SEO vs Social Media: Which is Better?

So, you start a blog. You have high-quality content that people want to read. But the real trouble is connecting your content to your readers. To help your blog thrive, you need a good digital marketing strategy. Because with a good system, you can drive more lifelong readers to your website at a low cost and achieve blogging success!

But, how do you do this? There are so many digital marketing strategies out there. So, finding the right one can be a challenge. Social media marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) are the two main ways bloggers market their content. Today, we’re exploring these two strategies to determine which is best for building your online audience.

What is SEO and How it Works?

SEO is the process of optimizing your website so that Google places your content at the top of the search engine results pages. When someone searches a question or topic related to your blog post, Google will rank you high if your content is proven to be relevant, trustworthy, and authoritative. The trick is to show search engines you have these three key qualities by working the algorithm.

SEO helps you gain followers organically as people in your niche search topics related to your blogs, products, or services. When your content appears on the first search results page, users know your blog post probably fills their need. This helps build brand awareness, increase website traffic, and boost sales.

A good place to get started with SEO is to read articles on SEO best practices for bloggers. These guides can walk you through the steps needed to get better optimized. You can also check out optimization services that can handle the hard optimization work for you.

When you grow a brand presence on Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest, Instagram, or any other channel, this is called social media marketing. Your posts populate as suggested content to users because of their other interactions on the platform. When the title tag on your social media content grabs their attention, they follow you on socials and visit your website.

This boosts traffic and readership. You get to develop relationships with your audience, which turns them into loyal followers. Launching social media marketing campaigns is an extremely lucrative way to boost business and drive more web traffic.

SEO vs Social Media Marketing

Now that you understand what SEO and social media marketing are, let’s talk about the differences between the two. A great way of selecting the best marketing strategy for your blog is to understand the different ways followers find, interact, and consume your content.

Finding Content:

One difference between SEO and social media marketing is how followers look for and find your content. When people are searching on Google, they are looking for specific information or the answer to a question. So, the title tags and meta description should show your content will provide users with the valuable and informative content they’re looking for.

Social media attracts users who want to connect with people and absorb entertaining content. This means they’re drawn to emotional headlines that are humorous, sentimental, or pressing.

Reader’s Intention:

Readers have different goals when on a search engine than on a social media platform. People search on Google because they want answers. They have a specific piece of information they’re looking for, and your blog post must provide that exact content.

On social media, user goals are much looser. They simply want to explore and discover new content. Your social posts should be quick to digest and they should elicit emotion and develop intrigue.

Purpose:

As a blogger, there is a place for SEO and social media, but the purpose is different for each. A blogger uses SEO to build their integrity on the web. High search engine ranking tells users your content is meaningful and credible. So, when you manage SEO, you’re really managing your authority in your niche.

On social media platforms, however, you’re managing your loyalty and community. When building your blog as a business or your status as a micro-influencer, maintaining your family of followers is vital.

Analytics:

Another difference between SEO and social media marketing is the variation in analytics response. When you post on social media, you can almost immediately see what works and what doesn’t.

With SEO, the analytics take time to populate. When you post an article, you won’t see immediate search engine results. Instead, you’ll have to map your increased traffic over time and do a little more digging to understand where the growth is coming from.

Number of Algorithms:

Every time you jump to a new social platform whether it is Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest, you’ll have a new algorithm to dissect to achieve marketing success.

When you’re working with search engine optimization, you have comparably few algorithms to deal with. Most people focus on Google, because other search engines like Bing and DuckDuckGo only make up 7% of the search engine user base. So, when using an SEO marketing strategy, you just have to work with one algorithm.

Short and Long Term Benefit:

The short and long-term benefits of each marketing strategy differ. When optimizing a blog post, you’re playing the long game. It won’t rank right away, but once it does, it’ll stick at the top of the SERPs.

Social media has immediate short-term benefits. The content goes out and if it’s exciting and memorable, users will like, share, and comment. But, that fame quickly dwindles as more content floods the platform.

How SEO and Social Media Work Together?

It’s clear that search engine optimization and social media marketing vary in many ways. So, what is the better strategy? The truth is, you need both. Because the two paths benefit your blog in different ways.

Brand Strategy:

With social media, you have a consistent stream of communication with your followers. They can help you refine your brand strategy and niche to be the most successful.

Link Building:

As you build an audience and interact in your niche on social channels, you’ll gain credibility in the space. People will start thinking of you as an authority, so when other bloggers need sources, they’ll link to you. This will increase the number of external links to your site and drive you up those SERPs.

Content Promotion:

Social media is the perfect place to market your content. You can post your content with a photo, exciting title tags, and meta descriptions. In turn, social media users will find your content through sources they already follow or their suggested feed.

Driving Traffic:

The best way that social media and SEO work together is to drive traffic. Social media drives traffic to your website. Then, the high traffic on your website boosts your SEO. And oppositely, users who love your website will help you build a following on social media by supporting and sharing your posts.

• “SEO and social media marketing work together to help you refine your brand strategy, link build, content market, and, most importantly, drive more traffic to your website!”

Conclusion:

With a great social media marketing plan and a well-optimized website, you’ll see your blog soar to new heights. It’s a lot of work, but it’ll be well worth it to see your blogging goals become a reality. If you want some help while you handle some social media marketing, don’t forget that InfluencerSEO has optimization packages that fast-track you to full website optimization! So, what are you waiting for? Let’s get optimizing!