Conventional wisdom has long treated social and SEO as mutually exclusive marketing efforts, but we’ve notedthat as the internet overall becomes more social, integrating the two is a smart move for integrated marketers. Whereas SEO is typically the result of active consumer efforts (searching for information, attempting to locate something or someone), social is more passive as consumers browse what is an offer, or post on a platform.
Acknowledging the connections between social and SEO allows practitioners to leverage both for greater marketing success, MarketingProfs has put together a list of five ways that integrated marketers can use social and SEO to the mutual benefit of each.
Use Information from Each Platform for Content on the Other
While social and SEO have their inherent differences, when paired together they can lead to more effective content creation. For example, information gleaned from search data may help SMBs determine topics for advertising or social posting. Likewise, scouring social for common themes or questions can help marketers with the development of resonant content marketing.
Share Content Across Platforms
When creating content, integrated marketers should consider the larger marketing environment, determining all relevant publishing platforms for each piece. A blog can be repurposed as an article or email, and a video may be edited for use on social media. After all, truly integrated marketing needs an integrated marketing campaign.
Find and Work with Social Influencers
Social media provides an unprecedented opportunity to reach out and build relationships in your area and around the world. Seek out those with the strongest voices or greatest reach and participate within their communities. This is your chance to ask questions or lead discussions in your field that you can then share on your own social platforms or in your own content, perhaps quoting or referencing the influencer. Build credibility and trust and ask for reciprocity where it makes sense.
Boost Brand Awareness and Generate Traffic
While measuring the ROI of social media is often a challenge, determining your direct website traffic levels is a pretty easy exercise. Establishing a more significant presence in social or advertising will lead to greater brand awareness and more traffic to your website.
The 2018 Social Media Marketing Industry Report found that 83% of surveyed marketers who’ve used social media for two years or more report better results driving traffic. Again, developing content for use across platforms and building a solid marketing ecosystem means more action and more eyeballs on your content.
Social Also Improves Local SEO
Consumers who like and share information about your business or content are helping to spread your message. Customer-facing sites like Yelp or Facebook help users get to know your brand when they are actively interested. Reviews stuffed with keywords can help lift your Google rankings, while positive messages and sentiments shared by your followers opens up a whole new pool of potential clients for SMBs.
While social and SEO are fundamentally different marketing tactics, it is their relationship in a multichannel strategy that makes both so valuable to marketers. Each effort brings distinctive advantages that work together to bring integrated marketers unique opportunities and insights.
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