One of the most discussed and debated topic of digital marketers is SEO vs. Social Media. In this blog I am quickly trying to answer what this differentiation means to me.
With the advent of the internet, that space is becoming an integral part of communication and networking on the whole. With the changes that have come about the competition to get maximum viewership on the internet has also increased. Search Engine Optimization, commonly known as SEO, and social media are two of those tools that help you get maximum viewership.
SEO helps you add keywords to your website to improve the chances of your site appearing in the first set of search results. Social media on the other hand is a growing phenomenon where you can use networking sites to promote your business or ideas. Since the time that both these options were made available, the argument has been on about which of these two options is better for branding and more effective to attract maximum viewership.
Until 2009 the answers were very different. Back then, website visibility and social media were separate things, and depending on things like, comfort level, availability, and priority most of the brands picked either one of the options or both. However, in 2009, thanks to Goggle’s effort to tweak its algorithm, both the options pretty much integrated. Meaning that today the social media is also included as part of search results.
So, as a brand if you want maximum benefits from the internet, you can no longer choose one of the options, all options must be included. Search engines today are designed to provide the most relevant results by scanning though pretty much all the content available on the internet. This means all websites, links and social networking sites will be scanned to provide the most relevant and accurate results.
Today both of these have become niche skills; meaning that not everyone can create an effective campaign or do SEO efficiently. These require complete knowledge on how the system works and the kind of options available. Additionally, these are not a one-time investment. You will need to keep updating and improving your communication to stay in the news and promote your product.
With the kind of reach that the internet has today, brands must look for towards marketing themselves in all avenues possible. The maximum viewership that you can get will be based on the kind of permutations and combinations you can use to leverage all the advertising mediums.
Also, the biggest influencers today on using this is the cost involved and how much you, as a brand owner, are willing to spend on it. Ideally, a consensus of all the available options must be used efficiently, so that no stone is left unturned to promote your brand in all available avenues.
That said; it is important to remember that despite the medium you choose to make your brand visible, the number of keywords or the number of social media versions you use will not lead your brand to the kind of success you hope to take it to. You can trick the algorithm and try everything you know when it comes to social media; nevertheless, chances are that you may still fail if the content you put out there is not relevant or effective. At the end of the day your customers are intelligent, and your product or service will have to perform. So, use all the options available and promote only all that you can provide.
