EQUTE — With SES in Chicago in full swing, there are a lot of great SEO ideas floating around and coming out to the tip-hungry public. But it was a state of mind rather than a tip that was one of the most interesting things to come out of SES so far — how to look at social media.

WebProNews has a good write-up about small business social media use, but the thing that stuck out the most was what Jennifer Evans Laycock, Search Engine Guide’s editor-in-chief, said.

[Laycock] prefers to think of it as a dating experience - “social media dating for small business marketers,” if you will — and went on to explain why.

Laycock believes there are seven common rules. First, people must listen. They must learn to be romantic (using what already exists for their own benefit), and not expect sex on the first date (think patience and persistence). It’s also important to be yourself (look at how Blendtec embraced its identity), to make yourself available, to seek out the right match, and to value long-term relationships.

This is the heart of social media marketing — it’s not a sure way to conversions, but joining the conversation where your readers or buyers live is the first step to meeting them and their friends or followers.

It’s hard to track social media, it reaches people at their most comfortable, where they are intrinsically not seeking advertisements. So build trust, spring for a dinner and a movie — even a peck on the cheek (a retweet or unsolicited shout out) can mean a lot online.

EQUTE — Netlog, sometimes known as the “European MySpace” got a fancy, Web 2.0 makeover as it looks to draw more users and prepare for the eminent rollout in the United States.

Techcrunch has a good write-up of the new Netlog changes, mostly the changes are designed to streamline the social network and add more interactivity through new games.

Techcrunch said the new changes aim to make it a more visually stimulating experience for its demographic.

Netlog currently sees about 250 million visits from 56 million unique visitors on a monthly basis and is handling half a million new sign-ups every week. Its main target has historically been young people (65% of its user base is between 14 and 24 years old) and with the redesign the company is clearly catering to that particular demographic, making the homepage much more visual and far less cluttered.

Along with those superficial changes, the new design — expected before 2010 begins — also makes it easier for advertisers to tap into their user base.

The redesigned profile page that offers personalized and custom themes, including branded advertisements.
Any advertisers looking to make some headway into the gamer demographic should keep an eye on Netlog and how the new changes are received.

EQUTE — Everyone is chomping at the bit to dominate the social networks, but in reality, it shouldn’t be the number one priority for online advertisers.

The number one thing marketers should know about social media users is that they are fickle. The more time and work you put into social media doesn’t mean results. While a new Nielson report shows that people are finding more and more content from social networks, it may not work for you or your client.

Search engine optimization, however, always means results. It’s more work, it takes longer and there are a lot of factors involved in ranking number one, but it’s work ten times any re-Tweet or Facebook fan.

Well duh, right?

Yeah, this is no secret, but marketers aren’t the only people hearing about social media 500 times a day. Your clients are going to ask about and ask for social media help. But marketers need to know when to say “no.” Sure, you can show them a big page of all their Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn profiles and say “look what I can do!” And they will look at it for a little while then figure out that it hasn’t helped them make a sale.

Don’t be afraid to say, “why don’t you spend an hour and do it yourself while I make you some money.” OK, maybe not in those words, but you have to help them realize that that is not where the priority lies.

Tell them making the best of their online ad dollars means time, have a case study ready and show them how SEO helps over social media. Demonstrable results are the marketer’s friend, your site will thank you, your clients will thank you and your time (and their money) will be well spent.