Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media and Online Reputation Management (ORM) are sometimes confused, with the great number of people think that these three are same. Moreover, there is some obvious cross-over, the three have entirely different focuses and follow very different outcomes. Here, in this article, we are about to discuss a little more about their importance and uses.

It is said search engine optimization, online reputation management and social media are the trinity of internet marketing. Let us discuss a little about SEO, Social Media and ORM first.

Why Search Engine Optimization?

SEO is generally concerned about getting a website rank in search engines or to rank better for products and/or services related search terms. It is nothing but a process of increasing the chances of your website to be listed in the first page or first in the search results of popular search engines, such as Google, Yahoo, Bing and so forth.

• Importance of SEO: It is a viable marketing outlet that can bring your business more qualified leads as well as customers. It can have better return on investment than traditional forms of marketing, for example television and/or print advertisement. It is good for business visibility and branding. SEO can bring traffic to business and give unmatched insight into customers.

Why Social Media Marketing?

Social media marketing is a bunch of techniques and strategies for promoting awareness of a brand, publication, product, etc. (the brand, publication or product can be personal or for business), on social media, particularly by encouraging the sharing of content that help attracts the end number of people to a specific website.

• Importance Of Social Media: Social media sometimes used for marketing, especially for online marketing, then social media transformed its name as social media marketing. It can increase your brand awareness. Social media can help online marketing to validate the brands. When your company’s social media presence executed correctly, it tells customers that your company’s brand is active and focused on thriving communication with the customers. It provides a targeted way to promote your brand to your potential customers. It can boost traffic to your individual or business website, grow a huge community of fans and followers and can quickly generate new business. It can help your search ranking as well.

Why Online Reputation Management?

Online reputation management is about improving your personal or business name or good standing of your brand. This is by countering or eliminating the negative feedback found in the internet – defeating them with more positive feedback, comments or reviews to improve your credibility and customers’ trust on your name or brand.

• Importance of ORM: Online reputation is your image on internet. In these days, online reputation has become imperative for business of all types for monitoring, identifying and influencing the digital reputation of brands. It is important and not just about protecting what you already have, but using your online reputation as a part of your marketing campaign to drive new business and increase sales.

The technology around us is developing at an exponential rate. At no point in human history have we had the real capability as both organizations as well as individuals to reach, engage, interact and connect with end number of people, locally and globally, and certainly in real time. Digital media has out and out transformed the concept of modern marketing, making it more condemnatory than ever for business organization and institutions both small and large to have a voice within the online realm.

Digital media and marketing, for instance, search engine optimization, social media marketing and online reputation management have proven its value to businesses of all sizes and types by offering the following powerful features.

• Instant communication – Digital media and marketing allows real-time conversions between business and organizations and their customers and members.
• Feedback – Businesses can get qualitative and quantitative information about the things going on the targeted market by engaging and requesting for feedback.
• Advertising – Digital media provides a targeted way to promote your brand name to potential customers.

Benefits of Using SEO, Social Media and ORM

When it comes to increasing search ranking, promoting business and building positive awareness, they take lot of time and effort to build as well as maintain company’s online reputation. SEO, Social Media and ORM can give that. The benefits are:

• Help increase traffic, i.e. visitors to the targeted website and exposure.
• Encourage followers and fans.
• Improve search ranking.
• Build online reputation, build name and brand value.
• Expand business and improve sales.
• Give marketplace insight.
• Build trust and credibility.

SEO and Social Media is not online reputation management. No doubt, reputation management services include SEO and social media component. But, when it comes to comprehensive online reputation management campaigns, SEO is far from the whole story. Let us take a look at the key differences of SEO, Social Media and Online Reputation Management.

To understand the basic differences of SEO, Social Media and ORM, we need to understand the buyers’ journey. The buyers’ journey consists of three important stages:

• Awareness: The buyers can easily articulate a need or a problem, but not even aware of any possible solution. He or she likes to go to southeast Asia but may or may not have ideas where to stay or what to do there, so he or she can search for “destination in Southeast Asia,” “things to do in Southeast Asia,” etc.
• Consideration: He or she now knows to have a week to spend and a specific budget in mind, but does need to create an itinerary, like the place to visit, thins to do, food to eat, things to buy etc. He or she searches for “things to do in Hong Kong” and “motels or restaurants in Shanghai”.
• Decision: The buyer has an itinerary and needs to find particular providers in his or her destinations, like “Hyatt in Hong Kong,” “cable car in Hong Kong,” “CCTV Tower in Shanghai,” etc.

Last, but certainly not the least, online reputation management often uses what might be considered or something hardball tactics that fall outside the purview of conventional SEO and Social Media. Whether your business lives and dies by reviews on impactful online publications, then you need to optimize such sites properly and address those negative entries, like defamatory remarks, copied content, improper material etc. that you do not control.