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SEO vs. Social Media Marketing: What’s the Difference and Why Your Business Needs Both

Writer's picture: Kim FreeKim Free

When small businesses think about marketing, they often turn to social media first—and for good reason. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn are great for reaching potential customers and growing brand awareness.


But there’s one key strategy that many local businesses overlook: SEO (Search Engine Optimization).


SEO helps people find you when they are actively searching for what you offer. Social media marketing, on the other hand, relies on interruption marketing, meaning you have to grab someone’s attention while they’re scrolling for entertainment or social connections.

Both strategies are powerful, but when combined, they create a well-rounded marketing approach that can drive more traffic, engagement, and sales for your business.



 

Social Media Marketing: Grabbing Attention in the Scroll


What it is: Using platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to connect with potential customers, build brand awareness, and promote services through organic content and paid ads.


The Challenge: Social Media Is Interruption Marketing

Your audience isn’t on social media looking for your business.

They’re there to:

✅ Be entertained

✅ Escape reality for a bit

✅ Connect with friends and family

That means when your business appears in their feed, you’re interrupting their experience. Your content needs to be engaging and valuable to earn their attention.


What Social Media Does Well:

Brand awareness: Your audience gets familiar with your name and services.

Community engagement: You can interact directly with customers and build relationships.

Retargeting potential: We can serve ads to people who have visited your website, keeping your business top of mind (one STGP client uses this successfully!).

Quick content distribution: You can quickly promote a new service, event, or offer.


But here’s the catch—social media posts have a short lifespan and require consistent effort to maintain visibility. That’s where SEO comes in.


 

SEO: Attracting Customers Who Are Already Searching


What it is: Optimizing your website so it appears in search engine results (Google, Bing) when people search for services like yours.


The Big Advantage: Search Intent

Unlike social media, where you’re competing for attention, SEO brings in visitors who are already looking for what you offer.

For example, if you run a mechanic shop, people aren’t randomly scrolling Facebook hoping to see a post about car repairs. But if their car breaks down, they’ll search for "best mechanic near me" on Google. If your website is optimized for SEO, your business appears, and you get a high-intent visitor who is ready to book your services.


What SEO Does Well:


Drives long-term traffic: Unlike social media posts, SEO work continues to bring visitors over time.

Attracts high-quality leads: Visitors from Google are actively searching for your services.

Increases credibility: Ranking high on Google builds trust.

Supports social media: Blog posts, service pages, and optimized website content give you something valuable to share on social media.


 

Why You Need Both: SEO + Social Media = A Powerful Marketing Strategy


If you’re only using social media, you’re missing out on customers actively searching for your services.If you’re only focusing on SEO, you’re missing the chance to build brand awareness and engagement.


Together, they work like this:

🔹 SEO brings in website visitors → Social media keeps your business top-of-mind through retargeting.

🔹 Social media introduces new people to your brand → SEO ensures they can find you later when they need your services.

🔹 SEO provides valuable blog content → Social media helps you share it and drive engagement.


At STGP, we’ve seen how powerful this combination can be. For one client, we run a consistent Facebook/Instagram retargeting ad - when someone visits their website (through SEO efforts), they later see the client’s ad on social media. This keeps them engaged and leads to more inquiries and sales.


 

Think SEO is Too Expensive? We Make It Affordable.

Many small businesses assume that SEO is out of their budget, but at STGP, we focus on affordable, high-quality SEO for local businesses like yours.


👉 Want to see where your website stands? Get your FREE SEO audit today! We’ll analyze your website and give you practical steps to improve your search rankings.


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