Social Media & SEO

SEO can be one of the most powerful tools at a communicator’s disposal—if it’s used correctly. Having an optimized website will drive valuable free traffic that can be converted into leads, advocates, fans and customers. But SEO can work against a site too, making poorly optimized destinations all but disappear. One of the bedrocks of a competent SEO strategy is having the right metrics in place. But with the fluid nature of Google’s algorithm changes, metrics have to be consistently monitored. Before the work of monitoring and adjusting an SEO strategy can begin, a baseline needs to be established.

According to Facebook-owned Instagram, the new tools provide an easy—and free—way to get recognized as a business on Instagram and, most importantly, to get insights about customers. Audience insights can be gleaned without leaving the app. Well-performing posts can then be promoted as ads, again, within the app.

We asked communicators who spoke during PR News’ Big 4 Social Media Summit, Aug. 9-10, San Francisco, to provide insights about how brand communicators can develop a strategy for Facebook content that will enable it to appear in your audience’s news feeds. Ever budget-conscious, we also asked about making videos for Facebook Live without breaking the bank.

This story has two parts and both are germane to communicators. Facebook said it’s working against ad-blocking software, making it more difficult for users to block ads. Basically Facebook says it will be making it more difficult for ad-blocking software to decide what is an ad and what is not. The social media giant also has updated its ad preferences features, allowing people to tell Facebook not to send them ads from particular companies.

Since taking office in 2009, President Obama has included ten personal letters from the public in his daily briefs. This week, the White House announced a new direct line to the president: a Facebook messenger account, from which some of these personal letters will be selected. The automated account, answered by a bot, is the first government account to make use of the service, and presents a powerful new tool for communicators to listen to their audiences, collect information, and project a receptive and modern personality for their brands.

At the Big 4 Social Media Summit in San Francisco on Aug. 10, Paul Englert presented these six somewhat-rhetorical questions to those who are considering using Facebook Live. Although probably every brand wants to answer “yes” to each one, it’s worth doing some soul-searching to determine whether that would be true, and if not, how to get there in order to make live streaming truly worthwhile.

YouTube is the Vegas casino of social content platforms. Brand communicators are constantly told that video reigns supreme—no one reads anymore and still images are so 20th century. So they pour resources into videos, and post them to their YouTube channels and wait for the returns. And wait.

Snapchat is a great way to reach audiences in a consumable fashion. But if you’re just going to regurgitate the same content you use on television and other media platforms you’re going to struggle.

Like almost everything in the digital space, SEO is in a constant state of flux. Driven by Google’s mandate to give web searchers the best possible experience, algorithms are continually tweaked to deliver on that promise. The only way for communicators to stay relevant in such a space is to stay informed and always use the latest tactics. To decode SEO in general and comprehend where it’s going, you have to understand where it’s been.

Early in its development, Snapchat was barely a thorn in Facebook’s side, dismissed by big brands as too frivolous ever to be used as a serious marketing tool. How the tables have turned: With even The Times admitting Snapchat’s viability as an advertising publisher, Snapchat’s status has moved it into direct competition with the preeminent social media giant. Here’s what the PR News community is saying about Instagram’s Snapchatesque update.