Lou's Commentary
November 2010
Rethink Search Strategy…Social Media Optimization
Wednesday, November 17th, 2010
For the past four years our industry has been talking about collective reporting, expression, and reflection. What is social media doing? And now it has gotten even more interesting. Topic: social media optimization vs. search engine optimization. Example: Facebook and Bing partnering-social media and search. (Read more on the topic at digitalquarters.net and paidcontent.org).
Facebook “like” and “Follow Me on Twitter” buttons are everywhere. LinkedIn has millions of members. Now the likes can be pointed toward search. Spreading messages (personal or for business) across social media isn't a novelty anymore, it's essential. Thousands are using Facebook as a news interface to their favorite sources. Not being a part of the collective online voice is like having no voice at all. Stories are reported almost instantaneously from the scene through photos posted on Facebook, tweets, and countless emerging social media services.
People follow Twitter and Facebook feeds to see what is going on in the world. If they have the right kind of friends or enough of them (I think over 250 is the tipping point from naïve to informed), by the end of the day they know what's happened. If they are savvy social media users, they are checking updates on a computer or phone at work, school, or in transit. Many people develop networks geared towards gathering industry specific, location based, or topical news from experts or passionate commentators. For example, I am into publishing and media trends so I follow publications like @folio, @mashable, and @adage.
Social media optimization is about creating good content for the audience. Audiences value content, not keywords. Stories that matter spread like fire. The ones that don't fade away. At the end of the day it’s about finding stories, resources and people that are interesting and mean something to you, personal or business. Social media makes this customization possible and lets you keep your hand on the pulse of your interests. Publishing was built on transparency, insight, and a really good story. Now there are millions being told every second of the day. And anyone can read them at the touch of a button. How do you harness the power? User knowledge vs. algorithms.
Follow me on twitter @louannsabatier to join my conversation.