So, Social Media or SEO – that is the question. In order to make the right choice we must first put the two advertising mediums into perspective. To do this, let’s analyze the buying cycle – the process of buying.
• The process of buying consists of these steps:
Problem Recognition (awareness of need) – Imagine you are sitting at home watching a movie. You are completely content until all of a sudden you see a Subway commercial and realize that you are hungry. This is awareness marketing, you make your customers recognize that they have a problem. Luckily for them you also have a solution. Traditionally awareness marketing was done through media such as TV, Radio, Newspaper and Outdoor advertising. The cost of such advertising is quiet high and the targeting is not great. Social Media such as Facebook and Twitter provide a great alternative. You can learn more about Social Media Marketing here.
• Information Search and evaluation of alternatives – Once customers are aware of a need, over 80% will conduct research. Today the majority of research is done online and more specifically on Google. For this reason it is crucial to rank well on the big search engines such as Google, Yahoo! and Bing. High ranking is achieved through Search Engine Optimization. To learn more about SEO click here.
• Purchase decision and Purchase – in most case your website is the place where Purchase Decision and possibly the Purchase itself take place. In order to maximize returns you must employ a verity of tools that will track the performance of your pages and forms. Through proper use of these tools you can see what aspects of the website are underperforming and improve them, or, see what performs very well and direct more traffic to these locations.
Internet Marketing allows you to influence consumers at every stage of the buying cycle and for this reason is the fastest growing advertising medium.