Social media optimization—or SMO—is integral to having successful online content. YouTubers, along with other online video creators, find it essential to have other social media accounts apart from their base. Having various social profiles makes your brand more believable and personable. It is a way to have followers feel as though they are personally connected to you. 

What is social media optimization?

Social media optimization refers to using social media to promote content, products, a brand, events etc. Your social media should be working for you—not against you. Using different media, especially ones with developed social feeds, will give you more access to possible viewers, collaborators and clients. Posting on multiple platforms optimizes potential success for your content; and further, by having a strong and planned presence, you are telling your audience that you care about them, want to build a connection and have an investment in your work. 

Social media optimization is commonly mixed up with search engine optimization, or SEO, which is a different process. SEO is based solely on search engines, not social media. Search engine optimization’s main goal is to have your website be top of the page after a search. SMO has a more indirect approach. 

What are the benefits?

The main benefit of social media optimization is that is helps you build a following, which will produce opportunities that you may not realize at first, such as connections with other influencers, potential clients and collaborators. Although a large following is vital, even better would be the ability to choose amongst your viewers to create a curated community. Following people, pages or profiles that share similar focuses as yours will allow you to learn, share experiences and become more involved individually.

Another great feature to most SMO platforms is using these generated analytics to see how people interacted with your posts. This will allow you to see what type of information appeals to your audience, and will help you improve your social media presence. 

Which social platforms are best?

Knowing which platforms to use depends on what audience you’re hoping to reach. Instagram, Twitter and Facebook are diverse and contain online profiles and pages. Using these three will give you a strong footing, as they provide the social aspect that is the base for SMO. 

People use each of these apps with different intentions and to attract a wider viewership.  For example, if you post a photo on Instagram and the same photo on Twitter, the photo on Instagram will do better because that is what Instagram is designed to do. Twitter, on the other hand, might be better for posting an interactive tweet like a poll or a question.  Facebook allows you to join groups so you can connect directly with like-minded people. 

Useful tools

Managing all of your social media can be demanding. Fortunately, there are tools available such as Buffer, Social Sprout, and Hootsuite which can help you to efficiently optimize your pages. These tools allow you to schedule posts, improve engagement and give access to your user data, which will improve the optimization of your social media. 

Other ways to improve SMO

Social media is ever-changing, so there is always room for improvement. One useful tip for better SMO is knowing the best time of day to post, as certain times have an increased number of users online. Also, as individuals’ moods and wants change throughout the day, you’ll want to adjust posts accordingly. For example, if you are planning to post a vlog in the evening of a day, it would be beneficial to post a reminder across socials at a highly active time in the midday with information about where and when to watch. 

Apart from when to post, what you are posting matters just as much. Make sure your post is eye-catching. Increase your post’s relevance by using intriguing imagery, keywords and special events; such as a live giveaway. Then, you should schedule a post beforehand with bold words and colors, which provides information about the giveaway. 

Whether you post to your feed or a story, be sure to use hashtags to elevate your posts and profile. Hashtags help people discover new products, pages and people, and each has its own pool of posts that have used that specific tag. They are easy to use and highly effective. 

Lastly, the housekeeping of your socials is essential. Continue to update your information and information about what you do to avoid confusion of your viewers and followers.