9/10/2012
How Beginner’s SEO Helps Social Media Managers
ABCs for SEOs
The split between social media and SEO is an unfortunate one once you decide to venture into how search engine optimization can help your content strategy. Being a social media director myself it was a bit intimidating learning SEO and SEM, but once you take that first step you’ll soon realize how not knowing how SEO works can severely limit your campaign.
SEO makes social media campaigns sing.
You don’t need to become an SEO expert overnight (as I’m fairly experienced but no expert) and you don’t need to spend hours digging into HTML and CSS. What the social media manager does need is an understanding of how it affects content, clicks, and user engagement.
We could dive into this intensely, but it all comes down to one principle; visibility. Your knowledge of social media helps you attract users that are in that space. Whether it be Twitter or Facebook your plan is to target relevant, quality users to share and interact with your content. Outside of this how can you improve your content to reach as wide an audience as possible? The answer is SEO.
Take your content and figure out which keywords to include so that it is relevant to search engines. Don’t assume that Facebook, Twitter, and the other networks are going to make it an overnight viral success. It won’t. It requires as many eyeballs as possible in order to hone in on the ones that truly matter. Use keyword tools to diagnose the phrases that should be in the content.
To go a step further, incorporate links into your content that you’ve gained quality information from. If possible throw links in to other content you’ve created! These links will help push your content further and it’s a beginner strategy rather easy to incorporate.
In the same light that you’re sharing content on Facebook try sharing it directly with other people in your space. The best way to do this is to guest post and blog with others and share your content. They will in turn link to you and give their impressions with it. If you’re just starting your campaign this is an efficient way to get some awareness fast. Go after websites that have a high authority in your niche and give them content they could use. Make sure it’s quality work or it’ll be time wasted in the long run.
These strategies are all beginner SEO tactics that don’t involve extensive reading, research, or knowledge of code. They’ll heighten impressions and give you overall more engagement. It’s a time-tested, proven tactic and it isn’t to be taken lightly, however, don’t expect the instant gratification social media sometimes taunts you with. Remain consistent and you’ll be rewarded.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shaun Hinklein is a Social Media and SEO/SEM consultant based in New York City and is the Editor of Social Marvels, a blog about social media + SEO insights. He’s also the Digital Director for CA Creative, a social media services agency for fashion and luxury brands. When he’s not immersed as a social media consultant or a search marketing guy he’s usually playing guitar and reading.
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5 Responses to How Beginner’s SEO Helps Social Media Managers
Nice info which will be prove so useful for all newbie blogger and online marketers. That kind of activities also make very good and nice way to search our destination.
Hi Shaun,
Yes – I do agree. Nothing new, yet the value is there if you have the knowledge and know how to use it. And if not, there is a lot of reading material online to help you.
Agree! SEO makes social media sing., and that bond will get stronger in the future. The search engines are shifting from links to co-citation as the main signal for relevancy and popularity and I think it’s good news for those who’ve been working according to the rules and being run over by those who didn’t. Nice post Shaun
Although there is often the perception that SEO and Social Media are very separated, I completely agree with you that regardless of which you practice it is vital to be familiar with each.
I completely agree that SEO and social media work hand in hand, and t is important to be familiar with them both, no matter which side you specialize in.