Commentary
Why Search Is A Strategic Component Of Social And Content Marketing
- by Rob Garner , October 10, 2012
Do you want to be an average content marketer or a great one? The answer lies in how well you understand how search marketing can help you build a connected brand. As brands wake up and realize they are in the digital publishing business, they have the chance to produce a great publishing strategy that combines search, content marketing, and social media. Here's how the synergy works:
Search engines process natural language: Believe it or not, too many marketers still think of natural search as simply "stuffing keyword.” Wrong. Keywords are connections to people, which means that you must be cognizant of the language you use, and the language used by your audience. Furthermore, search engines are the super heavyweight champs of processing the natural language of the Internet, while social networks and content management systems lag behind.
Search engines perform deep network analysis: Search engines don’t just spit out results. They perform intricate network analysis (analysis of the entire Web, and the weighted connections in between, among many other factors). This same type of network analysis is being used as a framework for identifying connections in social networks, and can help the social user experience by understanding themes and the influence of people within a network, among many other areas. So the imperative for the social strategist is to think like a network analyst or like a search engine to better understand influence in networks.
advertisement
advertisement
Search helps social marketers find their audience: There is a bigger social world out there beyond Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and G+, and the social Web extends to answer sites and discussion boards, among many other places. Companies should value their audience no matter where they may congregate, which includes answer sites, forums, and the commenting sections of various types of publishers. When marketers use deep keyword research and look far to find their audience in these places, they are better able to serve their audience. That's why keyword research and search skills are critical.
Search data provides market research and show your audience’s tastes: John Battelle didn’t call search engine databases “the database of intentions” for nothing. This data is like a living focus group for a social or content audience, and should be leveraged to find gaps and opportunity for conversation and content. Using other search tools like Think With Google or Google Ad Planner, marketers can let a search engine’s network analysis do much of the heavy lifting, helping to better understand what their audience wants, and how and where they want it.
Search metrics reflect content performance: Backlinks, unique indexed pages, and network analysis of your owned assets are a reflection of your own content’s performance. Don’t just look at SEO metrics in a search context, but as a social and content thing as well.
Social networks are becoming more algorithmic: I’ve been writing about this concept for years in this column, and I see no reason to stop banging the drum now. The biggest updates coming up in Twitter and Facebook are algorithmic, and will affect how you get your information. On its own, showing the “most recent info first” is a fairly simple algorithm. As social networks become more algorithmic, social marketers will increasingly find themselves trying to reverse-engineer the algo, just as search marketers sometimes do. “Reverse engineering” is not a bad term; it just means that you want to exercise more control over how your information appears, as you have a right to do.
Many of the ideas in this column are from my forthcoming book, “Search and Social: The Definitive Guide to Real-Time Marketing.” I hope this article shows how we are all playing in the same sandbox now. I’ve heard a lot of people speaking about search as being tactical -- so if you disagree with me, I would like to know why you think search is simply tactical in the context of social and content. Don’t be shy -- hit me with your best shot.
Rob, Great post as always. How can I get a signed copy of your book. Is it going to be available in Kindle too? Thanks
Thank you Durk. Absolutely - I'll send you a signed copy. It will be on Kindle as well.
Exactly - I guess many are just too lazy to focus on the whole shebang vs. their little "blinders on" approach. Good piece!
Thanks Kevin - I appreciate the feedback.
Rob, I'll buy the book once it's in Kindle to help you toward the best seller's list. Thanks
Durk, Very kind of you - thanks
Title is a bit back to front - social and content are strategic components of search markleting makes far more sense to me.
Robert - really, they are quite a bit strategically intertwined now, but I wrote this to make the point to those who view search and SEO tactically. Thanks for your comment
Rob- you make many great points, and this article further emphasizes the point that an editorial calendar needs to living and flexible. Content should be largely based on analytics. There are many articles that talk about creating content and finding ideas, when the ideas are right in front of them. I am a big fan of looking at search queries to plan content. I look forward to your book. Thank you.
Great article Rob!
Technology never ceases to progress. And I think your insight on keywords as a tool to help social marketers find their audience is just one approach.
Companies like NetShelter & (recently read MediaPost article) Converto have developed earned media platforms that can help these marketers find their audience based on a measurement of content engagement (social & content together) and not just keywords but context & sentiment.
Through these newly developed platforms many things are revealed - keywords, trends (including audience attitudes - think Samsung Mobile versus Apple), and even ROI.
The information is organized by keywords, again more of a tactical way to understand the information at a higher level. These marketers can then see the content driving consideration for their brand as these platforms are listening tools & actionable (push out best earned media to drive influence.)
As an integrated approach, search with an earned media platform, could be quite effective.
I guess what I am saying is there is more than one way to skin a cat.
Justin - exactly, topics/language/interest is definitely alive. Analytics and similar real-time tools are one way to accomplish this. - thanks
Wendy - thank you. Agreed - I approached this at somewhat of a high level, but there are many ways to get to the same place.