Social Media vs Search Smackdown: A Battle of Internet Marketing Titans

Social media has quickly established itself as a pivotal and integral part of our everyday personal and business lives, but it’s easy to forget that Twitter and Facebook aren’t everything, particularly when it comes to marketing.

Search remains of paramount importance to the majority of brands. For local business visibility, customers are far more likely to use search engines than they are social media. And while social media excels at brand awareness and consumer interactivity, search marketing has been shown to be more effective for lead generation.

So, which is better? Watch the video below...

Social Media On Your Brand, Your Brand On Social Media

Did you know that 65 percent of customers prefer to contact companies on social media rather than via a call center?

Sounds great, right? Much cheaper for brands, and far easier to manage volume. But when you consider that 60 percent of companies don’t respond to customers via social channels – even when asked a direct question – and that 70 percent of all complaints made by customers on social media go unanswered, you’re left with something of a disconnect.

Indeed, a recent study showed that 35 percent of retailers actually erased a customer’s question on their Facebook Page.

But what about brands that embrace these tools?

Socially engaged customers spend 30 percent more than other folk, and, as importantly, tell an average of 42 people about great customer service. 83 percent of customers who tweeted a complaint loved it when a brand responded, and customers spend 21 percent more on average on companies who provide fantastic service and support.

Email Marketing Converts Better Than Search, Social Media, Says Study

Did you know that the projected spending on email marketing is expected to rise to $2.5 billion by 2016?

Yep, despite what you might have heard email is alive and well – in fact, it’s thriving. A new study has shown that email outperforms both search and social media for average add to shopping cart rates and average conversions per session.

The best strategy? Use all three in your marketing campaigns.