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<\/p>\nBoth are inbound.<\/p>\n
The actions and outcomes of social media and SEO are very different. Let\u2019s look at the 9 differences between them.<\/p>\n
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How are they different? Which is better? Which should you use?<\/em><\/p>\n Social media and search engine optimization are both ways to promote articles in content marketing. They are both inbound channels. But they are very different from each other. In fact, social and search are opposites in many ways.<\/p>\n A content marketer does three things: create content, promote content and measure results. Search and social are two of the main ways to promote content.<\/p>\n As you can see from this diagram, they support the funnel in different ways.<\/p>\n First, here\u2019s the big picture:<\/p>\n Go one level deeper and you\u2019ll find that\u00a0the audiences, the actions and the outcomes are all very different.<\/strong><\/p>\n Let\u2019s takes a close look at the major differences between social and search. This post will help you answer the search vs. social question for yourself, decide which content to promote in which channel, how to spend your time and where to set your expectations.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the breakdown of the differences (and similarities) between social media and SEO.<\/p>\n This is the fundamental difference between these two channels. One group is holding a mouse or tapping a screen. The other is typing on a keyboard.<\/p>\n Which topics work well in which channel? Once you have an instinct for it, you\u2019ll know where to promote any piece of content.<\/p>\n Text? Video? Audio? Images? What content marketing formats are best for each channel?<\/p>\n How much time and patience is required? How soon will you see results from search and social?<\/p>\n How much success is possible? What is the upside for the very successful marketer?<\/p>\n Like sprints and marathons, the actions and efforts in search and social are completely different.<\/p>\n The traffic you win from each channel is visible in your Google Analytics. But the number may not be accurate. How do you measure social and search outcomes?<\/p>\n Are you making progress? What goals and KPIs should we be tracking along the way?<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bluecoral.vn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/social-media-vs-seo-2.png\" "\\"\\"")
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\nSEO is about being discovered and getting traffic through search engine rankings. It fills the top of the funnel and creates awareness.<\/li>\n
\nSocial media is about connecting, building relationships and getting traffic from social media networks. It strengthens the middle of the funnel and creates engagement.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n1. Audience and intent: The mindset of your potential visitors<\/h2>\n
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\nYou know a lot about who these people are, but very little about what they are thinking.\u00a0<\/em>They\u2019re clicking around. They\u2019re browsing. That\u2019s why visitors from social media marketing are less likely to act. They were cruising through a social network when they found you. They have weak intent, but they are more likely to share and spread awareness. Social fans and followers often influence potential buyers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
\nYou know a lot about what they are thinking, but very little about who they are.\u00a0<\/em>They just searched. They\u2019re looking for something. That\u2019s why visitors from search are more likely to be ready to buy, but less likely to share and interact. These visitors enter with a specific purpose, need or question. They have strong intent.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n2. Topics: What works where<\/h2>\n
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\nContent that stirs an emotional response often does best, especially emotions such as anxiety, anger and awe. Trending topics often do well in social media.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
\nResearch-based content often performs best, such as detailed, how-to instructional posts and articles that answer common questions. Evergreen topics that don\u2019t quickly go out of style often do well in search engine marketing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n3. Formats: Which types of content will perform<\/h2>\n
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\nVisuals perform best in social media since they help capture the attention in fast moving social streams. Images and video are the most shared content on the web. Posts with images generate the most likes and shares.Punchy, emotional headlines work well.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
\nLong form text performs best in search. The average page that ranks high in Google has 1500+ words. There\u2019s a good reason Google loves Wikipedia: detailed articles. See the\u00a0Ideal Length Guidelines<\/a>\u00a0for more information.Longer descriptive headlines work well.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n4. Speed: How long before you\u2019ll see results<\/h2>\n
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\nAlthough growing a following takes time, social media posts appear instantly and results can happen within minutes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
\nSEO is typically slow and uncertain. Even highly relevant pages take days to get indexed and rank. It often takes years to build up enough credibility to compete for the most valuable phrases.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n5. Upper limits: The size of the prize<\/h2>\n
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\nThere is virtually no limit to the amount of traffic a page can get from social media.<\/em>\u00a0A huge number of people may share a piece of content. If you\u2019ve ever seen the Analytics for content that has \u201cgone viral,\u201d you know just how far and how fast things can spread.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
\nThere is a ceiling to the amount of traffic a page will get from a search engine.\u00a0<\/em>Traffic will never exceed the number of people who search for that phrase each day. The total demand for the topic (the search volume) is the maximum amount of traffic the page will get from search engines.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n6. Durability: How long success will last<\/h2>\n
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\nMost visibility and traffic happens within minutes of posting. Although response may be quick, social media requires a continuous, ongoing effort.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
\nOnce a page is ranking, it may have durable visibility, creating an ongoing, passive source of visitors. Depending on the phrase and the page, high rankings may endure for weeks or months.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n7. Measurement: How to report on success<\/h2>\n
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\nIt\u2019s easy to measure social engagement, but hard to measure reach and impressions.\u00a0<\/em>Shares, likes and comments are all highly visible and can be reported using a tool like\u00a0Buzzsumo<\/a>. Also, each social network offers its own reporting. But it\u2019s hard to measure reach. The total visibility and traffic of all social activity is not easy to report on. There are many platforms and each has its own reports. Social traffic reports in Google Analytics are not very accurate.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bluecoral.vn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/social-media-vs-seo-3.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
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\nIt\u2019s easy to measure the reach, but harder to measure engagement.\u00a0<\/em>The total visibility and traffic from search is in your Queries report, which shows keyphrase, impressions and clicks. It\u2019s easy to\u00a0check your rankings for every phrase<\/a>, but it\u2019s harder to measure engagement. Behavior metrics per keyword are not provided, so you never know which keyphrase led to which activity on your website.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bluecoral.vn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/social-media-vs-seo-4.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\n8. KPIs: Those little goals on the path to success<\/h2>\n
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\nFollowers are the most obvious and visible way to measure growth. But there\u2019s more to life than followers\u2026\u00a0<\/em>Build relationships, have meaningful conversations and grow your network. Genuine friendships are the best outcome of social media. Don\u2019t be distracted by vanity metrics.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
\nLinks are the greatest indication of long term success. But there\u2019s more to life than links\u2026\u00a0<\/em>Rankings are more important. But even rankings aren\u2019t your ultimate goal. You\u2019re looking for traffic, a steady stream of targeted visitors. Don\u2019t be distracted by vanity metrics.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n9. Interdependence<\/h2>\n
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