From likes on Facebook to brand mentions on Twitter, social media can boost your search engine rankings.

It’s no secret that if people aren’t talking about you, you aren’t relevant, but this is especially true online where search engines use social chatter as a part of their ranking algorithm.

But it isn’t enough to merely have a Facebook page or a Twitter account where you promote yourself to no one.

You have to engage an audience and interact with them. It’s your audience who shares your content beyond your wall or your feed with their networks, and it’s that sharing that determines how relevant you are.

But don’t just take my word for it. Jonathan Lawoyin wrote in an article at Marketing Profs that “getting real SEO results these days requires not only a technically optimized website and relevant inbound links, but also a strong, vibrant Web presence that supports your overall brand.”

He also recommends using keywords and historical data in social spaces to drive content development and take advantage of seasonal trends.

So, take to your social pages, share relevant content, and stay engaged with your audience and you’ll likely see ranking dividends improve.

If you manage a “Fan Page” on Facebook, you may have noticed the big box at the top asking you to upgrade your page. And you may have asked yourself, “What is this upgrade going to do for me besides change the look of my page."

Well, there’s one great advantage the upgrade brings that may change how you use your page. Just as you as an individual Facebook member can “like” a company’s fan page, fan pages can now like other companies’ fan pages. This means that, as a Facebook fan page manager, you can reach out on behalf of your brand - “as” the brand, not your personal Facebook identity - and get more interactive with related brands.

(If you want to “become” your brand, log into your administrator account. In the top right-hand corner of the page, look for a link that begins with words “Use Facebook as [fan page name].” Click on the link and you can navigate and explore Facebook as your fan page, rather than your personal page.)

All the fan pages your page “likes” have fans of their own. By interacting with pages related or complementary to your company or industry, you can strengthen your brand and extend your influence within the massive Facebook community. You can use your fan page to actively network and spread your brand’s message, rather than just hoping your fans will like and reply to your page’s content.

How You Should - and Shouldn’t - Use Your Facebook Fan Page

1. “Like” all the fan pages relating to your industry, location, partner companies and other elements that relate to your fan page.

2. Your page now has its own news feed, supplied by the other fan pages you like. Monitor your news feed on a daily basis.

3. Build recognition of your fan page by interacting with other fan pages you “like.” If another fan page posts interesting content that relates to what your company does, post a reply “as” your fan page, rather than “as” your personal page.

4. Share personalized information on your “liked” pages that relates to both your fan page and theirs. Don’t just add a link to your new blog post, for instance, without providing an explanation as to why it may be important to the other brand and its followers.

5. Don’t spam other pages.

6. Don’t brag. Avoid over-promoting your company on another brand’s page. And unless you have a reciprocal agreement with another page’s manager, don’t provide coupons or promote specials in your posts on other pages.  

(Written by Mike Shields, this article appeared October 13th at MediaWeek.com.)

Microsoft just added a potent ally in its uphill search battle vs. Google. That comrade in arms is none other than Facebook.

Bing, Microsoft's fast-growing search engine, will over the next few weeks begin featuring results that incorporate information from the social-networking behemoth. Data will include what users' friends have indicated they "like" via Facebook. The new product is called Liked Results.

For example, users searching for a particular movie will see results indicating which of their friends like or dislike that film. Similarly, folks searching for a restaurant in a particular neighborhood would see a list of area eateries that friends have listed on their Facebook profiles - along with Bing's general search results. Bing will also surface relevant articles from the Web that users' friends have liked and shared via Facebook.

"This will profoundly change the way we use search," said Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft's SVP, online audience business, during a press event held on Wednesday at Microsoft's Silicon Valley Campus.

Brian Morrissey asks the title question in a September 21, 2010 article in AdWeek online. Here are his findings:

A common knock on the Web video industry is that it needs to move beyond repurposed TV spots, often shown as pre-rolls before content begins.

But new research from Dynamic Logic finds that such units perform just as well as video ads created specifically for the medium when it comes to several brand attributes.

In fact, repurposed TV ads aided brand awareness at identical levels as made-for-Web spots. In ad awareness and message association, TV spots outranked Web originals.

The story takes a turn when it comes to brand metrics lower in the purchase funnel. Original Web video ads solidly outscored repurposed TV spots in brand favorability and purchase intent/consideration.

"It was my thesis [that] made-for-Web [ads] will be more effective than [repurposed] TV ads," said Chris Bian, research analyst with Dynamic Logic's custom-solutions team. "In the end, I found it wasn't necessarily the case that repurposed was inferior. Each had their own place."

Dynamic Logic found that repurposed TV, often done as the cheapest way of running online video campaigns, works well when tactics mimic the wide-audience approach of TV. Original video works better, Bian said, when the Web's targeting capabilities are put to full use.

Dynamic Logic culled the findings from 59 campaigns and 75,000 respondents for repurposed efforts and 135 campaigns and 150,000 respondents for the made-for-Web content. It examined online video shown in streams and in banners.

Its research shows that the different types of video content affect viewers differently. Repurposed TV, for instance, is more effective after four exposures, while original Web video impacts persuasion the most on the first showing. Dynamic Logic also found that repurposed TV ads work best in stream, which is an environment much like TV, while custom performs better inside display ad units.

"It's going to come down to evaluating that brand's goals," Bian said. "Are they bent on getting people to notice the brand or have they penetrated the market and are looking to drive sales?"

Small business owners often have an advantage over large companies when it comes to the "social" aspect of social media and how they can use the forums to interact on a more personal level with their fans and followers. Take a look at this piece from Jennifer Van Grove, Associate Editor at Mashable. It appeared on OpenForum.com.

It seems like social media is everywhere these days. But the 2010 Business Monitor United States report - commissioned by UPS - shows that when it comes to small and medium-sized businesses, social media is still a missed opportunity. A mere 24% of respondents said they’ve received sales leads from social media, with just 1% citing it as a factor for business growth.

The data would appear to indicate that in spite of all the positive press that social media gets and all the use cases we’ve seen emerge over the past few years, small business owners are taking social media for granted. When done right, social media can be a valuable source for customer acquisition, retention and satisfaction. Here are a few reasons to help drive the value home.

Design the content like it is going to be displayed on the side of a city bus and people are going to see it as it quickly passes by. Much like an ad on a passing bus, your message may have the recipient’s attention only for a second or two. Make sure the message is well-branded, and the offer and the call-to-action are easy to identify and act upon.

He has more good advice (that you’ve also heard here before) like keeping your email marketing list paired down to only those who truly appreciate your content, lest you incur the wrath of recipients who might decide to hit the “spam” button on your unwanted pitch.

Chatoff is among the huge chorus that preaches the “slow and steady” method of building your email marketing list, adding one name at a time with an opt-in subscription form. On the other hand:

Adding addresses by the bushel from some poorly managed or a purchased list will rarely lead to favorable results. ISPs now use sophisticated mail filters that can easily identify senders who are going for the quick buck and are not interested in building a long-term marketing relationship with a selective audience.

Bushels and buses. Two great visuals  that give you lots to think about before your next email marketing campaign.