Many Web site owners don't know what social media optimization is, and they don't understand why they need professional writers. Social media optimization (SMO) is an offshoot of SEO. Where SEO was designed to optimize content for search engines, SMO goes one step further, providing a more highly optimized experience that will allow the site to be more easily linked to, will help it appear in customized search engines such as Technorati, and will make it more relevant for blogs, podcasts, and other ways of linking to it. br>

Why You Need Professional Writers for Your Social Media Optimization

There are several ways that SMO can be utilized.

First, the 'linkability' of the site must be increased. Many sites are too static, in that the home page is created and the content on it really does not change that much. Adding a blog can help, and hiring a professional writer to create and maintain that blog will help ensure that potential customers like what they read and want to come back to the site.

Creating thoughtful pieces, aggregating content, or using white papers are other good ways of using SMO. Another important issue for SMO is to make sure that bookmarking the site or tagging it is very easy. Most people that like a site and think they might want to come back will bookmark it, but only if they can find a convenient way to do so. The same is true with tagging the site through a blog log or a 'favorites' site like 'del.icio.us.' Having 'add to' buttons make this process very convenient.

Social media optimization also makes sure that inbound links are rewarded. Getting good-quality inbound links is important, but making sure that others are aware of them is equally necessary to the continued growth of a Web site. In addition to inbound links, you want to make sure that your content is able to travel. If you have PDFs, audio files, or video files on your site, they can be submitted to other sites to help what you have to say to the world travel farther much more quickly than it would otherwise be able to do.

Again, however, you want to be careful about the message you are sending, and that is where a professional at SMO comes in. Sending the wrong message out can be much more detrimental than not sending a message at all.

A professional writer can help you create content that will be well-received, so you won't have to worry when you do send content out into the world. While it is virtually impossible to please everyone all the time, there are many ways to avoid wording that is inappropriate, insensitive, or just plain bad. The hiring of a professional is a great way to do this.

Encouraging others to use your content is also a good SMO strategy. Naturally, you don't want to pay a lot of money for all kinds of content that you then just give away free to anyone who wants it. There must be boundaries.

However, the syndication of your site content through an RSS feed is one of the best ways to get your 'voice' out there and drive traffic to your site. This can also help to fuel discussions on topics that have relevance to you and your potential customers. In addition, others that read your content may talk about it or blog about it on their sites, providing a link back to your site and the resulting traffic that often comes with that. If this happens, make sure you make note of you is 'helping' you by sending traffic your way and thank that person. Just because you haven't met them in person doesn't mean that you shouldn't let them know you appreciate what they do for you. They'll remember that.

Michi Beck is a YouCanSubmit writer. Her personal blog can be found at Content Done Better.