Search vs. Social: Where Should Your Inbound Marketing Spend Go?

It’s the inbound marketing world’s version of the Yankees vs. the Red Sox, the Packers vs. the Bears, or for those whose tastes run in a somewhat more fictional direction, Dwight Schrute vs. Jim Halpert (courtesy of The Office).

Indeed, like those other clashes, the search vs. social battle has been raging for decades. Some people proclaim that search is king and social is dead. Others just as passionately declare that social rocks and search should be put out to pasture.

To first help settle this feud, let’s look at the key reasons why search is not just alive and well, but it’s thriving and there’s no slowdown in sight:

A report by Econsultancy revealed that 61 percent of customers use search to learn about products and businesses. And when 6 in 10 customers are doing something, it’s not a blip or an outlier. It’s the norm.

Keywords (a.k.a. search terms) provide valuable insights into what customers are searching for and why. These insights can support everything from product development to marketing messaging to customer service policies, and more.

If securing highly competitive keywords is impossible (e.g. “new car” or “pet supplies”), businesses can hop on the pay-per-click bus and appear on page 1 in a matter of hours.

And what about the other side? Don’t worry, we’re not leaving social out of the spotlight. Here’s what to love:

Generating likes, upvotes, positive comments, fans, follows and shares helps a business spread the word about its brand and products, plus carries the added weight of being peer-influenced.

Social makes it much faster and easier to address and (ideally) neutralize negative comments. As noted by kissmetrics.com: “Online reputation management is a thriving service thanks to rip off reports, bad reviews, and other damaging articles about a business…whenever you are presented criticism on social media, however, you will have a chance to turn those complaints into compliments by responding back to them in real time”.

Just as businesses can buy their way into search engine results, they can also buy their way into social (e.g. promoted Tweets, Facebook ads, etc.).

The Bottom Line

Unlike the disputes we mentioned at the beginning of this article, the search vs. social debate is unnecessary: because it’s not an either/or thing, and victory by one side doesn’t require defeat by the other. Smart businesses are BOTH leveraging social and search, because when they’re properly integrated into the overall inbound marketing mix, they deliver substantial and sustained ROI.

To learn how to reap these rewards in your business, contact the Leap Clixx team today. Your consultation with us is free.

Speaking of search engine marketing, have you considered adding AdWords to your inbound marketing strategy? Check out our FREE eBook to learn more now: “Why Google AdWords Should Be Part of Your Inbound Marketing Strategy“.