Column: Content is currency

I recently had an interesting discussion with a colleague about whether SEO (search engine optimization) is merely another form of content marketing. I must admit, I”™m not sure they are very different at this point.

In its simplest form, SEO involves the generation of keywords and their repeated placement within titles, domain names (when possible), articles, websites, blogs, comments and links throughout the social media environment in the attainment of a higher ranking in most search engines, most notably Google. (Keywords are generally defined as the search phrase consisting of one to five words that people use when utilizing a search engine.)

The goal of most SEO campaigns is to be found via an organic search at the top of page one on Google. Depending on many criteria, including the popularity of the keyword itself, this can be a very time-consuming and expensive proposition.

Content marketing is about the creation of compelling content and the continuing reinforcement of a brand. The most effective content-marketing strategies incorporate keywords and utilize a variety of different modalities including white papers, webinars, blogs, email marketing, social media, images, slideshows, podcasts, press releases and many other means to effectively reach a targeted audience. Since people respond differently to the various modalities, it is important to employ at least several of them as part of a campaign since what works for one person may not interest another. Additionally, by using several distinct approaches, you will not bore your audience ”“ a frequent problem for the many companies who rely almost exclusively on email marketing.

Content marketing is about creating great content that people want to read and share. Its value substantially increases when people share it with other people in their social network. It generates followers on many social sites and provides a common thread that engages and ties together an entire audience. And its value ”“ or currency ”“ increases with every share.

Search engine optimization is truly a misnomer. You don”™t optimize search engines; they perform their tasks regardless of any user”™s activity. Instead, you optimize your content for search engines. And this content in actuality is your content marketing.

This is not to say that SEO and content marketing are the same; they are not and both are important. But they do significantly overlap each other. While their objectives differ: ranking and improved search performance versus the creation and sharing of compelling content, one might be construed as being almost a subset of the other. Without great content, SEO will be largely ineffective. Conversely, the lack of SEO will not render content creation unproductive.

I can even extend this reasoning to social media marketing. Despite its many platforms and forms, in large part social marketing requires the sharing of compelling content between followers and subscribers. It”™s how you organically build your audience and reinforce your brand. What generates the initial interest are great headlines but what creates followers is the content (particularly the first two paragraphs) that follows.

All of this does not lessen the importance of social media marketing and SEO. Rather, it denotes the importance of content marketing and the common role that it plays in both of these strategies. Most notably, it highlights the multifaceted purpose of the use of content as the key currency in digital marketing and its importance in the creation of successful online campaigns.

Bruce Newman is the president of wwWebevents.com, a division of The Productivity Institute of L.L.C., and the creator of The Complete Webinar Training Course, an online course that helps companies create and promote highly successful webinars. He can be reached at bnewman@prodinst.com.