The Power of Brand in Modern Marketing
If you haven’t heard, SiteCrafting is celebrating 25 years in business. Part of our celebration included a remodel and redesign of our offices in Tacoma. And like any good remodel, we decided to purge our office and storage unit of all the things we’ve held onto for the past 25 years, including boxes of the Book of Lists and boxes of print public relations materials.
It got us thinking about the shifts in our industry, the ever-changing landscape of marketing and what we can learn from our own archives?
First of All, What’s the Book of Lists?
The Book of Lists was a print publication that compiled lists of businesses and it was the way to measure your ranking against other businesses and stay top of mind with clients, colleagues and prospective clients.
Basically, it was an early search engine result, showcasing the businesses that knew that the Book of Lists was a powerful tool in attracting potential business.
And then, everyone started turning toward the internet.
“The Internet – It May Catch On” That’s the headline of an article in the Winter/Spring 2014 issue of Washington Business Magazine, featuring our very own Brian Forth. While it sounds silly now, in 2014 businesses were just beginning to harness the power of having their own web presence. From the early days of keyword stuffing to AI and the sophisticated algorithms of today, let’s take a walk down memory lane.
Search Engine Optimization: Then & Now
25 years ago Google was just starting to power search results on the internet. That meant SEO was simpler. Basic website structure, the right keywords and good links were all a marketer needed to make sure your website showed up in search results.
Now, Google truly dominates search. The algorithms are much more advanced, using Natural Language Processing and looking at so much more than on-page content are factors that determine where your website appears in the search results. Instead of stuffing keywords at the bottom of the page, we now need to provide unique valuable content and demonstrate expertise. Even with content, expertise and a good user experience, it can still be incredibly difficult to show up for keywords.
Content Marketing
In the past, content about your business used to happen in print and you often relied on public relations or advertising to get information out into the world. But the rise of the internet put the power of publishing into the hands of anyone who could create a website, blog or social media post.
Suddenly content was everywhere. We like to think of the early 2000s as the golden age of influencer marketing. Blogs were huge and bloggers could write about any topic or industry and promote the brands, products and services they thought were most valuable.
At the same time, social media also provided another platform for people to post and create content.
Social is the New Search
Social media started as a way for people to connect, regardless of where they were. And as multiple platforms, like Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn, took off, businesses realized they could use it as another channel to promote themselves and their business. Many business owners dismissed social media as a “fad” or just used it to drive traffic to their website.
Now, social is one of the more powerful search engines. In 2021, TikTok dethroned Google as the most popular domain. And recent surveys show that 40% of Gen-Z prefers TikTok as a search engine over Google.
Part of this shift is not just the audience but also the fact that Google continues to change their algorithm, making it hard for SEOs and marketers to keep up with ever-changing guidelines about how to optimize content and show up in search results.
Let’s not forget about AI
There hasn’t been a single webinar, group chat or SEO conversation that I’ve been a part of in the past year that hasn’t focused on how AI is changing the industry.
When it comes to SEO, Google has started experimenting and showing AI-generated results that are based on more than just the keyword you typed in the search bar. They want to personalize and customize the results for you based on where you’re located and what you’ve searched before. There are also AI tools that can do more in-depth searches for you.
AI is also impacting both social and content marketing. What used to take us days of brainstorming, research and writing content, you can do in a matter of minutes using tools like ChatGPT or Bard.
Our stance on AI is that it can be an amazing tool to help your teams be more efficient but it’s not something to hang your entire strategy on. Just think, if you and your competitors are using ChatGPT to write a blog post about the same topic, how will you continue to stand out in the very crowded search results room?
The Answer: Brand
What we’re seeing now is that advertising, social, and PR are all smashing together and it’s difficult to figure out which strategy or channel is going to deliver the best results. However, as we reflect on the past 25 years, this isn’t anything new.
As Jen, our Brand Manager, likes to say, “I’m not new to this, I’m true to this.”
And the truth is, your brand is still your biggest asset and instead of chasing waterfalls, creating a holistic marketing strategy is the key. SEO, Ads, Social, and PR are all pieces of the pie and we believe that connecting with your audience will bring better results than chasing conversion.
