This is a guest post from Ryan, an SEO working for stickers company AJS Labels.

More often than not you will find that SEO’s are working against Social Media experts rather than alongside them. The whole VS argument has been going on for a while now but where does it come from and what are the reasons why they are often pitted against one another, is it all down to the SEO?

Money

It’s the stuff that drives the world right? Arguments over pay is often the reason that SEO’s dislike Social Media. According to most people social media takes the least effort to pull off effectively yet it pays a lot more which of course doesn’t sit well with an SEO Engineer.  If this is the reason you are annoyed at your Social peers then you need to take it up with the boss of the company and not the person sitting there trying to do their job.

Arrogance

Most SEO’s and Social Media experts are incredibly arrogant (I am far too good for it) and you will find that this often has a negative effect on the way that they see one another. An SEO thinks that the work that they are doing is much more beneficial to a client than simply driving “pointless” traffic to a site that has a low conversion rate. On the other hand a Social Media expert will target the markets that the client represents and only target the appropriate niche, driving relevant traffic to a site.

If a client is having both SEO and Social time then you will find that often an SEO is annoyed because a lot of the creative part of the job is taken from them and given to the Social expert to handle.

Arrogance is a disgusting thing and in all seriousness I would like to think that none of my colleagues in the agency I am in are in any way arrogant.

Short Term Effects

Another misunderstanding that SEO’s tend to have when thinking about Social Media is that the campaigns that are run are all short term which is the opposite of what tends to happen as part of an SEO campaign. This really is a massive misunderstanding as the best Social Campaigns will have an extensive plan that won’t just stop after a month but will be carried out over a period of months and even years.

Lack Of Understanding

Another reason that SEO’s don’t tend to get along with the social experts is simply because they are not fully aware of what they do. It explains the previous 3 points and you will find that is where the main haters lie. All it takes is an afternoon of training full of social media and the results it can bring and they will be sold.

In reality (certainly in my office) there is no hate between the two parties and in fact you will find that we get along very well and completely understand what each other does and why. You will also find that in our agency most SEO Engineers are also pretty good in the social sphere as well!

Choose the right SEO/Social Agency and you will find that no hate exists between the parties.