Think about it, 15 years ago social media was for tweens and desperate bands. But yesterday’s tweens are today’s marketing experts, and desperate bands are… well, still desperate, but that’s a whole other article.
And this new landscape of communication is the best thing since billboards for forcing people to look at my ad look at what I’m selling LOOK AT IT! It’s entirely unique in that users personalize their experience, allowing us to personalize how we advertise and attract interest. It’s because of this the there’s been such an emphasis on making search engine optimization organic. Not necessarily locally grown, but natural, selling without the consumer knowing you’re selling.
Good SEO thinks like its target audience. It talks like them, visualizes like them, and convinces them that they’re genuinely interested in helping them out. Good SEO is interested in helping out. That’s why the top SEO consultants are both creative and scientific. Left brained and right brained. But advertising is so intrusive and impersonal these days, it takes a skillful writer to gently coax the wary reader into clicking on a link.
Don’t be shy, little reader. Hey, you know what’s neat? This thing is, in this link.
Watch that not get a link.
The point is, we encourage putting a focus on helpfulness because that’s what gets you the holy grail — loyalty. andlt;Insert Monty Python jokeandgt;
When over 75% of search engine users outright ignore paid search results in favor of “organic search,” when the vast majority of users outright leave a website because of intrusive advertising, it’s proof that the strategy we need is choice. The top SEO consultants know that no one likes being force-fed information (see: any child’s opinion of school reading), but that sources we choose to follow or seek out are seen as much more positive (see: any child’s opinion of Harry Potter). A user who is making a choice is actively engaged and more likely to make a purchase.
Social media is an investment. Paying someone to sit on Facebook all day does see return — as long as it’s the company’s Facebook. Interacting with one’s target audience directly gives a human connection, something most people miss when dealing with big corporations. If they think they’re just dealing with a machine, they won’t care who they buy from. Making a friendly connection gives that emotional tie that brings them back. It’s a positive reinforcement thing.
Now, a small business SEO consultant will have to work differently than big business social media marketing. Every situation is different. The one constant is that this entire business, this entire world, boils down to people interacting with people. Top SEO consultants know that keyword is just that — a keyword. The real draw is the heart put into it.
