Social bookmarking can deliver high traffic to any site, but only if the site is properly managed. Using a service life StumbleUpon or Digg, users are able to submit their page and then request their contacts to support the new submission. That is the theory, anyway. In actuality, social bookmarking is not always that open and shut of a case.

Users that are interested in the social bookmarking business have to attend to the rules of SMM. Namely, that you are not “requesting” or selling anything; on the contrary, you are trying to socialize with others. Sending a “shout” or a “poke” is not exactly socializing. In order to really attract the interest of others (namely, the people whose votes you are trying to get) you should be discussing the subject matter, answering the questions of others and responding to others.

Spending some time “talking” on social bookmarking can pay off. After all, voting for content published by your contacts can help garner more attention. On the other hand, submitting content and then forgetting all about it will not lead to much success. (Maybe, and that’s if the piece is of an exceptionally high quality) For most, communicating with others will be the best way to promote their content.

Of course, you can’t forget the other “rules” when it comes to social bookmarking. Some of these include:

Headlines: Headlines should be simple to read. They should convey a message, and should be written in a punchy manner.

Descriptions: Descriptions should be meaningful and direct attention to the article. It should also be short, such as 150 words.

First Paragraph: The best material in the story should be in the first paragraph, as this is what most readers will read before tuning you out.

Profile: After a well written article, your audience will want to know who you are, so have an interesting profile to share.

You should also be careful to mind the technical rules of social bookmarking such as proper category submission and making your page user-friendly.

All in all, you have an obligation to be sociable. This is one of the most important aspects of SMM: cooperation with your fellow bloggers. It’s the same principle of “the more competition there is, the better for the business overall.” Remember in social media, the expression “you scratch my back and I Scratch yours” is sometimes appropriate. Voting for other contacts’ submissions will keep your name in the spotlight, and that’s exactly where you want your company to be.