We all know that online technology has gradually been revolutionizing countless areas of our everyday lives.

If you work online today you are not going to argue with the statement that “content is king!” Great content builds a business, but why is that so?

Online technology has gradually been revolutionizing countless areas of our everyday lives. The impact is all pervasive and can be seen in areas as far reaching as how we communicate with our friends and family, how we socialize, and how we research and buy products and services and how we decide which restaurant we book for a meal bases on the reviews it gets.

It has even had am impact on our work lives as people turn to the web to look for jobs, and even seek out and vet potential candidates.

Online technology has been able to transform every single one of those activities through the single the element of online content. More specifically, by giving us both the ability and capacity to create and consume content online, rather than from offline sources.

These changes didn’t all happen overnight. They have come about progressively and seamlessly over the last decade, due in the most part to various developments in online video and media platforms (youtube and vimeo rather than windows media player and quicktime). In addition developments that have drastically increased the overall speed of internet connections, and developments in how digital information can be stores have also played a big part.
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A new ‘small business social media’ survey from email marketing software firm VerticalResponse was published recently.

It found that 43% of small businesses (100 employees or less) spend at least six hours a week on social media, with seven percent spending over 21 hours a week on Facebook, Twitter, and such.

The survey doesn’t say a whole lot on how small businesses spend these six, eight, 12 hours a week, but  it did find that two-thirds of small businesses are spending more time on social media than they did a year ago.

This could lead you to conclude that they are either realizing or actually seeing the benefits of their social media marketing efforts.

So what Do Small Businesses Do on Social Media?

To answer that question I’m going to point you in the direction of a great infographic that illustrates the surveys findings (see below) in conjunction with a really well put together article in technorati.com written by Allison Reilly
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Why is it that creating good, consumable content is now so crucial to bloggers and on-line publishers who want more good quality traffic?

It’s old news that Google has implemented its new ‘search with value economy’ without blinking an eye and their policies and processes have made many former ‘ranking methods’ obsolete.

You cant deny that for the end user this has been good news however, for the web entrepreneur or business that relies on Google for a steady stream of leads and traffic, it hasn’t been quite so positive an experience.

I’d say that even 2 years on from the first Panda Update things are still not any simpler for the average SEO driven website owner. Backlinks have taken a back seat, and figuring out how to deliver google rated value to a site so it shows up for your keywords has become nothing less than confusing.
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When it comes to the battle of meeting your online marketing objectives what ranks best? Good old SEO or the new contender Social Media.

A few years ago, when it came to ranking a site, link building was king, and despite the potential of the new kid on the block, people didn’t seem to give too much attention to Social Media activities.

After all the SEO goal was to get ranked on the first page of Google, because if your site was not right up there you could guarantee that you would be starved of traffic (a.k.a. you we’re screwed)

Well, that was back then. Search algorithms have gone through too many updates and modifications to mention – as soon as you think you understand the best way to rank your site, Google makes a change.

So, what’s the answer?

Watch this video

It is incredibly useful because it clearly illustrates the strength and weaknesses of SEO and Search across various marketing activities.

These days every smart marketing executive knows that Social and Search are a tag team. Each player doing his part and following his partner into the ranking ring – backing each other up and being a stronger force for it.

But what do you think?

• Will old school link building methods still help you rank at the top of the search engines?
• What about Social Media, do you know it’s value to your business?
• What’s your bias and have you tested your assumptions?

In addition to the video you can view the original MDG Advertising post here. I would love to hear your views, so do let me know what you think by leaving a comment below (and remember to +1 and share ~ thanks).