If you think that search marketing is a algorithm-driven strategy grounded in analyzing real-time data and responding to a specific consumer target that you have cleverly given a cute profile name to – think again. Engaging “Ned” is not so easy or is it?

Sure, we all want to increase traffic to our websites, improve visitor experience, gain higher conversion rates, and increase sales and brand loyalty so a good web marketing and digital strategy is important. But, in the race to be the biggest, the best, the smartest, and the most profitable company, it is interesting to observe the number of times companies miss the mark. Why? The road signs are certainly there.The problem is that too many are looking at the flashy, large signs on the highway and ignoring the smaller, more humble ones.

We are living in a world of abundance based on truth, integrity, where “less is more” and where business is done when people are engaged. Search Marketing today is about engagement with the end goal being to marry your customer.

My Story: LinkedIn as a trusted social network for purchase-driven search results

While running in the Rosedale Ravine my left foot encountered a large tree root and went sidewise. There was a sharp pain and an awful crack but I kept going. A temporary setback, don’t give in, the foot is fine, I told myself. I had only 2.5 km to go to reach my destination. On arrival a hot shower and a cool ice pack seemed to do the trick. I had no swelling. Mind over matter does work I bragged to myself. So I carried on with my day, that is until the evening when the foot went numb and would not function or even take any weight. What was I to do? It was clear I needed an Xray. Was there a sports clinic nearby? I jumped onto Google – the undisputed first choice for ready-to-buy consumers – only to discover the two places I called didn’t have doctors available or Xray facilities. Now what?

It was then I decided to contact my LinkedIn network. I brought up my contacts in Toronto, selected a few and sent out a message “I’m in Toronto staying close to the Rosedale Ravine and I need an Xray”. I learned in a flash that the Sunnybrook Hospital was just down the street from where I was staying and that it was a good choice to go to.

As a ready-to-buy customer my vertical search on my social network on LinkedIn delivered a qualified target group who could assist me in an important buying decision. But the story doesn’t end there. Following my hospital visit (where I learned I had fractured my foot) I received several messages through LinkedIn. “How’s the foot?” “I know a good physiotherapist” This is business engagement marketing at work as the likelihood of me purchasing services from one of these people whom I had formed a deeper connection with because of my foot is highly probable.

Oh, and something else, I also received an invitation for lunch. (Yep, Lava Life eat your heart out).

P.S. This post is dedicated to the guy who wrote to me asking what he was doing wrong on LinkedIn. He had in a fury, like a Starbuck’s addict on steroids, collected over 800 contacts and “nothing was happening” he said. Well, while its just my 2 cents worth, engagement is about talking, sharing, and yes, risking that someone might think you are an idiot. But at the end of the day the real heart of the matter is that its about “less is more” (which is the same as saying “more is less”).

Passion is the love of every day because its a brand new start and adventure. Its about listening to your intuition and taking a leap of faith off a cliff and knowing you will land safely. Its about going with the flow of the river regardless of what people say. Its about living moment by moment and allowing the sweet fire of creativity to unleash itself and burn a lasting memory. And then, at the end, when the fury has past and you are spent and alone (as we all are), you can reflect and say: ” Yes! I built something of value and made a difference in the lives of others. I dug in the dark and harvested an unregrettable life”.

Victor Hugo: “Be like the bird that passing on her flight a while on boughs too slight, feels them give way beneathe her, and yet sings, knowing she hath wings”.