Just a couple years back, the best marketing tool online is SEO. SEO is still powerful, but businesses are gradually realizing that social media marketing seem to be benefiting them more. The reasons for this lie in the major differences between SEO and social networking.

First of all, SEO is all about automation, whereas social media is all about conversations. The latter focuses on real, honest, and actual conversations. That’s something that cannot be automated. No amount of algorithms can measure the value and depth of real conversations.

Second, SEOs are one-sided, whereas social media marketing is not just about communicating and selling; it’s also about listening to consumers. And when you listen to consumers, you know what to respond. By responding, you also get to build trust between you and your consumers.

Third, social networking is all about sharing. The more you share, open up, and engage, the more you will succeed. On the other hand, SEO is all about keeping your techniques to yourself. This makes SEO far more complicated and competitive, while the other one is comfortable, engaging, and friendly. Read the rest of this entry »