Ever since the battles between the various top social media networks have given media ample food to talk & write about, the webmasters’ groups have joined the battle with their own Social Media Optimization buzz.

Now we have two highly popular jargons - Search Engine Optimization (or SEO) & Social Media Optimization (or SMO).

While Search Engine Optimization relates to the various theories, principles & practices that enable a web site or blog to be indexed favorably, Social Media Optimization focuses on how to leverage the various social media networks like MySpace, Facebook, Meebo or Friendster to popularize your blog & website.

While SEO allows you to be easily found through internet searches, SMO allows you to be easily noticed through bill boards, forums & bookmarks. The recent data & news on the popularity of the various social networks is important enough to spend some time knowing how these various internet networks could help bring in more visitors to your websites.

Here are a few quick tips:

• The most popular networks in Europe, North America & Australia are MySpace, Facebook & Meebo. The most popular in Asia Pacific & South America are Friendster & Orkut. You could choose one or all of them for creating your profiles. If you want to have a professional network, you could look into LinkedIn.com too.

• It is easy to create multiple profiles, but difficult to maintain all of them. Build the same personal brand & image on all of them. The mistake that many do it try to “like” most of the people in a certain network. That causes confusion & that apart, you will not be able to keep to your multi-dimensional profiles over the long run.

Let me explain this. I started as a freelance photographer & writer, so most of my earlier profiles related to photo communities. When I expanded into blogging & started publishing my technical reviews, I was not sure how to combine my identity as a photographer with that of a technical reviewer at first. But then, I was able to combine them under the general description of freelance medi

• Update your profiles whenever you have a new accomplishment. These profiles act like your professional curricular vitae. People communicate based on what they read on your profile. They expect responses based on your area of competency.

• Use applications that combine your posts & updates on your various blogs on your profiles. Facebook, for example has got several RSS reader applications that you can use to give everyone a snapshot of your various blog posts.

• Build your network slowly & carefully. Your Friends’ list, or Neighborhood as some prefer to call, should be built with a strategy. Just don’t go on adding people - a large number of “friends” who have no interest in you or what you do is quite useless. Look for people who are keen to network with a purpose.

• List your websites & blogs on your profiles. If possible, use banners for your websites & blogs, that would catch the viewers attention immediately.

• Keep your personal information to yourself but share an email that you use regularly. Thats a nice way of “off line” communication.

• Post messages on other’s profiles to update them of any new events in your life & work. At the same time, be “social” & keep in touch with your network in even periods.

• Respond to messages from the network. Denying a request is perfectly alright but not replying is poor socialization. Now do this with caution since this communication with someone unknown could reveal your contact information to the requester.

Additional References:

• Create & Maintain an Online Identity with Social Media Networks
• Statistics of Internet Users Spread & Penetration
• Jennifer Horowitz’s article on What People Aren’t Saying About Social Media

Find more Internet Money Making Tips in: Optimization, Search Engines, SEO, SMO, Social Media

Sponsors