Friday my attorney posted the following request on Facebook:

UUUUGGGGHHH! Need some help everyone.... tired of chasing my insurance agent down! Every time I call for information or a new policy I NEVER get a return call and have to call multiple times to ever get anywhere! If any of you have a good reliable agent, let me know! Must be an agent who deals with multiple companies 2 hours ago.

She received three responses with personal recommendations for a replacement agent within an hour. Not unusual you say? There was a time when that inquiry would have been fielded as a Google search. The turnabout is now it would be unusual to leave the world of social networking just to crank up Google. My friends, SEO has left the building.

SEO Will Never Die, But

It's not a case of Social vs SEO. It's not where you end up but where you start that's changed. Two trends have collieded to move the starting line when your prospects use the Internet to find relevant information. Ask almost any Millennial and you will find they use mobile apps to access their social profiles. Search engines are accessed using browsers. Have you tried using a mobile browser to find something on the net? The apps win every time. SEO is not going away anytime soon, but a traffic building strategy based on a browser/search engine model is going to make your company invisible on mobile platforms. Here are 5 reasons why you should add social to your Internet Game Plan. Mobile Apps - Take a look in the mobile mirror. How does your site, your email newsletter, your blog look? If your reflection and your message isn't clear, it's time for a mobile first strategy. It's not SEO that's moved, it's the people you serve. Start a social conversation with your best customers or clients. Where do they hang out? You should do the same. Publishing is only half of the equation.  Social listening is now more important that posting. Savvy marketers gather essential prospect intelligence far in advance of their first contact. With SEO I could tell you how many people visited your site. With social I can provide their names. Building Better Relationships.  Cold calling is dead. Not only that, it's rude and disrespectful of you prospects time. Social intelligence positions you to demonstrate that you've done your homework.

Insight

Social Networking has moved from time wasting toy to essential tool for businesses seeking competitive advantage. Tell me, how are you using social to crush the competition?