When considering to promote or advertise your products and services online, search engine marketing (SEM) and social media marketing (SMM) are the most common options. Here is a small note on the differences between these two models.
As the name suggests the search engine marketing finds space for advertising in search engines where as social media marketing finds best social networking sites for promoting a business. Concise information related to a particular search topic is provided by the search engine ads which are viewed by a consumer when searching for the specific information. Social media advertising offers the possibility to communicate directly with the consumer.
While advertising through search engines, the audience can include a varied group. In social media marketing, the target ads are based on demographic criteria, industry, job function, company size of the user and such information which enables focused audience. However, the traffic delivered to you by search engines is highly targeted that is generated by users, with clear intent and focus. Those who are interested in your brand or content view the ads from search engines where as a consumer (may) does not use the social media to look to buy a product.
For instance, people are not aware of new inventions which are developed as a solution for a common problem. So, they cannot search for it and get information of the new product through search engine ads. Whereas, social networking sites promote the product specifying the innovation and people get awareness of the product and like to purchase. This is one of the advantages of social media advertising over search engine marketing. On the whole, it can be said that search engine marketing is better for direct buy decision and social media marketing is ideal to promote products that are not yet in the mind of the consumer.