MediaVision Blog : Search Engine Marketing

Firstly, I am an Account Manager. In a nutshell, that means, I look after my wonderful clients and make sure they remain happy. This involves communication, reporting and constant interaction; if their site is doing well and they are maximising return on investment, then we are doing our job. It’s all about the client and their needs and this requires a whole lot of preparation, time management and general nagging (in a positive way, of course).

All the hard work that my team churns out for each client has to be bubble wrapped and delivered to the relevant client. If a client is unhappy, it goes back to production for correction. It’s the constant flow that is important with as few glitches as possible, making open communication paramount and transparency the essence of all we do as a company.

That’s what makes us the best Search Engine Marketing Company in the universe.

Another area that I am involved in is Social Media Marketing (SMM). Considering we have just recently started to dabble in this new and exiting arena, I would like to highlight some factors that make Social Media Marketing so important and why I feel it holds a huge piece of the proverbial search marketing/marketing pie!

As the rise of social media changes the relationship between a brand and its audience, it disturbs all traditional marketing and PR activities; turning them on their heads. Social media is a position from which to offer insights and understanding that we never thought we would be able to achieve from more conventional marketing avenues. All this is achieved, through the simple concepts of interaction, information and communication flow.

Every day we have conversations online, people are interacting on subjects that involve their passions and interests. There are thousands of Blogs and an abundant amount of social networks (Facebook, Myspace, Bebo…), forums, wikis, podcasts, vidcasts, picture sharing sites and online communities that discuss a vast array of subjects.

These all share common traits: they are editable, they are participative, they allow audiences to add content and most importantly, they connect people.

Today, brands have a unique access to powerful audience information. Thanks to technology and the increasing speed of the internet, content can be updated regularly and this is sent directly to the audience. Social media makes it easier for consumers to connect effortlessly with people around them by allowing them to publish their views, opinions and thoughts openly, often for all to see. Interestingly enough, conversations regularly revolve around a brand, and that’s where the opportunity is.

If SEO companies start to actively monitor this interaction, a whole new world of opportunity could be opened up: companies just need to recognise that people are engaging with brands with or without them. Another byproduct is that this opens up ways to improve the customer experience and in turn, customer behaviour. Brands are becoming social media platforms rather than destinations.

Social media gurus often know more about a brand or product than the marketing department does, and the risk lies in the fact that negative or positive, they are going to share that information with everyone.

According to Datamonito:

“in just three years time 70% of online content will be user-generated. Technorati now monitors over 81 million blogs and it is estimated that there are 171 million blogs worldwide.”

Social media is now mainstream, so if you don’t jump on the bandwagon soon, you will be left in the dust. My Account Management tasks and SMM go hand in hand, and I’m in a position to ensure that none of my clients is left behind and that each one is maximising on the resources that they have available to them. It’s a symbiotic relationship; almost like a marriage of sorts.

So you ask, who ate all the pies? The brands and companies that are embracing all Search Marketing opportunities (including social media) are. All with our help and support of course!