SEO, PPC and Social Media Tools and Tactics
Search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click advertising (PPC), and social media branding are B2B content marketers’ main tactics in our digital marketing age. In this first of three articles, learn each tactic’s? advantages and disadvantages and when to use each of them.
Now that we’ve reached the point where virtually all marketing is digital marketing, online channels offer B2B content marketers a bewildering assortment of options for brand and product promotion. While successful content strategies should evaluate all these options and select the most effective venues, sorting them out can get confusing.
Three broad tactical alternatives that? B2B brands can embrace include search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) advertising and social media branding. Since it can be challenging to differentiate between them, and determine when to use them, let's review the background of all three options.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
From the moment search engines started popping up in the mid-90s, website administrators started looking for ways to attract their attention. Google gradually came to dominate the search engine market because it evaluated each web page’s relevance using its PageRank algorithm.
Researchers embraced Google’s page rankings, while marketers realized that PageRank forced them to compete for the top rank to get their brands noticed. Although some content creators still focus on keyword stuffing and other simplistic tactics, PageRank’s whole point is to evaluate pages based on their quality and on popularity, measured by backlinks.
You Don’t Have to Pay for It
The nice thing about SEO is you don’t have to pay for it. It’s by far the best way draw organic traffic to your brand’s site. SEO can also be frustrating, because its results are both gradual and unpredictable.
It takes patience to nurture organic page traffic through SEO. Senior management is usually demanding consistent, measurable, short-term results.
That can make the upfront effort to optimize content for SEO difficult to justify. Even so, when done well, no other tactic generates more sustainable results or boosts your brand’s credibility as effectively.
So, brands use SEO to draw organic traffic that establishes robust, long-term brand awareness and credibility. Those who use it successfully focus on creating excellent content that is well-crafted and relevant to their target audience.
Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising
Once marketers recognized the value of positioning their messaging on search engines, it was only a matter of time before search engines saw the opportunity to sell ad space. The Open Text Index was among the first search engines to adopt this business model in the mid-90s.
Google WordAds followed suit at the turn of the millennium. It enabled advertisers to bid for keywords, and brands only had to pay when a user clicked on each ad.
Pay-per-click advertising spread beyond the search engine space and into social media platforms, including here at LinkedIn, along with Facebook and Twitter. Platforms found ways to identify and target demographics, interests and behaviours, enabling advertisers to focus their messaging with uncanny precision.
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Instant Traffic and Tangible Results
The immediate results PPC ads generate when well executed enables brands to generate instant traffic and deliver tangible, short-term results. It’s more proactive and focused than SEO, enabling B2B content marketers to reach specific decision makers and influencers in targeted vertical industries.
The obvious downside of PPC advertising is that the first "P" stands for "paid. Not only is your brand shelling out hard dollars for clicks, it’s bidding against its competitors for the most relevant industry keywords.
These traits makes PPC advertising the go-to strategy for quick lead generation and for targeting defined demographics. PPC is also a great way for your team to address seasonal demand for your products and to A/B test content and topic options.
Social Media Branding
Social media platforms began to emerge in the early 2000s. LinkedIn was one of the first of these networks, emphasizing professional networking, content sharing and job search for professional staff.
Facebook and Twitter followed about five years later, along with image and smartphone-based platforms like Instagram, Snapchat and Pinterest. B2B brands recognized the value of influencers, user-generated content and precise analytical tools.
B2B content marketers consider LinkedIn and other mainstream social media platforms too be the best way to build customer relationships online. Your team can use them to foster community engagement and deliver customer service.
Ideal Forum for Storytelling
Social media platforms are an ideal forum for storytelling. The provide a unique opportunity to establish and express a relatable personality for your B2B brand.
Visual content shines on social media, and has the potential to go viral. When well-managed and on-brand, social media influencer marketing can boost your reputation and credibility while reaching untapped audiences.
Know Your Tools
Because each of these digital marketing channels has pros, cons and use cases, nearly all B2B content marketing teams blend all of these online tactics together. In our next edition, we’ll address how to determine the most effective tactical combination for your B2B content strategy and model buyer journey.
As with any toolkit, it’s important to understand, not only how each tool works, but when and where to use it. Check this space for the next two weeks for some pointers on boosting your brand’s online effectiveness and meeting your potential clients’ needs.
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