Zack Williamson

How important is Facebook? Just today, Google used FB to make a product announcement, teaser on their GoogleTV FB Page. Even though Google announced they will give higher authority to Plus pages over Facebook page in their search rankings, it still shows you just how important FB is. Here’s the Plus Page for GoogleTV.  You simply cannot ignore the 2nd largest site on the web any longer and this is why our SMO strategy has to be white-hat.  A lot of time and money goes into setting up these accounts, acquiring friends, followers likes, subscribers and API connections. If you break even one little FB term or condition, they will yank the page, group or app from you lickity-split and your chances of getting it back are slim even with good connections to developers.

Its Too Easy to Get Banned

I had yet another friend get a Facebook Page taken and this one had 2mil likes, was mainstream with and had very active users.

Now there’s so many Indians, Filipinos, Romanians and noobs running multiple pages and profiles that FB is making security their top concern for 2012. Don’t think you can trick Facebook’s crack team compiled of the best coders in the world. They really have all the angles covered and if you don’t know when and where use black-hat social media techniques, then in the end, you’ll have built a house of cards ready to crumble at any minute. Social Media Optimization aka SMO is about 30% of the game and increasing, I won’t be surprised if in the near future it will account for 40% or more of our traffic and revenues! My friend is almost in tears now for loosing that page and if you need more convincing I’ll ask him write a comment on this page so he can tell you himself.

When and How to Use Black Hat SMO Techniques

When? Only after you have a setup of a solid foundation of official accounts. How? By creating multiple keyword rich accounts, violating terms and using black-hat social media software and APIs that will automatically request and accept friends.

By reading the first half of my article one would think I’m against black-hat social media and the truth is, I actually love it but I understand the fine line of to keeping all that activity separate completely separate  from any official accounts, aka “foundational accounts”. You can pump and dump hundreds even thousands of profiles and pages, apps, APIs and groups all driven to targeted keywords and traffic but you have to be super careful not to leave a SMO footprint.

Getting Started with the SMO Foundation

Step one, to become an admin for apps; You must first become a verified Facebook developer this will enable you to acquire users, members, followers and FB connections. You may have to register a credit card and/or drivers license and depending on their unpredictable algorithm, you may have to jump through a few other hoops. This will also enable you to become an admin for multiple pages without exposing yourself to scrutiny or setting of any red flags.

Step two, start a PPC advertizing campaign…I learned a valuable tip from a contact at BuddyMedia, that if you run a Facebook PPC campaign you will be protected even more from raising red flags in the FB terms and conditions algorithms. The way to do it is similar to a trick that also works with Google Adwords. Set all your bids very low but but high enough to keep them on the radar. Next keep your daily spending high, that way you look like a big spender. Since your bids are low, you will spend almost no money. Not only does it help keep my account in good standing with Facebook security but I actually get thousands of free impressions. I literally end up paying $0 to 60cents per month and get impressions and the occasional click through.