Ninja M. / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA

There are plenty of discussions out there that you’ll find on the Internet and on social media platforms discussing SEO, social media marketing, and what would be better for marketing. But rarely, if ever, do people who start the discussions ask the audience, group members, or loyal readers what they prefer, or what’s working best for them. Self-proclaimed social media gurus live and die by social media marketing, but they never ask marketers, business owners, or even the individual blogger what social media platform is bringing in the most traffic. SEO has proved to be effective for businesses, but how effective?

As we all know and have heard, what works for one business, might not work for the other. Some industries thrive off of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, while other, more traditional industries still get their best results through SEO and websites. Bloggers can also be part of the discussion as the topic they write about greatly affects how their marketing approach will be. When it comes to talking about products, web based content would be most preferred with social media reinforcing the content that is being shared. Law offices, doctors offices, and other services that can’t be explained through pictures and 140 character tweets would fair better by using SEO and websites filled with content to ensure the potential customer that they’re making the right decision.

So what are your thoughts on SEO and SMM? Which do you prefer and why? Do you incorporate both into your marketing strategy? Which is seeing better results? It’s one thing to say social media marketing is better than SEO, but it’s quite another to hear what’s really being the more effective strategy for small and big businesses alike. Understanding what’s working best is how everyone can profit in the end. At the end of the day, both SEO and SMM are taking up your time and money, but which one is worth the investment? Finding out what works best will save you a lot in terms of money and time, and with marketing being an integral part of a business strategy, it’s every important to learn what is working best in your industry and what isn’t.