Do You Know How to SMO?

A new process to harness the power of social networks and online communities is working hard for some, but the true potential of Social Media Optimization is yet to be realized.

SMO is the key word today that advertisers are trying to work in their marketing mix. It is the art of using the connectivity of social networks and online communities and leveraging user generated content to spread your message virally.

There are two essential criteria for the success of SMO: your target market must be engaged with social media in some way (remembering, however, that more than half of the Australian population now has a presence on social networks [i ]), and second, your target market to use the online environment in the research phase of their decision-making information.

SMO is still largely ignored by the major brands which continue to invest heavily in traditional media and find it difficult to follow the rapidly changing digital landscape. The fact is, methodologies and approaches SMO need to change every week as we discover new ways to deliver demographics segmented information virally snowballs, find out what people will find "interesting" andproducing relevant content that people will pass around. Oh, and implementation of new technologies that help now.

GOS viral and go hand in hand and both are based on the content of interest.However, the big question is: what is interesting? How do you differentiate your content from the millions of people all trying to muscle in? How do you stay relevant in a space with a whole new set of policy, policy makers and opinion leaders?

A good example of viral content is interesting a recent blog titled '90 days' Jane.The blog details the activities of a girl who said she would kill herself in 90 days to document the process via his blog. Surprisingly, the blog has received 157,530 hits in one week. He was quickly taken down shortly after .. But is that the blog out there talking about killing yourself? No, so why is it a viral hit so fast?

I think what Jane has 90 days to go viral (beyond the name gadgets) was how the content is positioned to "pull" people in. It has led to feelings of contempt, intrigue, d excitement, shame and ambivalence.

He challenged the notion of people in self-preservation. Such acts of transgression challenge the status quo and engage people to react and discuss with others. It also raises a number of issues around censorship, accountability, governance and morality that go beyond the scope of this article.

The example of 90 days Jane shows how fast the transmission of information can become global. Companies must be able to draw in this case they will remain competitive. With this transmission of information comes from the requirement for companies to be able to respond to change if they are to remain relevant to consumers.

I think we are witnessing an evolution in advertising by both democratization and politicization of information and its transmission across communities. Users more control over the ebb and flow of what is distributed across the net. We are witnessing a depoliticized method of communication that is not censored by the major publishers with vested interests. Everyone still has their prejudices, but it is more democratic because the content is classified based on the popularity and relevance (although the notion of Google on this subject).

However, it is always important to understand the mechanisms of power and influence online. In fact, Business Week recently named owner of Techcrunch, Michael Arrington as one of the 25 most influential people on the web.

Advertisers can no longer push their message on people in the online space.They need to work on how to build their brand in the communications of the user and opinion leaders leverage. This is a major objective for SMO.