The process of optimization is somewhat simple, at least when compared with search engine optimization for websites. You will want to follow these basic steps:

1) Have a highly keyword-relevant page title.

2) Fill out the profile completely with keyword rich content, paying special attention to the “information” section.
3) Add media rich elements, including videos and images, preferably with tags or captions that are keyword relevant.
4) Be active on Facebook. Update your page status, create events for users, and otherwise remain present.
5) Get users to “like” you. The number one factor in deciding which page shows is the number of “likes” it has received, so this step is crucial. While viral marketing is often at the core of Facebook endeavors, the use of strategic advertisements can help the page get off to a racing start.

All of these elements factor into whether or not your site will appear as an autocomplete suggestion within Facebook’s search, or as a result for a fully completed search.

For those who are uncertain of the benefit of Facebook’s search alone, remember that all popular pages on Facebook come with a distinct URL that outside search engines rank by the standard algorithms. With so many inbound links from the “likers” of your page, optimization on Facebook can be a gateway to search engine ranking.

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In the post, Jeff points out that Facebook and Twitter are replacing blogging with the argument that less people are spending time blogging, but more time on Facebook and Twitter. From Technorati’s findings, “pure bloggers” like hobbyists are blogging less as their time is allocated more to the micro-blogging sites.

While Jeff uses the Technorati stats to paint his position, I can’t help but feel he’s missing the bigger picture.

Technorati and Blog Claims

While there’s no doubt that Technorati is one of the leading blog resources when it comes to statistics, it also only counts blogs that’s registered with the service.

So while there might be 180 million blogs registered (I think that was the number from the last report), there are a ton more that aren’t registered. Chinese bloggers, for example, are restricted by the Internet laws in China – you can quickly add a few hundred million onto the numbers there.

So while it may appear to Jeff that blogging is going down (at least from the hobbyist angle), not having the full picture skews the results a little.

Numbers and Interpretation

It’s not just the registered versus non-registered numbers that are important, though. Dig a little deeper into the Technorati stats, and you’ll see a lot of information that Jeff either fails to mention, or conflicts with his view.

• In Technorati’s introduction post, they mention that they spoke to 7,200 bloggers to put the report together this year. Look at that number again – 7,200. Out of more than 100 million blogs registered with Technorati. While not insignificant, can less than 1% of your audience be a reflective number?

• Part-time bloggers (13% of the blogosphere) spend at least three hours per week on their blogs, with at least a third of them posting at least once a day.

• At Forbes, Jeff mentions that less time is being spent on blogs since they’re content to post on Twitter or Facebook. Yet according to Technorati, 49% of part-time bloggers and 62% of self-employed bloggers are blogging more because it helps promote them and their business.

But here’s the kicker. Jeff mentions that micro-blogging is taking away bloggers, and giving numbers over to Twitter and Facebook instead. Yet again, look at the Technorati report, and their exact quote is:

The key driver of decreased blogging is an increase in work and family commitments, which is reported as a factor by 63% of respondents who are blogging less. Compared with last year’s findings, slightly fewer of those who are blogging less said that their devotion to microblogging (30%) and social networks (28%) has curtailed their blogging.

So, while micro-blogging sites are becoming more popular with ex-bloggers, it’s actually less than last year’s figures. So blogging is more popular this year?

The Truth About Blogging

The thing about blogging is that it’s something that can’t easily be quantified by simple numbers (as shown here, with Jeff’s interpretation and my one, using the same statistics).

Additionally, you can’t always separate business blogging from personal blogging – the two often mix, whether it’s as a business owner or an employee blogging for your company. While you might be writing a business post, you could also be using the ideas in that for a personal one, and vice versa.

But here’s why I don’t think blogging will be replaced by either Twitter or Facebook anytime soon.

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1. Aug 9th, 2010: “Local brands have the flexibility to cater their social media campaigns directly to their local customer base, using the same tools that large brands are using to cover a wider audience.  In addition, local tools and services are growing in popularity” – Social Media Gives Local Brands Home Field Advantage
2. July 28th, 2010: “Listening, Content, Socialize and Measure could just as well be represented as a cycle, but I think the forward direction is important because you can’t reach outcomes without action.” -4 Steps to Social SEO Success
3. Aug 6th, 2010: “There’s No Out Of the Box Solution – I shudder and cringe each time I hear about a company selling a basic ‘Twitter, Facebook, Delicious, StumbleUpon’ package for every business that comes through their virtual doors. Not every website is ideal for every business.” – 885 Social Sites, SEO & Marketing: Fine Tuning Your Marketing Strategy
4. July 30th, 2010: “79 percent of large corporations are leveraging social media to engage their audience, and they are using innovative ways to build buzz, establish relationships, foster communication, improve products, and cultivate long-term brand awareness and consumer trust.”- 4 Ways to Master Social Media Marketing
5. July 29th, 2010: “there are certain universal truths to what your company’s style of tweeting reveals about your corporate culture, your attitude towards social media, and what you think about your customers in general” – What Your Company’s Twitter Account Says About You

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It’s important to recognize that there is a lot to do and it can’t all be done at once.  The first step is taking stock of where you are at.  What areas are you lacking in?

Here’s a quick checklist of everything you should be doing to promote your site.

1.    Get your site optimized (make sure the code is clean, fast loading, keyword rich and optimized for the engines)

2.    Set up a Blog (WordPress hosted on the same server as your site is the best set up)

3.    Create a Twitter account and start building followers

4.    Create a Facebook Fan page (and invite friends, family, followers, colleagues etc to become a fan, post a Facebook badge on your site and Blog)

5.    Feed your Blog into your Facebook page so that your Facebook Fans are seeing your great content

6.    Write Blog posts that are “article style” and then tweet them out to followers (by article style I mean content that is informative and not self promotional so the article directories will accept it)

7.    Syndicate the articles you posted on your Blog to article directories (once they have been spidered on your site)

8.    Add content that is keyword rich to your site in addition to your Blog

9.    Explore PPC and other advertising sources

10.    Repeat  steps 6, 7 and 8 (as well as building Twitter followers which is mentioned in step 3)

11.    Build joint venture relationships and find affiliates to promote your services as relevant.

12.    Market to your mailing list on a regular basis through newsletters, a series of emails such as a “mini course” and special offers.

I know it’s a lot, but there are pieces of it you can outsource.  Do the best you can and work at it consistently – getting a little bit done every day is better than not doing anything.

Tips:

Articles/Blog posts don’t need to be really long.  If you are syndicating them they need to be at least 400 words.  It’s often easier to write shorter articles.  If you have a lot to say make it a multi-part series.

It’s possible to do all this without taking over your whole day.  Set time frames for each task and set a timer.  Only work for the allotted time and when the timer goes off, move on.  Even small bits will add up over time and its better than doing nothing – which is what most of us do when we are overwhelmed.

Use Google Alerts to stay on top of hot topics in your industry.  It can help make it easier to pick topics for articles and Blog posts.

Keep a running list of topics you want to write about.  A lot of times it’s hard to get started when you don’t know what to write about.  Refer to your list and pick a topic and then get writing.

Not sure how to optimize your site or if it’s optimized already?  Request a site review and proposal so you can see where your site stands and see what the costs are for getting the site optimized.

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With hundreds of tools and sites out there to promote yourself online, there are a few I like to recommend that do an exceptional job reaching the largest audience through the use of features while attracting a large internet population.

If you are charging an entry fee for your event, try Eventbrite, an online event site that gives participants the opportunity to pay for their event all in a secure,quick,way. Users will have the ability to search for events by the city of their choice, with additional features like posting events from Eventbrite to Twitter or facebook.

Building an event or group page on facebook could never be easier with the facebook events page. When going down the facebook event road, be sure you include the location and any details of the event for people to find it easily when doing a search. For example, if the event is for homeless animals and is located in Chicago, be sure to include those words and a link to the website of the event. Including a picture of the event from a previous year or logo of your group will also add depth to the event on facebook.

Create Twitter excitement. Although you may not understand the importance of tweeting, chances are, many of your attendees will be online reading your tweets. If you have an account, tweet often, if you don’t have a Twitter account, it is never too late to open one up. If Twitter makes no sense to you, or you just don’t understand the way it works, I suggest The Twitter Book.

Meetup.com is a great site to start a group that will be involved and participate in your event. With a low monthly fee, you can create your own crew of members who will rally for your event and build excitement among their friends and family as well. Since social media connects more people to the things they are interested in and care about, sites like Meetup will bring the people to you.

Depending on your geographic location and audience, there will always be a best bet solution for the type of event you are having. Utilizing social media sites like Twitter and Meetup as a supplement to the traditional advertising of your event in papers, on the radio or whatever you choose, will guarantee that you have increased attendance for your next event. Followers and supporters will advertise to their friends and family on your behalf and the chances that your event will become viral will most definitely happen.

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