The battle between SEOs and Social Media Purists has been a battle that has waged through out the history of the internet (although different terms existed for both of these). SEOs (Search Engine Optimizers) basically are more technically savvy people who pride themselves on being able to correctly assess how search engines find your specific page. Social Media Gurus tend to preach about community, crowdsourcing , and leveraging online communities to serve a greater purpose.
Needless to say these two groups tend to run contrary to one another. Although their is quite a bit of intermixing, one major hurdle remains...SEOs remain largely rooted in the tech world while most Social Media Gurus have a marketing/PR background. This can lead to some awkward conversations at Tweet ups 
. Mostly because neither has any idea about what the other is talking about. I've done both. I've run an SM campaign AND SEO campaign simultaneously (along with each individually).
Conducting web strategy is a tricky process and often you need every edge that you can garner. So I try to learn from both sides of the coin. However, I remain a horrible programmer however...and am the process of wading my way through Thesis . Most would agree I'm more of a marketing guy then a programmer. Although, I occasionally have to don my technical cap. Fortunately, I know some great people from which I can rely on to help guide me through writing my "loose" coding.
I've noticed a lot of SM/Marketing types tend to snub SEOs. Bad idea. A great SEO can turn your site around in a hurry (and for a lot less money then a direct marketing campaign). However, these same techniques that SEOs use to garner legitimate web-traffic...are a tad bit messier when it comes to social media.
Ask an average Digg user what they think of an SEO person...and if they don't say that they are the "Devil Incarnate" I will be surprised. The misconception is that SEOs are trying to game Social Media. Is this true? In some cases no, and in some cases ABSOLUTELY. It really just comes down to the person. The problem is you can't optimize your way into Social Media spaces like Twitter. Most SEOs quickly realize this and abandon their attempts to do so. It's the ones that don't that end up giving those who do get Social Media a bad name.
Social Media people don't always have the kindest thing to say about those involved in SEO. I mean it's tech vs marketing to some extent, and the bad blood can carry over. However, this kind of snubbing needs to stop. Both parties provide an invaluable service to their respective companies. So befriend the gamers, try and show them the error of their ways...and realize a lot of the SEO people are trying to do the same thing you are: they just come from a different background.
SEO success is about building a system to optimize your results. Social Media success is about building a community. Both have value...so why don't you shake hands and play nice?
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tagged as community, Marketing, optimization, SEO, Social Media, Thesis, web 2.0, web strategy
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