as well.

It should also not be overlooked that the SMO is inextricably linked to the UXUser experience. These are all actions that are intended to make the website user-friendly and encourage the visitor to stay longer. Among other things, the plug-ins mentioned earlier in the article that enhance the functionality of the website work in this way. In this way, SMO affects the User Experience, and in turn, the better the UX, the better for SEO. 

SMO - improve reach and increase website traffic!

Perhaps until now, your corporate websites have been optimised solely with a view to adapting them to search engine algorithms. However, remember that with the development of social media platforms, there is a need to optimise content and mechanisms for various communities and their members. Now that you know what SMO is all about, feel free to start optimising your websites, profiles and social media content! And when you need help, turn to us - the specialists at SEOSki!