This quarter we are covering the topic of social media marketing and I wanted to take some time to discuss social search, which is the integration of search engine marketing with social media marketing.

There are a couple of necessary steps to consider before launching a social search campaign:

• Make sure you have done the research on which social media communities are relevant to your product and/or service. For social search you will want to ensure that the content on those sites are relevant to the key terms you are focusing on for your search engine optimization efforts. Sites that appeal to your target audience which do not have relevant content may be extremely beneficial from a social media marketing standpoint, but will provide limited benefit in terms of SEO. Make a prioritized list of sites that you will target. Your highest priority site will be both relevant in content and relevant to your audience.
• Create a list of topics that you want to discuss on your targeted sites. The topics you choose should be prioritized as well. The highest priority topics will be those that focus on your SEO targeted key terms and relate your brand to your audience appropriately.

Once you have determined the most appropriate sites and topics for your social search efforts you can begin working on content for your posts. To achieve the SEO benefits from your posts on social media communities, keep the following in mind:

• When using targeted key terms from your search engine optimization campaign, use them as anchor text links so you get the value of that keyword pointing to your site. In addition to getting the anchored key term, you also get a very valuable backlink to your site, a major factor in the algorithm that determines your organic rank.
• If you are unfamiliar with the rules on social media sites about followed links, do some research on your targeted social sites. If your links are not followed by the search engines, you will not get a backlink for that post.

Always remember that your brand is being represented in the community when you engage in a social media campaign, including campaigns focusing on social search. While you are engaging in efforts to increase your search rankings, you will need to ensure that your brand integrity remains intact throughout the process.

Join Amberly Stitzel and Scott Million as they discuss the ways that Social Media Marketing can enhance Search Engine Optimization and Pay Per Click Marketing results.

 LFI University - LeapCast 05.12.08 - Integrating Social Media Marketing with Search Engine Marketing: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This month we have been talking about online contests, but what happens after you choose your contest idea and logistics? Promoting and marketing your promotion can sometimes be as confusing as the legal rules and regulations regarding your contest, but I would like to give you one oftentimes forgotten piece of the puzzle when marketing your online promotion: pay per click.

The traditional means of marketing, including banner advertising or television advertising, only market to users by trying to gain their attention while they are doing other, sometimes related things. What if you could market to your users as they were searching for promotions of your kind? Pay per click is a means of being found not only for search traffic in general, but also for a specific purpose. There are thousands of searches performed each month for contests and promotions related to video, writing, and photo, to name a few. Why not have your promotion front and center in the pay for placement listings in Google, Yahoo and other search engines? Cutting through the clutter in banner advertising, for example, becomes more difficult than a pay per click ad because users are on that site for another purpose. When a user types in “online promotions” as a search query you know they are looking for promotions and are ready to click.

Pay per click offers something other advertising avenues do not and that is instant traffic. Not only that but you can track your traffic more effectively online than traditional advertising methods.

Imagine a marketing world where your message is screened by a panel of judges who impact the visibility of your brand. Follow that by a voting process where the consumer determines whether or not your message is kicked out of the competition. Sound like a far-fetched marketer’s nightmare? In reality, it’s just everyday interactive marketing!

Whether you like it or not, your online brand is in a contest. It is part of a judging and voting process that controls the visibility and longevity of your message. Search engines place a great many well-conceived rules and regulations around your message, and then judge your site to determine how well or poorly you did.

Beyond that, search engines respond to the voting public. With each search conducted, the search engines count the votes. Sites that receive the highest vote tallies (i.e. clicks) are granted higher scores in the competition for that search term. Over time those sites with relatively fewer votes are “kicked off” the top five, then off the first page, and so on.

So how do you ensure your site is the Kelly Clarkson of internet marketing?

Build it right. This isn’t hard and the rules are established. Find an interactive agency with the credentials and experience you can trust to build your website in a manner the ‘judges’ will like. (And don’t try tricks – the search engines are smarter than you!)

Stay relevant. If you abandon your website once it’s built, consumers will do exactly the same. Everything from content to imagery to site features and tools need constant updating, indexing, and growth. Search engines reward activity and so do users.

Get talked about. We may root for the underdog and empathize with the wallflower, but in online marketing, it’s the brand socialites who get all the votes. If you haven’t yet gotten serious about getting talked about…now’s the time. Coordinated, measured, and consistent activity in blogs, podcasts, video sites, and social media communities will start and sustain excitement about your brand that turns into votes.

And remember, the most savvy American Idol contestants don’t let the judging and voting scare them. They make an impact, mold opinion, and drive their own result. With a little hard work and the right partner, your online brand can do the same.