Jeremiah Owyang discusses how web tools and social media enable companies to connect with customers

Rules of Social Media Optimization

August 13th, 2006 | Category: Social Media, Search Strategy

Rohit the Vice President for Interactive Marketing with Ogilvy Public Relations has written an excellent piece called 5 Rules of Social Media Optimization (SMO). For those involved with the web, we know this is quickly becoming a very important area (as social sites are dominating the web landscape).

Rohit’s Five Suggestions for Social Media Optimzation (SMO)
Read his post to see all details

  • 1) Increase your linkability
  • 2) Make tagging and bookmarking easy
  • 3) Reward inbound links
  • 4) Help your content travel
  • 5) Encourage the mashup

6) Be a User Resource, even if it doesn’t help you
Add value to users, including outbound links to areas that could help them with their goals and purposes. Deployed corrected, even if you link to competitiors you stand to gain as the communities first source of information finding. How will this help SMO? Folks will link to your social site and tag is as helpful or the ‘ultimate’ guide in that space. As this adds up, it will become more and more relevent in search engine results.

7) Reward helpful and valuable users
Often helpful or popular users will be influencers and champions within your social site, devise ways to elevate them buy promoting their works on the homepage, or develope a rating system. Sometimes a quick email or note in private telling them you appreciate them can go a long way. Some folks have done that to me, and for communities I run, I do that as well. Only do if sincere. Perhaps this is not truly SMO, but it will help to keep the most valuable members of a community closer to your site.

I’m linking to Brian Oberkirch here, as I think he could add to this list, Brian, any thoughts?

Edit: Pronet has jumped in with rules 8,9,10,and 11

57 Comments so far

  1. Adam Darowski August 14th, 2006 4:39 am

    “7) Reward helpful and valuable users”

    For your notebook, Jeremiah, I’d love to hear any expanded thoughts on this one. :)

    I’m sure a “Top Contributors” module on the home page helps… after all, everyone loves seeing their name (wait, is that why I’m typing this???). I’m also thinking of unlocking even more modes of contribution once a user hits a certain “trusted level” within the community.

    Thanks, as always…

  2. jeremiah_owyang August 14th, 2006 6:10 am

    Adam

    It’s pretty simple to reward helpful contibutors, you can give them physical gifts. or you could eleveate their status within a community, give them a special designation, promote them from a particular section.

    One forum treated me very nice, as I added a lot of value there.

  3. Damon Billian August 14th, 2006 12:32 pm

    Hi Jeremiah,

    “7) Reward helpful and valuable users”

    Here are some things I’ve done with users:
    1. Award them with schwag (I always try to make sure that they have our newest gear).
    2. Whenever possible, I let them know certain things about the company before it goes live (note: this not include confidential information).
    3. If you have an upcoming product or service, ask some of them if they would like to do some testing on the product/service before it is live to the general public (empowers feedback & allows the folks to make a difference in a product/service they use).
    4. Make sure you respond to their emails/private messages quickly.
    5. Most importantly…bond with the users in an honest & friendly way. Even if you aren’t close in distance, many of these folks do end up becoming friends.

  4. Adam Darowski August 15th, 2006 9:19 am

    For the site that I’m working on, Jeremiah’s comments make more sense than Damon’s (although Damon’s are great if there’s a “product”, but my site is more of a “community of practice” resource).

    I’ve been trying to think of ways beyond just giving them a new place to contribute. For example, I’m thinking that users can rate posts and comments and once a user reaches a certain rating, he can edit and modify even MORE site content.

    Just trying to figure out other ways to reward instead of just more places to do a similar task. The recognition one is nice… I’ve been including features like “Top Contributors” to let everyone else know who is helpful.

    Just to brainstorm a little further here, if we did do a “freemium” model, perhaps a user that reaches a certain standing gets automatically enrolled into the premium service—or if the person is already enrolled, perhaps a free extension of that service.

    I do like the schwag idea… we haven’t though of that yet, but it could always work. Our site may be a little dorky to show off on t-shirts, but a walking billboard is never a bad thing. :)

  5. Pronet Advertising August 15th, 2006 2:26 pm

    Introduction to Social Media Optimization…

    Social Media Optimization (SMO) is a new term that was recently coined by Rohit Bhargava and has since been taking on life of its own. In his introduction to SMO, Rohit draws similar comparisons to SEO. SMO tactics can drive huge amounts of people to a…

  6. Rohit August 15th, 2006 8:21 pm

    Jeremiah - Thanks for continuing the conversation and for your great additions. The concept of rewarding linkers is definitely key, particularly in the blog world where reciprocation is a big part of building relationships. It will be interesting to see how the concept of SMO continues to grow as smart marketing folks like yourself add your mark to it.

  7. Search Engine Journal » Social Media Optimization : 13 Rules of SMO August 16th, 2006 6:15 pm

    […] There has been some cross blogging back and forth between Rohit, Cameron, and Jeremiah Owyang on the rules of Social Media Optimization, and I’ll add a couple more. […]

  8. Smartest Marketing Secrets » Social Media Optimization : 13 Rules of SMO August 16th, 2006 8:46 pm

    […] There has been some cross blogging back and forth between Rohit, Cameron, and Jeremiah Owyang on the rules of Social Media Optimization, and I’ll add a couple more. […]

  9. New Rules for Social Media Optimization » Online Marketing Blog August 17th, 2006 5:17 am

    […] With contributions by Jeremiah Owyang, “Rules of Social Media Optimization and Cameron Olthuis, “Introduction to Social Media Optimization” who offers this take on SMO: “SMO tactics can drive huge amounts of people to a website and can also determine whether a startup, website or idea will make it or not. It involves driving traffic to a website through new channels because search engines aren’t the only sites that drive big traffic anymore. While it’s not taking over SEO yet, it has the potential to someday soon.” […]

  10. Shaula Evans August 17th, 2006 9:18 am

    Jeremiah, I could agree more with you about #7 — there’s a “social” in “social media” after all because it is about relationships.

    David Maister (full disclosure: he’s a client) follows this rule by putting up a post on his blog every month thanking everyone by (linked) name who has sent comments or trackbacks to his blog in the past month. Here’s the most recent example of one of David Maister’s thank you posts.

    He also explores other ways to reward contributors in his article Adventures in Modern Marketing — which is largely about SMO.

  11. Shaula Evans August 17th, 2006 3:49 pm

    Er, that was “couldn’t agree more.” oops

  12. Emergence Media :: Social Media Optimization: Emergence Media’s 5 Themes of SMO - Social Media, Search Marketing, SEM, SEO August 17th, 2006 11:45 pm

    […] Be a User Resource, even if it doesn’t help you (By Jeremiah Owyang) […]

  13. Frankeren » Blog-archief » 16 Regels om meer bezoekers naar je site te trekken August 21st, 2006 4:53 am

    […] Dankzij postings van anderen zijn Rohits’ 5 regels inmiddels uitgegroeid tot 16 (and counting?):1. Increase your linkability 2. Make tagging and bookmarking easy 3. Reward inbound links 4. Help your content travel 5. Encourage the mashup Meer info: Rohit Bhargava 6. Be a User Resource, even if it doesn’t help you 7. Reward helpful and valuable users   Meer info: Jeremiah Owyang 8. Participate 9. Know how to target your audience 10. Create content 11. Be real Meer info: Cameron Olthuis  12. Don’t forget your roots, be humble 13. Don’t be afraid to try new things, stay fresh Meer info: Loren Baker 14. Develop a SMO strategy 15. Choose your SMO tactics wisely 16. Make SMO part of your process and best practices Meer info: Lee Odden […]

  14. Ramblings About SEO » Blog Archive » Social Marketing Optimization August 29th, 2006 3:17 pm

    […] Jeremiah Owyang contributed Rules 6 and 7. […]

  15. SocialSearch.tv » Blog Archive » SMO is the SEO for SocialSearch September 4th, 2006 1:09 am

    […] This original rules have been created by Rohit Bhargava (1 to 5), Jeremiah Owyang (6 and 7), Cameron Olthuis (8, 9, 10, and 11), Loren Baker (12 and 13), Lee Odden (14, 15 and 16). Posted by Oliver Wagner Filed in Strategies […]

  16. Serie: 16 Tipps der Social Media Optimization | nanoblogs[.de] September 4th, 2006 5:03 am

    […] Quellen: 5 Rules of Social Media Optimization (SMO) Rules of Social Media Optimization Introduction to Social Media Optimization Social Media Optimization : 13 Rules of SMO New Rules for Social Media Optimization […]

  17. Moshe Morris September 4th, 2006 5:46 am

    Another way to reward people who contribute valuable users is to offer them special discounts on your products or services. Another possibility is to check out their website and promote in one way or other it if the products or services are of benefit to your visitors. Reviews, case studies, and the like are both useful content and helpful ways to reward valuable users.

  18. Traces of Inspiration September 11th, 2006 6:53 am

    […] A while back, Jeremiah had an excellent post about Social Media Optimization. Actually, his post stemmed from five rules originally posted by Rohit Bhargava. Jeremaih added two more rules and before you know it, five blogs had contributed for a total of sixteen rules. Then other blogs contributed translations. But what I’m really writing about here is one of Jeremiah’s rules: #7 Reward helpful and valuable users. […]

  19. Consultant SEO Services September 15th, 2006 5:10 am

    Good, Social Media Optimization !

  20. Sleek and Sexy - Marketing & Tecnología » Blog Archive » Social Media Optimisation September 19th, 2006 10:30 am

    […] Jeremiah Owyang agregó las reglas 6 y 7 […]

  21. Pronet Advertising September 24th, 2006 10:36 am

    Making your blog popular through content…

    As a blogger one of your goals might be to become popular. You might be able to do this by [optimizing your blog](http://www.pronetadvertising.com/articles/optimizing-your-blog-for-search-engines.html) or by using the diverse [social mediums](http://ww…

  22. marble2 September 25th, 2006 8:10 am

    Personally, I like fame and glory rewards via points and stature. From earlier startups I saw firsthand how rewarding employees with monetary or physical rewards didn’t have the desired impact. People really respond well to recognition and feeling “special” compared to the masses, and to me it’s a really effective reward.

    These are 7 great points to live by.

  23. מדריך שיווק באינטרנט קידום ופרסום אתרים : ”הכי הכי באינטרנט“ ככה עושים את זה, מאת צביקה אבנרי September 26th, 2006 7:52 am

    […] למה אני מתכוון? מסתבר שבלוגרים וביניהם מנכ“לים בכירים בחברות הי-טק, הון סיכון וסטארט אפים מאוד אוהבים לבדוק מי יצר קישור אליהם או במילים פשוטות יותר לגלות ”מי מדבר עלי“. כותבים רבים בודקים מדי פעם אם מישהו כתב עליהם ואם הכתיבה הזו מספיק רלוונטית אליהם. הם עשויים אפילו להגיב למי שכתב עליהם מעל דפי הבלוג שלהם ולגרום לכל הגולשים הקבועים שלהם לשים לב אליכם… בין אם התגובה היא תגובת שיטנה ובין אם אהבה, הכלל הבא תמיד נכון: sue me, screw me, as long as you spell my name correctly. הצלחתם להרגיז מישהו? הצלחתם לעורר מישהו לכתוב על המוצר שלכם …אתם על הגל. דוגמה מעניינת לאופן זרימת המידע ויצירת הבאזז, ניתן למצוא בדיון הבא שהתקיים בבלוגספירה על ”שיווק חברתי ברשת“. במסגרת הנסיון לגבש את המאפיינים והכללים לסוג השיווק החדשני הזה ברשת (ואני ממליץ לכולכם גם לקרוא את התוכן של המאמרים) ניתן היה למצוא באחד הבלוגים את השורה המקסימה הבאה: I m linking to Brian Oberkirch here, as I think he could add to this list, Brian, any thoughts?“ […]

  24. node-0 » Blog Archiv » Wie man ein Blog über Inhalte bekannt macht October 4th, 2006 11:49 am

    […] eMails an andere Blogger mit der Bitte um Links können ein effektives Mittel sein, den Traffic auf Deinem Blog zu erhöhen. Ein anderer guter Weg, die eigenen Popularität zu steigern, ist die Teilnahme an Diskussionen und Unterhaltungen. Ein gutes Beispiel hierfür sind die 5 Rules of Social Media Optimization von Rohit Bhargava; durch die Beiträge tausender Leser wurde aus dieser Liste von fünf Regeln die 17 Rules of Social Media Optimization. […]

  25. Social Media Optimization Naturally Amplifies Search Engine Optimization at WaynePorter.Com The Post Human Experience October 9th, 2006 1:01 am

    […] Jeremiah Owyang add at this blog: 6) Be a User Resource, even if it doesn’t help you Add value to users, including outbound links to areas that could help them with their goals and purposes. Deployed corrected, even if you link to competitiors you stand to gain as the communities first source of information finding. How will this help SMO? Folks will link to your social site and tag is as helpful or the ‘ultimate’ guide in that space. As this adds up, it will become more and more relevent in search engine results. […]

  26. The Smoking Foot » Blog Archive » 5 Rules of Social Media Optimization (SMO) November 21st, 2006 1:16 am

    […] Update (8/13/06): Jeremiah Owyang has added Rules 6 and 7 […]

  27. The Praized Blog » Blog Archive » Social Media Optimization: 16 rules November 28th, 2006 10:53 pm

    […] Rohit Bhargava created the first five rules, Jeremiah Owyang added Rules 6 and 7, Cameron Olthuis added Rules 8, 9, 10, and 11, Loren Baker added Rules 12 and 13 and Lee Odden added Rules 14, 15 and 16 […]

  28. Web Strategy by Jeremiah » Brian loathes the term ‘Social Media Optimization’ November 29th, 2006 9:18 am

    […] As far as I see it, these are best practices based upon experience to use these tools to their maximum ability, I see nothing wrong with that. That of course, as long as they fall under the premise of being community and customer focused. Heh, this should be interesting, as I was the first to add to the list of Social Media Optimization list started by Rohit. I suggested to 6) Be a User Resource, even if it doesn’t help you 7) Reward helpful and valuable users. There is anything wrong with trying to get your message out there as efficiently as possible and being customer focused. Sharing of knowledge around how to use these tools as best as possible should be available to the open community. […]

  29. Social marketing - the next edge in Internet marketing November 30th, 2006 6:22 pm

    […] Rules of Social Media Optimization (by Jeremiah Owyang) - one of the few, who focused on the benefits to the people […]

  30. An Alternative to Google Traffic - Try Social Media Marketing (SMM) .:. Joe’s Sem Blog December 3rd, 2006 2:13 pm

    […] Be a User Resource, even if it doesn’t help you (By Jeremiah Owyang) […]

  31. Nextly Report » Blog Archive » SMO Social Media Optimization December 4th, 2006 9:16 am

    […] A distanza di qualche giorno, Jeremiah Owyang riprende il post di Rohit ed aggiunge un suo contributo considerando altre due regole. […]

  32. Nextly Report » Blog Archive » SMO Social Media Optimization December 4th, 2006 9:24 am

    […] 1. Increase your linkability 2. Make tagging and bookmarking easy 3. Reward inbound links 4. Help your content travel 5. Encourage the mashup   A distanza di qualche giorno, Jeremiah Owyang  riprende il post di Rohit ed aggiunge un suo contributo considerando altre due regole. […]

  33. » SMO - Social Media Optimisation and SEO Search Engine Traffic, SEM and MFA December 6th, 2006 5:59 pm

    […] Be a User Resource, even if it doesn’t help you […]

  34. DIGITAL STREET JOURNAL » Social Media Marketing - A New Category January 5th, 2007 10:10 am

    […] Then Jeremiah Owyang of Web Strategy by Jeremiah added: […]

  35. Vijay January 11th, 2007 12:45 am

    Hi Jeremiah,
    Your blog is a good example of “user resource” as explained by you above. I am getting excellent benefits from this content. Keep it up.

  36. SEOsnafu January 11th, 2007 7:19 pm

    - Write for a niche. Shotgun creative is less effective.
    - Do your homework. Quality content is rewarded with links and traffic.
    - Challenge and engage the reader.
    - Network your ideas

  37. Social Media Optimization » Blog Archive » 5 ли са всъщност 5-те правила на Social Media Optimization January 14th, 2007 8:31 pm

    […] 5-те правила на SMO всъщност са 16,17. Номерът обаче е без значение,тъй като първи Rohit Bhargava въвежда термина Social Media Optimization и неговите 5 Rules of Social Media Optimization пускат мълвата за тази нова концепция и затова като знак на респект,или просто за да не се чуди човек всеки път “16 или 17 бяха…или май някой наскоро добави още едно..”, се използва това заглавие.За заинтересованите, по-късно Jeremiah Owyang, уеб стратег, добавя Rules 6 and 7, след него Cameron Olthuis, директор на маркетинга към Advantage Consulting Services, допринася с Rules 8, 9, 10, and 11,а след това Loren Baker, редактор на Search Engine Journal добавя Rules 12 and 13, и накрая небезизвестния Lee Odden,главен изпълнителен директор на TopRank Online Marketing, затвърждава нещата с неговите Rules 14, 15 and 16. Само че самият Rohit Bhargava, в една своя публикация заявява, че скоро след въвеждането на SMO, дискусията за тази нова концепция и нейни правила се разраства изключително бързо и на него му е трудно да следи всички източници, освен това е получил доста предложения за 17-то правило, и за това не смята, че вече той би трябвало да се нарича пазителя, или по-точно той да бъде човекът, който ще определи какви ще са следващите правила.Той лаконично и съвсем логично, в духа на принципите на SMO, заключва, че самата еволюция на тази концепция ни подсказва 17-то правило: Не се страхувай да предадеш нататък ново послание или идея и да позволиш на други да я доразвият. […]

  38. Rishi January 15th, 2007 12:58 am

    Hi Jeremiah,

    I have been following the thread of blog posts initiated by Rohit and then successfully contributed and taken forward by you, Cameron Olthious, Loren Baker and Lee Oden.Just added my 2 cents to the list of rules (#17 & #18 )at http://seo-kolkata.blogspot.com/2007/01/social-media-optimization-two-more.html.

    Would appreciate your opinion.

    Regards
    Rishi

  39. Tom Chuong January 30th, 2007 11:31 am

    Hi Jeremiah,

    I’ve been looking for a good discussion on SMO as I am relatively new to this trend. This is highly recommended reading for seasoned SEOs looking to gain insight into the strategies behind social media optimization. Keep up the good work!

  40. Eric Mariacher March 26th, 2007 8:56 am

    Hi Jeremiah,

    I’ve also published 2 cents advices, but more specifically on social networking sites such as LinkedIn, Xing and Viadeo.

    My motto is:
    -Grow your network while you don’t need it-

  41. Lesley March 31st, 2007 6:29 am

    Hi Jeremiah

    nice. Now I am currently going through the list of rules for SMO. Looks like I have a lot more rules to go through here.

    These rules will definitely help in building not only more traffic but credibility as well.

    cheers
    Lesley

  42. Link Baiting and Social Media Optimization , Huh? - Jaan’s Search Marketing Blog - Toledo, Ohio April 2nd, 2007 12:06 pm

    […] Rules of Social Media Optimization 6. Be a User Resource 7. Reward helpful and valuable users 8. Participate 9. Know how to target your audience 10. Create content 11. Be real […]

  43. FridayNet » Blog Archive » Five and more rules for Social Media Optimization, in english, french and italian April 6th, 2007 6:21 am

    […] Jeremiah Owyang - regole 6-7 […]

  44. tobto May 7th, 2007 6:10 am

    well. you can’t generate tons of traffic with a bad content. say - quality content first.

  45. Rules of Social Media Optimization (SMO) « ZNewMedia May 9th, 2007 1:21 pm

    […] Jeremiah Owyang has added Rules 6 and 7 […]

  46. Rules of Social Media Optimization (SMO) | Internet Age Advertising May 9th, 2007 1:51 pm

    […] Jeremiah Owyang has added Rules 6 and 7 […]

  47. PR Squared June 7th, 2007 8:28 am

    Social Media Optimization: Search Will Lead to Sociability…

    Rohit Bhargava of Ogilvy recently posted on "5 Rules of Social Media Optimization" and his effort was further riffed on by folks like Jeremiah Owyang and Lee Odden. With nearly 2 weeks now passed (sorry, Rohit!), I would not try……

  48. Web Strategy by Jeremiah » Happy Birthday to Web-Strategist.com!!! June 20th, 2007 12:51 pm

    […] Top viewed posts: -Index page -List of White Label Social networking sites -The many forms of Web Marketing -My Profile Page -Social Media Optimization (which I sort of regret) […]

  49. rob tencer June 27th, 2007 1:05 am

    I can’t seem to get more than 100 visits from digg on one of my posts. how do you get past the 1,000 or even 500 or even past 200?

    please send me a reply to ayepublicrelations@gmail.com

  50. Improve the Web August 6th, 2007 12:15 am

    Social marketing - the next edge in Internet marketing…

    There has been a lot been written about including the social aspect in your marketing strategy. While it may not seem a worthy endeavour, there is something to think about.
    Introduction
    Though there have been numerous discussions on adding customer int…

  51. Getting Down and Dirty with Social Media Optimisation - Search Marketing September 25th, 2007 2:47 am

    […] 6. Be a User Resource, even if it doesn’t help you 7. Reward helpful and valuable users From Jeremiah Owyang […]

  52. Social Media Optimization : New Internet Media @ Pingable.org November 3rd, 2007 5:34 am

    […] Web Strategist adds: […]

  53. chinastone December 25th, 2007 3:18 am

    nice. Now I am currently going through the list of rules for SMO. Looks like I have a lot more rules to go through here.

  54. Offshoreinsiders.com April 5th, 2008 1:07 pm

    Digg, Shoutwire and Mixx seem to do best for me.

  55. SEO Lincolnshire April 6th, 2008 12:19 pm

    Looking good content and becoming valuable will increase your website’s strength.

    You need great fresh content and inbound links

  56. grant allen April 7th, 2008 5:03 pm

    the thing of the future “SMO” …great rewards are given to those who help in anyway with their knowledge …it is in keeping the concept alive, well and is used in good …thus sharing of knowledge is vital and strategic..it also keeps the next generation posted of what is in stored for the for them…i think this the whole idea of this 6th and the 7th rule…good day

  57. social media marketing May 11th, 2008 5:39 pm

    Excellent info. I would add that the industry needs a social media optimization management tool, since it really does not exist.

Leave a reply