On Paid Search vs Social Media Spending

Fellow Sage team member Greg Tirico posted an interesting link to an article which suggests that small and medium businesses are beginning to favor social media spending over paid search.

I have always thought of paid search (and even SEO) as a mistake in the consulting profession because it tends to lead to poor customer acquistion. In other words, it produces more D and F customers than A or B customers.

By their very nature web search prospects are in the gather information step in the buying process. They tend to be tire kickers who are generally looking at buying more on (pun intended) low price rather than a long-term relationship.

I think social media has the potential to change this because it turns search on it head. Instead of looking for people who already have their hand in the air (an intercept lead), social media allows the providers to look for people who have unrecognized need.

In my opinion, it is a much better place to spending marketing dollars.

ET HORA LIBELLUM DELENDA EST

Tags: , , ,

Ed Kless

Ed Kless joined Sage in July of 2003 and is currently the senior director of partner development and strategy.

Email | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn

http://edkless.com
Previous
Previous

If you say "Value Billing" you are already wrong

Next
Next

Holland & Knight's Lobby Division Trashes Timesheets