Social Media: Who Should be Marketing in Social Media?
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Written By Noah Mallin | March 9, 2009 | Share This
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A few weeks ago I posted about the different meanings of social media marketing – to some folks it means things like banner ads on Facebook while to others it can encompass conversations on Twitter. This difference in approach is leading some to ask whether certain folks have any right to meddle in the primal forces of social media that they barely understand. Jason Falls, for instance, says that you shouldn’t trust SMM from your SEO Consultant.
I can dig where Jason is coming from here. After all, you don’t want your podiatrists giving you an eye exam, or your gastroenterologist to perform brain surgery on you. However, just as you could find all of these doctor types ensconced in a state of the art medical facility, a really good marketing firm can likewise meet your SEO needs as well as your search marketing and social media marketing requirements. In fact, contrary to the jack-of-all-trades viewpoint, this can be the best way to go for most big brands.
The reason why is simple. Just as with great medical care you ultimately want to have a doctor in charge who sees how all of the other pieces fit into the overall quality of your health, so too do you want a marketer who understands how to make sure your brand’s messaging and values are being transmitted across everything they do.
While a specific expert may be looking at the scientific approaches to building relevant site traffic through SEO, and another expert may be figuring out how to optimize your paid search metrics to get the most from your campaign, a social media expert can initiate and monitor conversations and interest and interactions across social media properties all under the umbrella of a clear brand voice and message.
The common denominator that these have in common, as Falls notes, is search. Social media platforms, profiles, and content all rank well within search engine results. So although you may not want to approach a social media engagement in the same way you might SEO, it helps to have a search perspective to build those profiles and to understand how to tie those interactions back to your overall brand goals.
While a PR agency may indeed understand how to talk about your brand and even how to link that talk back to specific brand initiatives, adding search and marketing expertise to the mix from a high-level viewpoint is the best way to line everything up with a brand’s ultimate business goals.
Questions or comments? Feel free to leave them here or check out Reprise Media folks on Twitter.
Topics: Social Media |