Yes, it might be possible to generate something viral around legal content, but it’s unlikely that it would be sustainable.

For we ‘bloggers, we are fortunate in that we can enjoy the best of both SEO and Social Media. But for my clients, it’s just not the same situation…

Social Media is also a great strategy but it also takes time and as you’ve rightly stated it really depends on the topic/product/business at hand. I’ve found that my blog readership has increased as I’ve taken the time to read and comment on other blogs, share my ideas on Pownce, etc. But it only works because I’m sharing my thoughts with those who are equally interested in the topic.

In my past life I marketed law books through direct mail, advertising, the Web etc. When a new edition of a book would come out I’d market it using those tools, but I’d hardly be posting messages on Pownce telling people about the exciting new features to be found in the newest edition of Ohio Rules of Evidence. Perhaps I could have developed a blog discussing legal research techniques, and commented to blogs that others were writing on the topic, but it wouldn’t be quite the same. Product announcements don’t have the same potential for interactive dialog as do discussions on Web development. So to promote products I’d have had to do so in the context of contributing other useful information either on a blog or through various topical discussion forums, listservs etc.

In the context of my old job, I would just not have had the time to produce such content nor would I have been the writer best suited for that role. I can imagine how I would implement such a strategy, but given that product line and its primary market, social media would probably not be as cost effective as other more traditional strategies.

So for me it’s not a question of which is better, SEO or Social Media, but what combination of techniques including other mktg strategies is best suited for communicating effectively with your target audience.

I think that first observation is a pretty good distillation of what I was getting at — which sort of saves people reading all 3 articles!

But because of the original article by Tad which spawned this whole debate, an seo versus social media slant was inevitable.

Yes, for a lot of businesses, limited resources often dictates a “path of least resistance” approach. And right now, SEO is much less effort than Social Media…

And chances are that for most small unsexy businesses, getting ranked well for some good longtail or local searches on Google is cheaper, less time consuming and has a more predictable ROI than hitting the Digg popular page.

Jeff, I think you’re spot on. We’re both looking at small businesses and seeing much the same thing — they just don’t have that much time (certainly not the time that you & I do) to invest in Social Media.

When compared to other more established channels like cold calling and mailshots, as well as advertising — all of which will point to their pre-existing company website — Social Media is a much larger long-term commitment of time and effort…

Small biz does not necessarily have the time to put together a 5-page website (brochureware), let alone a blog that needs to have regular updates to be credible.

The brochureware website is of value, especially for the web searches for “service type”+”small town”. Are these sites that need constant update? Probably not, nor would the biz owner be interested in paying for it.

The entry point for biz owners that would be workable is offering an RSS feed of their weekly specials, perhaps even an RSS-to-Blog conversion that they can point customers to. When they stack it up against the cost of a weekly flyer in the local paper, it starts becoming an affordable entry point.