There are way too many abbreviations, jargon and technical terms these days, especially in the world of social media and internet marketing. And especially since social media is a big thing and many companies have their own in-house teams or have acquired the services of a specialized agency. I feel confused just listening to people talk about them! And I haven’t even started dabbling in them yet.
Until today.
Moving Forward.
My manager has received instructions from senior management that they will be discontinuing the services rendered by an SEO Specialist for one of our websites. Henceforth, the plan is to build our own in-house social media and website support team, and quite likely to grow from there. We have no qualms on doing so. We have no problem taking over and running the show ourselves. The obstacle that we are facing now is beefing up our SEO knowledge! We know what the abbreviation of SEO is (Search Engine Optimization), and we know what it means. But we are not experts in the field. Which means that we need to enroll ourselves in online courses and training programs to boost our SEO knowledge and information database.
Who would have thought that the world would move so far forward where technology became the VIP in the business world? Smartphones, tablets, phablets, electronically-smart tech watches, gaming consoles, and other miscellaneous tech gadgets have taken over our lives, for both good and evil. Environmental activists use it to reach out and raise awareness. Terrorists use it to spread their teaching and ideologies in the hopes of recruiting new fighters. Technology has gotten so powerful that everyone is powerless to say no. Even parents have a hard time saying no to their children when they ask for an iPhone to compete with their classmates!
As technology is not easily contained, we now have to learn to roll with it. We have to learn to work with it, or find a way to work around it. But we can no longer ignore it and pray that it will go away and leave us alone. We can only move forward with it, accept it for its flaws and benefits, and understand that it will only do what we want it to do if we knew what we want to do with it. That sentence itself was a little confusing, but that’s the raw truth. Technology is here to stay. And so are its children (internet browsers and its large capacity of websites) and their grandchildren (SEM, SEO, Google AdWords, SMM and so on).
There is a difference between the three abbreviations below though:
Glossary:
- SEM – Search Engine Marketing
- SEO – Search Engine Optimization
- SMM – Social Media Marketing
Definitions:
SEM (Search Engine Marketing) is also known as ‘sponsored listings’, which involves the placement of targeted advertisements in a user’s search engine results. It is based on a bidding system where your paid ads will only be visible to users who meet certain location and demographic criteria. Also, because you only pay when users click on your ads, SEM advertising is one of the most efficient marketing strategies today.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a series of tactics that are aimed towards increasing your website’s visibility in search engine results. This means improving your chances of being found when users are searching for specific items, be it a service you provide or a product that you are selling, or it could even be just a blog that you manage for the entertainment and purpose of others. With a combo of on-site and off-site factors, the goal of an SEO campaign is to drive high traffic to your website, outrank your competitors and win new customers and/or clients.
SMM (Social Media Marketing) is important for businesses and companies to reach their current and potential customers and/or clients. Maintaining an active social media presence has since become a valuable part of reach expansion and trust establishment on the Web. Active Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Instagram accounts allow you to build your own reputation and brand, establishing a relationship with your customers and/or clients, and setting your business apart from the competition.
Sourced from: AdviceMedia | MedNet.
So with all these in mind, have you thought about improving your business yet?
SHEU QUEN | THE RACONTEUR 