As many of you already know, I’m a BBQ aficionado. Though it may sound odd to some, or display the fact that I’m a workaholic, my idea of a fun day is sparking up the smoker and cooking loads of food while I relax outside and work on my laptop. The point is: The intimate feelings I have for BBQ are the same feelings small business owners should have for Social Media Marketing (SMM).

I just got off the phone with a new client that had contacted us a few weeks ago, and while researching their past Social Media Marketing efforts I pinpointed a major flaw, which I thought I’d share with everyone.

Every now and then a news article appears, shows its ugly little face, and attempts to portray social websites as an evil, unsafe thing for children. My response? Boo! You suck!

Now that Social Media is the life of the party, everyone is flocking to social channels like white on rice. Friendships are born and maintained online, marketers are doing the digital dance, and retailers are dropping cheesy in-store displays and conventional marketing efforts in favor of brand-exposure-inducing group sales.

When it comes to Social Media Marketing (SMM) and squeezing the most out of marketing efforts, you absolutely can’t forget Search Engine Optimization (SEO). It’s imperative for Social Media Marketing companies/consultants throughout the world to gain a basic understanding of SEO best practices and integrate such into social campaigns. A social marketing campaign with no SEO is like a bike with no wheels, a website with no hosting, or an amazing meal with no fork/chopsticks.

As many of you already know, I’m a firm believer in the notion that content is king, but there’s one factor that can bring even the best article to its knees: timing.