The impact of social media on search is only just starting to be felt and 2011 is sure to be a transformative year
new media age has always been an advocate of the need for digital specialists. The speed of change in this industry makes their existence crucial. This, of course, is played out against a background of increasing integration of all marketing disciplines by clients and agencies alike. But integration is at its best when driven by necessity rather than lip service.
Nowhere is this more obvious than search marketing. It has been the most significant channel of online marketing for so long, you’d expect it to be in comfortable middle age. Far from it, finds our Search Special. Argos head of search Gemma Russo goes so far as to say, “I’d be surprised if anyone’s campaign reaches maturity during 2011.”
That search marketing is in the middle of a new wave of innovation and breakneck-speed development is made clear by everyone you speak to in the industry. The impact of the Microsoft Bing and Yahoo search alliance is a factor, on top of the search engines’ constant development of their algorithms.
Arguably, though, the biggest catalysts of change are social media and mobile. The impact of the former on search is only just starting to be felt and 2011 is sure to be a transformative year. Their increasingly entwined relationship needs to inform your marketing strategy. It’s why agencies such as iCrossing, TBG, iSpy and Tamar, with their heritage in search, have been so quick to integrate social media. It’s why you should be wary of social media specialists that don’t have expertise in search.
Surely a similar approach to mobile can’t be far off? As consumers increasingly move onto the mobile internet, mobile search is the latest headache for brands and agencies. The three continue to collide, as our story on the UK launch of Facebook Deals shows.
Mobile is perhaps the last of the three platforms to remain the domain of specialists. This can’t continue for very long. Perhaps more than any other part of your digital marketing strategy, when it comes to mobile, search and social media, integration isn’t just preferable, it’s critical.
