Chapter 1
Introduction
In this paper we will discuss about Community and Search Engine and what kind of business will be suitable using community or search engine (Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing)
Key words: community (on-line community), Benefit of on-line community, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
Community and On-line Community
Community
“A community is a
collection of its members who have a sense of belonging, are attached to each
other, and believe that as long as members are committed to unity, they can
meet their needs. Community is "the feeling that members have a sense of
belonging, a feeling that members influence each other and are closely related
to the group, a shared belief, i.e. through a shared commitment to realize the
beliefs that members need.
A community is a group of socially and psychologically
bound people who are generally formed because they have certain similarities (such
as interests, locations, desires, profession etc.) A community (because it is
formed because of similarities in certain things) generally has identical
behavior and responds in an identical way to a stimulus (including marketing
stimuli).
Online Community
In the virtual world or digital
world which is currently one of the new realities of digital society we can
also recognize the existence of a community in cyberspace or digital world,
specifically we also can find communities in our social media platform. We call
it online Community.
An
online community is a group of people who interact in a virtual environment or
on an online platform. They have a purpose, are supported by technology, and
are guided by norms and policies
Online communities can be grouped into several categories. (interest, belief, geography, situation, change, practice, work etc.) The following below is one form of online community grouping:
Source:
https://clocktoweradvisors.com/blog/types-of-online-communities
The
Benefit of Online Community for the Business. According to
- Establish a connection, Online communities can be a connecting tool between consumers and companies. Good communication between the two parties will foster a sense of trust in fellow consumers or companies.
- Increase customer satisfaction, Online communities can be used as a medium to increase customer satisfaction. Companies can use that to provide a good experience about the product.
- Attracting new customers, Communication in the online community can encourage unpaid customer / potential market interest. Whether it comes from the recommendation of community members who already have experience with the product or from the company.
- Getting new ideas and feedback from consumers, In the community the company can get feedback from consumers, or ideas that are useful for improving the quality of products or services.
- Budget efficiency, In the customer community can help each other solve problems. So that the company does not really need customer service. This means cost efficiency.
- Get a free promotion, Loyal and loyal customers and satisfied with products in the community in becoming brand ambassadors who influence the community, for example, word-of-mouth which is a form of free promotion.
- Increase revenue; Online communities can help increase sales (from loyal customers, from new customers.
Chapter
3
Search
Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
“SEO
stands for Search Engine Optimization. It’s the practice of optimizing your web pages to make them reach a high
position in the search results of Google and other search engines. This means that
people will be more likely to encounter your website when searching online. SEO
focuses on improving the rankings in the organic –non-paid – search results. If you have a website and you want to get more traffic, there’s no
doubt about it: SEO should be part of your marketing efforts
SEO is one of the strategies in digital marketing as the way to improve the quality and quantity of website traffic. It is about improving a site’s rankings in the organic (non-paid) section of the search results. SEO works by creating certain algorithms that direct the results of a search process in search engines to us or encourage the birth of traffic to the website we have. This traffic is then encouraged into a conversion that will increase sales of a product.
In the picture below, we see the first few results when we search for the key phrase ‘pasca sarjana ilmu komunikasi’. In this case, “Magister Ilmu Komunikasi DIKOM UGM” is the first result and this means that their page on pasca sarjana ilmu komunikasi is in the top ranks (number 1) on this search term. The idea behind SEO is that when you optimize your page to become the best result, you can climb those rankings and become one of the first results that people see. The top ranks then will impact to the traffic to the website and as the ultimate goal is the conversion from the traffic.
Picture 3.1
Source:
www.google.com
To optimize SEO results several things become
factors that support search results, including how we can create
high-quality content, how we can optimize content around certain
keywords, and build backlinks.
SEO and SEM
In addition to SEO we also know SEM. SEM stands for Search Engine Marketing. If SEO focuses on how to improve website performance then SEM focuses on capturing results (traffic to conversions) instantly. If SEO is free then for SEM there is a fee incurred (paid). Below are detail the difference:
Picture
3.2
|
|
SEO |
SEM |
|
Definition |
Efforts
to optimize the website to occupy the top position on the search page |
Marketing
strategies to put a site at the top of the search page |
|
Cost |
unpaid |
Paid |
|
Views
in search engines |
No
advertising frills |
Display
the label 'ad' |
|
Tools
used |
Not
mandatory, but you can also use keyword research tools, backlink analysis,
and so on. |
Requires
Google Ads, Google Keyword Planner, etc. |
|
Result |
Websites
need time to get lotus rankings |
More
instant websites topped Google's rankings |
|
Traffic
Type |
Organic
traffic, which is the traffic obtained from websites that appear in natural
search results |
Organic
traffic and paid search. Paid search is an audience visit caused by paid advertising. |
|
Performance |
Long-term.
Website ranking does not drop easily, depending on SEO optimization. |
Short-term.
After the duration of the advertisement is exhausted, the website ranking
will return to its original state. |
Chapter 4
What
Kind of Business will be Suitable Using Community or Search Engine?
Community (online community) and search engines (SEO and SEM) are important media/tools in digital marketing strategies. This applies to all types of businesses that choose to run a digital marketing strategy to win the battle in digital word complementing the traditional marketing strategy carried out so far. The rationale is very simple. The company must always be present and exist in the market and close to its target market. And currently the market and target market exist in the digital world other than in the real world. If the company does not exist in the middle of the market and the target market how can the company win the competition in the market?
Specifically, business of products that in the process of purchasing of the product required high involvement from consumers (high involvement behavior), require community and search engines as a media or strategy to improve brand awareness of the products to support the customers in their decision-making process, to convince the market, and to acquire new customer or maintain current customers.
Picture 4.1
Source: https://clootrack.com/knowledge_base/types-of-consumer-behavior/
The Table below will help us to identify the behaviors:
Table 4.2
|
No. |
High-involvement
consumer behavior |
Low-involvement
consumer behavior |
|
1. |
Consumers are
information processors. |
Consumers learn
information at random |
|
2. |
Consumers are
information seekers. |
Consumers are
information gathers. |
|
3. |
Consumers represent
an active audience of advertising. |
Consumers represent
a passive audience of advertising |
|
4. |
Consumers evaluate
brands before buying. |
Consumers buy
first. If they do evaluate brands, it is done after the purchase. |
|
5. |
Consumers seek to
maximize expected satisfaction. They compare brands to see which provides the
most benefits related to their needs and buy based on a multi-attribute
comparison of brands. |
Consumers seek an
acceptable level of satisfaction. Consumers buy the brand that least likely
to give them problems and buy based on a few attributes. Familiarity is the
key |
|
6. |
Personality and
lifestyle characteristics are related to consumer
behavior because the product is closely
tied to the person’s self-identity and belief system. |
Personality and
lifestyle characteristics are not related to consumer behavior because the
product is not closely tied to the person’s self-identity and belief system. |
|
7. |
Reference groups
influence consumer behavior because of
the importance of the products to group
norms and values |
Reference groups
exert little influence on consumer behavior
because products are not strongly related to
their norms and values. |
Source:
Complex buying decision or high involvement buying behavior requires the availability of abundant information as a consideration for purchasing decision making. Individuals with this behavior will actively seek the information needed for example in the digital world they will search for information through the digital world through information search engines and consider existing information or recommendations about something product from their community as well.
Businesses with products that exist in B2B are also highly recommended with community strategy and SEO because B2B products also include complex buying decisions or high involvement buying behavior.
In the figure below is the example of products with high
involvement behavior:
|
Illustration : Business
Consultant  Source: www.google.com |
Consultancy Service is an example of Busines to
Business Product. To acquire consultant, company will explore many information about the candidate of consultant in the market. Companies usually look for potential candidate information from the community (online community) and search for information in the internet world through SEO / SEM.
|
|
Illustration : Automotive
market  Source: Google.com |
Automotive business is one of the markets with high involvement behavior. (retail market or business market/b2b/industries) Automotive users actively explore product information and are also affected by brand image / association. Community and SEO/SEM is one of the valuable sources of
information and sources of referrals.
|
|
Illustration: Tourism
|
Tourism products are included in the category of
high-involvement products. Prospective tourists will usually explore tourist destinations through various sources, including information searches on the internet, and communities. |
|
Illustration : Life Style
Product  Source: Google.com |
Life Style Product is also a high involvement product
where consumers need a lot of consideration / information in choosing, including
how the compatibility between product image and self-image. Community and
information search on the internet as a source of information is also
important.
|
|
Illustration : Education
Products  Source: Google.com |
The education services business includes high involvement products. In addition to being selected because of the ability and choice of choosing education is very selective and involves many considerations. |
Chapter 5
Conclusion
Community (online Community) and Search Engine are the important communication channel and tools in digital marketing strategy. The utilization of community is one-way which the companies selectively choose a target audience that is in accordance with the target market, so it will improve the accuracy and harmony between the target market and the target audience and it will increase the effectiveness of marketing communication (especially on digital platforms)
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) are tools or ways how companies can be the top choice when consumers are looking for information in the digital world thru the search engine such as Google. If SEO is pursued organically through quality of content, website and relevance then SEM is a paid form whose results may be more instant. While SEO because of its organic growth can be more long-term.
All businesses need to leverage community and search engines as a need to properly exist and be relevant in the digital world. In particular, businesses with high involvement behavior products where consumers really need a lot of information, consideration in making decisions. These consumers choose to explore information through the internet and also consider community recommendations. From the community, consumers also get information that is relevant to their needs and lifestyle.
And the key to success to win in the market is to exist in the market or (where the customer/target market is located and interact). In this digital era, digital platforms are the place where the market exists and interacts. The company then must be existing in the platform so they can interact with the market and be able to read market needs as well as a way to be able to meet market needs.
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