Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace congregate people with common interests and offer a platform for these like-minded people to share conversation, information, and ideas. The popularity and growth of these sites has resulted in statistics that are truly stunning. Facebook, for example, grew from 100 million users in January to 200 million just eight months later. If Twitter keeps growing at its current rate, the site will reach 100 million unique visitors per month by next year. Finally, Nielsen Online’s latest research shows that social networking is now more popular than email. According to their study, 66.8% of Internet users have used social networks, while only 65.1% have used email.

For businesses, these social media sites offer a massive opportunity to find and connect with people who may be interested in their products and services. Under the right conditions, the sites also offer the opportunity for businesses to increase the popularity of and traffic to a business website. 

The key to success in these vibrant marketplaces is not about advertising to the masses (aka spamming), but interacting and participating in the ongoing conversation threads which are relevant to your area of pursuit. The best analogy here would be two neighbors having a chat over the fence when a stranger shows up to interrupt them and sell insurance policies. You don’t want to be the insurance salesman on Twitter; you want to be the neighbor having a chat.

Enter Social Media Optimization (SMO), which combines the benefits provided by the reach and speed of the social media sites with the power of word of mouth advertising. Paired with an aggressive search engine optimization program, SMO can provide an introduction of your company, products and/or services to thousands of potential customers who would not have found you otherwise.

Besides the amazing growth numbers, another benefit of SMO is that it can get a company in front of more people faster than regular search engine optimization intended to increase visible visibility on Google, Yahoo, MSN/Bing and the like. It may not provide instant gratification, but optimizing for social media can get you closer to it while reinforcing your SEO campaign at the same time.

If you are thinking about developing a presence on one or more of the social media sites, getting it right the first time around is critical. Call the Gervais Group today at (770) 529 2262 for a free consultation on what social media optimization can do for you.