How can Search Specialists help Marketing Generalists who are under pressure to understand and create a marketing strategy that addresses the growth of marketing channels (blogs, facebook, linkedin, twitter, pinterest, etc) and device choices (iPad, iPhone, Android, and other smartphones and tablets), on top of dealing with financial constraints. What role can a Search Marketing Specialist play in a world where Generalists are required to have more and more specialized knowledge in each channel? How can Search Marketing retain a place at the marketing table, secure the appropriate budget, and offer guidance on an integrated approach? This presentation offers tips for Search Specialists looking to gain support from clients, managers, executives and other generalists.

1. Getting to +1
A Social Approach to Winning Support for Search Marketing
presented Dec 20, 2011 to SEMPO Vancouver
Monique Sherrett | monique@boxcarmarketing.com

2. In a marketing generalist’s world
Panda is a bear
Caffeine is what is in your cup
Freshness relates to things like fruit, milk and underarms
Search Marketing is one part of the marketing mix
Monique Sherrett
@BoxcarMarketing

3. The Generalist’s Perspective
Search is part of the puzzle to getting the right
people to our site at the right time.
Outbound Marketing
Events
Direct Mail
Telemarketing
SEM
Inbound Marketing
SMM
Blog
Email Monique Sherrett
@BoxcarMarketing

4. The Specialist’s Perspective
SEM = ABC
Acquisition of traffic
Behaviour on site
Conversion of goals
SEM is the perpetual motion machine
• The marketing budget (PPC in particular) should be the
maximum you can spend with a positive return.
• SEM puts value into a customer relationship that you own
and control (traffic to your website)
• The Proof is in the Pudding: With goal and event tracking we
measure the success of SEM activity.
Monique Sherrett
@BoxcarMarketing

5. Generalists & The Paradox of Choice

6. Generalists & The Paradox of Choice
SEO Email Marketing
Outreach: News/
Media/PR Content strategy:
whitepapers, case studies,
infographics, podcasting,
Outreach: Social vidcasting, blogging
Networking
Lead Generation
“free” traffic sources compete with PPC Leadership & Building
Outreach: Expertise: Q&A sites,
Webinars, Virtual guest posting, article
Events placement, forums
WOM Paid (Digital Components)
Press Releases Link Building
Advertising
Direct Mail
Telemarketing Comment
Social bookmarking Marketing
Sponsorships
Associations
Events
Conferences
Tradeshows

7. ~7 in 10 CMOs feel unprepared for the demands of SMM
Marketing Challenges Reported by CMOs
% of respondents, October 2011
Source: IBM
In addition to the demands of SMM & the data
explosion, a large portion feel unprepared for:
• Growth of Channel and Device Choices (65%)
• Shifting Consumer Demographics (63%)
• Financial Constraints (59%)
The Social Media Data Stacks

8. The Polite Struggle for Control
Hubspot State of Inbound Marketing Report 2011
Monique Sherrett
@BoxcarMarketing

9. Avg. Budget Distribution
Small Business: 1-5 employees
SEM
PPC 27%
Outbound
14% 4% Large Business: Over 50 employees
SEO
23% SEM
Email 35%
17% PPC
13%
Outbound
36%
SEO
SMM & Blogs 22%
41%
SMM & Blogs
Email 12%
17%
Monique Sherrett
@BoxcarMarketing

10. The Perception of Reality
• Leads/Customers Increasingly Coming from “Free” Traffic Sources:
Blog, LinkedIn (B2B), Facebook (B2C), Twitter
(Source: see any marketing blog, seriously)
• The average budget for Blogs & SMM has increased from 9% in 2009 to 18% in 2011
(Hubspot State of Inbound Marketing Report 2011)
• Facebook is overtaking Google and Yahoo in total time spent online.
• 53.5 billion minutes per month vs. Yahoo (17.2) and Google (12.5)
(Comscore August 2011 & Nielsen)
• By 2014, mobile internet should take over desktop internet usage.
• 7% of all U.S. web traffic occurred from non-computer devices
• In Canada, tablets drove nearly 40% of all non-computer traffic
(ComScore, October 2011)
Monique Sherrett
@BoxcarMarketing

11. What Is Important to the Generalist?
Greater customer acquisition at lower costs.
“How do I get more for less?”
More customer engagement across all channels with minimal effort.
“How can I leverage each channel?”
Maximum revenue. Optimal profits.
“Can I turn followers into leads and leads into customers?”
A clear strategy, the ability to articulate that strategy, and proof
“What is the story the numbers are telling?”
Monique Sherrett
@BoxcarMarketing

12. A Generalist Is Looking for a Specialist to
• Answer those questions
• Ask even better questions
Monique Sherrett
@BoxcarMarketing

13. Specialists Have the Opportunity to
Educate the Unaware
User centricity works for relationship management.
• Uncover the root of the queries: What is the intention? What is the request?
How do you serve the most relevant response?
• Understand the sales cycle: A generalist moves from browsing to buying or
from being unaware of the problem (or opportunity) to forming an intent to act
• Focus on strategy first. What is the goal? What marketing actions can achieve
that goal? Is SEM a good solution? If not, recommend an alternative.
• Succinctly articulate your expertise. Describe how you can help solve problems
and capitalize on the opportunities. Be brief. Be brilliant. Be gone.
• Educate through thought leadership. Consider your own marketing mix.
Monique Sherrett
@BoxcarMarketing

14. Specialists Have an Opportunity to
Inspire the Interested
With awareness comes assessment. “Is this right for me?”
• Manage fear: There is the fear of falling behind. But also risk in taking action.
“What if it doesn’t work?”
“What if this is not the best use of my limited resources.”
“What kind of results can I expect?”
• The interested are looking for inspiration: “We can do that!” comes from past
results, case studies, whitepapers, ROI calculators, competitor analyses, industry
best practices
Monique Sherrett
@BoxcarMarketing

15. Specialists Have an Opportunity to
Reassure the Committed
Once generalists agrees to part with their money, they need reassurance.
• Present logic, processes, next steps. Clearly define your approach.
• Have a backup: If you haven’t managed fear and doubt, it can be overwhelming.
Have a next best alternative: phased engagement, pilot project
• Collaborate early and often. A good generalist will relinquish control of the
tactical details once he/she has confidence in your expertise.
Monique Sherrett
@BoxcarMarketing

16. Specialists Have an Opportunity to
Manage the Process – Not the Person
• Create a routine. Without clear guidelines, a generalist will fill a perceived void.
This is what has made them good at their job. Take the lead. Impose a routine.
• Set the tone: Analyze the marketing challenge. Agree on the goals (not the tactics).
• Continuously refer to the goals: Before sharing new ideas and tactics, or
reporting on progress, review the agreed upon goals.
• Present your work. Don’t assume a generalist will interpret the numbers in the same
way, or that they’ll need to report on them in the same way. Tell them the story.
• Raise objections first. If you have concerns or limitations place them on the
table for the generalist to address. Avoid being in the hot seat. Be transparent.
• Retain the role of strategic expert. Avoid the tendency to abdicate the “expert”
position thereby becoming an order taker. If you are good, people put more
demands on your time. This is a good thing. You can charge for that.
Monique Sherrett
@BoxcarMarketing

17. Specialists Have an Opportunity to
Convert Allies to Evangelists
Buy in, contribution & commitment creates allies.
But evangelists need you to be remarkable.
• Give them something they didn’t even know they needed
Share Insights.
• Routinely provide something they can’t live without
Make it easy, faster, better to work with you.
• Provide satisfaction
Be likable.
Monique Sherrett
@BoxcarMarketing

18. Getting to +1
1. Take a social, user centric approach to winning support
2. Find ways to be remarkable to your allies.
3. Don’t abdicate your responsibility as the expert
4. Manage the process
5. Fight fear and doubt with inspiration
6. Educate the unaware so they understand and assign value
to Search within their marketing mix
Monique Sherrett
@BoxcarMarketing

19. What are the top 2 things your generalist
needs to know in 2012?
Monique Sherrett
@BoxcarMarketing

20. As a generalist/specialist, these are the
things I’m curious about for 2012
Monique Sherrett
@BoxcarMarketing

21. As a generalist/specialist, these are the
things I’m curious about for 2012
Consolidate
(duplicate content,
301, rel=”canonical”)
Monique Sherrett
@BoxcarMarketing

22. As a generalist/specialist, these are the
things I’m curious about for 2012
Consolidate
(duplicate content,
301, rel=”canonical”)
Deal with Syndicated
content, pagination
Monique Sherrett
@BoxcarMarketing

23. As a generalist/specialist, these are the
things I’m curious about for 2012
Consolidate
(duplicate content,
301, rel=”canonical”)
Deal with Syndicated
content, pagination
Webmaster Tools:
search query data
Monique Sherrett
@BoxcarMarketing

24. As a generalist/specialist, these are the
things I’m curious about for 2012
Consolidate
(duplicate content,
301, rel=”canonical”)
Deal with Syndicated
content, pagination
Webmaster Tools:
search query data
Diversity your
Link Building
Monique Sherrett
@BoxcarMarketing

25. As a generalist/specialist, these are the
things I’m curious about for 2012
Consolidate
(duplicate content,
301, rel=”canonical”)
Deal with Syndicated
content, pagination
Webmaster Tools:
search query data
Diversity your
Link Building
Take Social
Seriously
(RTs, +1)
Monique Sherrett
@BoxcarMarketing

26. As a generalist/specialist, these are the
things I’m curious about for 2012
Consolidate
Outclass the competition
(duplicate content,
(rich snippets: apps, video,
301, rel=”canonical”)
reviews, thumbnails)
Deal with Syndicated
content, pagination
Webmaster Tools:
search query data
Diversity your
Link Building
Take Social
Seriously
(RTs, +1)
Monique Sherrett
@BoxcarMarketing

27. As a generalist/specialist, these are the
things I’m curious about for 2012
Consolidate
Outclass the competition
(duplicate content,
(rich snippets: apps, video,
301, rel=”canonical”)
reviews, thumbnails)
Deal with Syndicated
Speed it up
content, pagination
Webmaster Tools:
search query data
Diversity your
Link Building
Take Social
Seriously
(RTs, +1)
Monique Sherrett
@BoxcarMarketing

28. As a generalist/specialist, these are the
things I’m curious about for 2012
Consolidate
Outclass the competition
(duplicate content,
(rich snippets: apps, video,
301, rel=”canonical”)
reviews, thumbnails)
Deal with Syndicated
Speed it up
content, pagination
Webmaster Tools: Mind your
search query data Bounce
Diversity your
Link Building
Take Social
Seriously
(RTs, +1)
Monique Sherrett
@BoxcarMarketing

29. As a generalist/specialist, these are the
things I’m curious about for 2012
Consolidate
Outclass the competition
(duplicate content,
(rich snippets: apps, video,
301, rel=”canonical”)
reviews, thumbnails)
Deal with Syndicated
Speed it up
content, pagination
Webmaster Tools: Mind your
search query data Bounce
Diversity your Adopt early
Link Building link Google+ to your site
Take Social
Seriously
(RTs, +1)
Monique Sherrett
@BoxcarMarketing

30. As a generalist/specialist, these are the
things I’m curious about for 2012
Consolidate
Outclass the competition
(duplicate content,
(rich snippets: apps, video,
301, rel=”canonical”)
reviews, thumbnails)
Deal with Syndicated
Speed it up
content, pagination
Webmaster Tools: Mind your
search query data Bounce
Diversity your Adopt early
Link Building link Google+ to your site
Take Social Go Mobile
Seriously (PPC Mobile,
(RTs, +1) Googlebot-Mobile)
Monique Sherrett
@BoxcarMarketing

31. Who I am. What I do.
• Creative generalist with specialist sensibilities
• Online marketing consultant
• Internet marketing strategist
Monique Sherrett
• Blogger @boxcarmarketing
monique@boxcarmarketing.com
• Teacher
• Storyteller