Particularly relevant as links shared in social media properties are influencing rankings within search properties, including Google. Only going to get more integrated... I think http://worio.com is a solid example of what engines would operate like in 2 years... though it's a bit early to tell exactly.
Great article. Thanks for dropping the knowledge!
@JillianAnderson
· 5 months ago
"SEO for most companies is tough enough. Add social media to the mix and many are lost."
Sad as it is, I'm glad to see that this isn't just an issue in South Dakota. :)
Excellent post! Thanks Lee.
Pat Strader
· 5 months ago
The overlap of search and social, as you have well documented in this and other posts and presentations, continues to grow.
"uneducated/in experienced staff along with difficulty in measuring direct ROI."
Teaching companies how to use the tools that are at their disposal, as well as teaching and demonstrating how to measure ROI are extremely important. However, teaching how to listen/monitor is the key to unlocking the door for most companies.
Jake
· 5 months ago
Very interesting read, and all of the points you've made about the overlap between Social Media marketing and SEO makes perfect sense. You have my thanks as a professional blogger :)
Kelli Piperata
· 5 months ago
I agree. it is pretty intresting. THANKS.
Eddie Gear
· 5 months ago
Hi there,
A very interesting article Lee, thank you very much for sharing. I just might get this one printed out and read it later ;)
Cheers, Eddie Gear
Babette Burdick
· 5 months ago
Lee, Another great post! More than anything, it's important to have a plan when employing various forms of social media for business development and personal branding. I feel that lack of a well-conceived and executed robust brand strategy, regardless of Internet venue employed, can be a tremendous source of frustration to small to mid-sized companies in particular. These folks often do not have the resources, staff or know-how to be consistent and knowledgeable about social media. It's up to thought leaders like you to continue with these types of posts so that these companies can "get it."
Jamie Allsop
· 5 months ago
This is a very interesting post and I agree with the points you have made. Thanks for sharing.
Tony Karrer
· 5 months ago
Thanks for the post/insights. I think that most people are underestimating the impact of social media, especially blogger outreach on SEO and on-going traffic.
A big part of the challenge here is the misunderstanding that you expressed in: "adoption of social media is low mostly because of uneducated/in experienced staff along with difficulty in measuring direct ROI."
I'm surprised that this comes up so often (like when I was moderating a recent panel). ROI can be measured much the same way that you measure it today. And the same kinds of things you are trying to do with SEO is what you are doing with social media. Ultimately, it's about driving the right kind of behavior that converts.
John Robinson
· 5 months ago
"adoption of social media is low mostly because of uneducated/in experienced staff along with difficulty in measuring direct ROI. It’s hard to win management buy-in and budget without those resources."
Do you think a service that combines effective SEO, content management and social media distribution channels at an affordable cost will solve this problem?
We're working on making the integration of these three elements an easy process at Yourmagz so I'm interested to hear your take on where you see services fitting into this mix in the future.
Msu200
· 5 months ago
The complexity of this marketing mix is compounded by the fact that most marketing folks are not social media hawks. They might have a Facebook account, a Twitter account, etc., but they aren't on them for the better part of their day. The real winners in the social space are going to be those who CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT these platforms and are on them all day engaging with customers and building their following. One-offing a few posts each day just won't cut it. Social media has to be part of your soul.
Jillian
· 5 months ago
"most marketing folks are not social media hawks." It's funny but it's true. When you work with online travel marketers you notice they're stuck in old practices like "put your site in that directory". A marketing expert should be always attracted by new promotional tools, but this seems not the case...
Legian kuta
· 5 months ago
social media is not to help my from my experience, i don,t know, that is me that wrong or just i using wrong way to promote in social media, but any thanks for sharing
Suzanne Vara/Lvadgal
· 5 months ago
Social media is a change that so many do not want to embrace. Traditional media is easier as for the company it is not as time consuming. Run an ad and wait for the phone to ring. That is a comfort zone for many.
The change to social media can be overwhelming as it is every day and is not an overnight success. So many do not think they have the time or are not willing to cultivate relationships and seek out new customers.
It will continue to be a struggle to get some companies to include social media in their marketing mix and they will eventually lag behind and not be where their customers are. SEO is great but without links it is only half the battle. Links come from social media and getting the word out there.
Great post and maybe this will spark those who are on the fence to embrace social media - if they are out there to read this.
Sean Percy
· 5 months ago
Good piece and thoughtful comments. This is a difficult subject for many clients to get their heads around.
Take retailers - those retailing interesting niche products like H20Audio for example, they have an excellent opportunity to use social media to share knowledge and drive traffic - using twitter, niche cmmunity sites or relevant social shopping sites like http://www.kaboodle.com and http://www.tribesmart.com
Nate Holland
· 5 months ago
That was a good read, thanks! I think these two should work hand in hand. The sad part is that they really lack knowledge about how both can work together.
Stuart Noton
· 5 months ago
Interesting read.. thanks for sharing.
I have enjoyed success (in my clients eyes - arguably the most important thing?) with using SM for B2B, but whenever we've polled businesses about their thoughts on using SM marketing it's either been negative, deemed irrelevant or a nice-to-have-but-lets-focus-on-what-we-know-for-now... so it's always an uphill struggle convincing management!
So, I'd be interested to read a follow-up post discussing the use of SM for B2B, success stories you've been involved with etc...
Kathleen K. O'Connor
· 5 months ago
I find social media marketing difficult to grasp still. I know it would help me in my business (or so they say) but for now I can't even find time for marketing that doesn't bear the fruits of labor quickly. Social media consists of creating great content and attracting links, which is part of SEO. I am not sure if the two strategies can really be combined. They may just have to stay separate since the ROI of SEO can be measured while the ROI of social media cannot.
Dan Waggoner
· 3 months ago
Great Post! Thanks for the helpful information. To me it seems obvious that you must use social marketing for the link building alone. Twiiter, Facebook, Digg, Stumble Upon and others have really helped me to boost my blog and website performance.
All Comments
Great article. Thanks for dropping the knowledge!
Sad as it is, I'm glad to see that this isn't just an issue in South Dakota. :)
Excellent post! Thanks Lee.
"uneducated/in experienced staff along with difficulty in measuring direct ROI."
Teaching companies how to use the tools that are at their disposal, as well as teaching and demonstrating how to measure ROI are extremely important. However, teaching how to listen/monitor is the key to unlocking the door for most companies.
THANKS.
A very interesting article Lee, thank you very much for sharing. I just might get this one printed out and read it later ;)
Cheers,
Eddie Gear
A big part of the challenge here is the misunderstanding that you expressed in:
"adoption of social media is low mostly because of uneducated/in experienced staff along with difficulty in measuring direct ROI."
I'm surprised that this comes up so often (like when I was moderating a recent panel). ROI can be measured much the same way that you measure it today. And the same kinds of things you are trying to do with SEO is what you are doing with social media. Ultimately, it's about driving the right kind of behavior that converts.
Do you think a service that combines effective SEO, content management and social media distribution channels at an affordable cost will solve this problem?
We're working on making the integration of these three elements an easy process at Yourmagz so I'm interested to hear your take on where you see services fitting into this mix in the future.
The change to social media can be overwhelming as it is every day and is not an overnight success. So many do not think they have the time or are not willing to cultivate relationships and seek out new customers.
It will continue to be a struggle to get some companies to include social media in their marketing mix and they will eventually lag behind and not be where their customers are. SEO is great but without links it is only half the battle. Links come from social media and getting the word out there.
Great post and maybe this will spark those who are on the fence to embrace social media - if they are out there to read this.
Take retailers - those retailing interesting niche products like H20Audio for example, they have an excellent opportunity to use social media to share knowledge and drive traffic - using twitter, niche cmmunity sites or relevant social shopping sites like http://www.kaboodle.com and http://www.tribesmart.com
I have enjoyed success (in my clients eyes - arguably the most important thing?) with using SM for B2B, but whenever we've polled businesses about their thoughts on using SM marketing it's either been negative, deemed irrelevant or a nice-to-have-but-lets-focus-on-what-we-know-for-now... so it's always an uphill struggle convincing management!
So, I'd be interested to read a follow-up post discussing the use of SM for B2B, success stories you've been involved with etc...
Social media consists of creating great content and attracting links, which is part of SEO. I am not sure if the two strategies can really be combined. They may just have to stay separate since the ROI of SEO can be measured while the ROI of social media cannot.