Thursday, November 10, 2011

Tips for Building SEO in Social Media

  • Twitter
    • Post every day. You can comment on industry news, link to your blog, high-five someone else's comment, retweet someone's blog post, ask for help with something, provide help to someone else....the list goes on.
    • Engage in conversation with customers and anyone else who mentions your company or your product. Thank people, ask questions, solicit feedback, etc.
    • Search Twitter for mentions of your competitors and their competing products, to learn which words people are using. Now you start using these words, too. It will help you when people search for what you're offering.
    • For bonus points, you can use the hash tag - # - in front of an important keyword. This is how many people mark out and search topics in Twitter. For example, you might tweet "Read how @StephanieH improved her time with #WideRunningShoes on our blog" and include a link.
    • Use a URL shortener such as bit.ly for links to save characters...140 isn't as much as you think.
    • If you see someone who could use what you sell complaining about a competitor, offer to help them somehow - but don't disparage your competitor, or his product.
    • Find the people who are influential in your target market, and follow them.
    • Thank people individually for following you. Do NOT use an autoresponder. It's a pity for someone's first interaction with you to feel canned - and believe me, experienced Twitter users can smell an autoresponse a mile away.
  • Facebook
    • Post every day. You can post the same things on Facebook that you do on Twitter, with the added benefit of being able to include a photo and a much longer comment.
    • Invite engagement by asking people what they think about something you've posted. Comments are noticed by search engines. In fact, Ian Lurie of Portent Interactive found a correlation between comments on a company's Facebook page and high rankings in search engine results.
    • Search Facebook for mentions of your competitors and their competing products. That will tell you which words people use when they're looking for what you sell. Now you start using these words, too, so you'll pop up in product searches.
    • If you see someone complaining about a competitor, you can send an offer of practical help - or even a coupon! - to that person. Don't disparage your competitor or their product...that's not good etiquette.
    • Give people a reason to "like" your Facebook page. You might want to offer access to special deals or coupons, or to some other benefit, such as a "fans only" video page.
  • LinkedIn
    • Join groups specific to your industry and to your target customers.
    • Post interesting articles and news to these groups. Be careful not to promote your product or company too hard. Some groups will kick you out for being overly self-promotional. Make sure you read the terms for each group.
    • Answer questions people post in your groups.
    • Write recommendations for people you've done business with.
    • Ask your good customers to write recommendations for you.
  • Your blog
    • Post about industry trends and issues.
    • Post about business issues that aren't specific to your industry, but interesting to other business people who may be reading your blog.
    • Post about your own company's news and developments. Your blog can be the modern-day press room - just make sure you tag news announcements appropriately, so company news can be found.
    • Offer insights and advice based on things you learn in the course of business, even if you aren't talking directly about your own product.
    • If you have something thoughtful to say about someone else's blog that is too long for a comment, write a post on your blog, linking to the post you are commenting on. You'll be noticed by the blogger, and he or she may choose to link to your blog, too.
  • Other people's blogs
    • Comment on people's posts, but avoid generic comments like "great post." Try to add something unique and interesting to the discussion. See the section above for when you have a lot to say about someone's post.
    • Ask if you may guest post if you think you have something to contribute. Many bloggers are happy to have guest authors post, if they're adding value.
  • News sites
    • Comment on news stories that are relevant to your industry and your business. Don't be snarky - be thoughtful. You can also share these news stories in your social accounts by linking to them. If people read the comments, they'll probably notice yours.