Roundtable on the future of online says it’s all about social media

May 13, 2007

A roundtable from e-consultancy (declare: they are a partner) reveals that future thinking of some of the digital industry’s forward thinking players. What strikes me is that throughout the summary, there is constant referral to social media relations.

The obvious one,  is the statement that, ‘There is a blurring of the lines between SEO, social marketing and PR’

There has always been a close relationship between online PR and SEO (search engine optimisation), but what interests me is that this relationship is now extending across mobile, online advertising and behavioural marketing. It is not so much that this is explicit in the web 2.0 world, but that it is now being taken seriously. And not just as another ad/marketing channel; as a new level of engagement, a new discipline. Key points in the reports suggest

• There needs to be an understanding levels of influence in a certain thematic space and interaction with the online community
• There is lack of case studies around social media optimisation
• Behavioural marketing is becoming more tribal than demographic targeting
• Companies still think of their websites as a destination but the reality is that content and brands are being consumed in other places
• Companies have to accept that if they allow people to play with their brands, ‘some people will play rough’.

My question is: does that mean digital marketing companies are likely to team up with PRs in the know on social media, or are they going to start competing in this space. I would love the former, but my gut feel says it will be the latter.