Search engine marketing is a key pillar of almost every online marketing budget. This means search marketers are now responsible for managing tens of billions of annual spending on the placement and optimization of keyword-based advertising programs. To compete effectively, these paid search strategists must keep up with the ever changing intricacies and best practices of search marketing, while also taking into account the increasing convergence of search marketing and social media. With that in mind, we developed this report: “How Search Marketers Engage on Twitter”, using Leadtail’s Social Insights Technology to analyze data from Twitter. The goal of this special report is to help you answer questions such as: How do search marketers describe themselves on the Social Web? What topics are they talking about? Which content sources are these search practitioners consuming and sharing? Who are the most influential publications and people with search marketers? Armed with these social media insights, you can now take a more informed look at your strategy for reaching and engaging search marketing professionals, and influencing them to take the actions you care about most.

1. Social Insights for Decision Makers @Leadtail
Social
Media
Insights:
How
Search
Marketers
Engage
on
Twi8er
A
special
report
from
Leadtail
July 2014

2. Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!
Introduc?on
2!
Search engine marketing is a key pillar of almost every online marketing budget. This means search
marketers are now responsible for managing tens of billions of annual spending on the placement
and optimization of keyword-based advertising programs. To compete effectively, these paid search
strategists must keep up with the ever changing intricacies and best practices of search marketing,
while also taking into account the increasing convergence of search marketing and social media.
With that in mind, we developed this report: “How Search Marketers Engage on Twitter”, using
Leadtail’s Social Insights Technology to analyze data from Twitter.
The goal of this special report is to help you answer questions such as:
} How do search marketers describe themselves on the Social Web?
} What topics are they talking about?
} Which content sources are these search practitioners consuming and sharing?
} Who are the most influential publications and people with search marketers?
Armed with these social media insights, you can now take a more informed look at your strategy for
reaching and engaging search marketing professionals, and influencing them to take the actions you
care about most.

3. Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!
Methodology
and
Data
Set
3!
The methodology the Leadtail team used to create this report:
1. Identify search marketers active on social media based on criteria such as job title, type of
company, location etc., to create the target audience data set.
2. Use the Leadtail Social Insights Technology to extract insights around key social media
activities, such as what links are shared, who is mentioned and retweeted, popular hashtags,
popular platforms used to share content, etc.
3. Review, analyze, and package these insights into this report.
The specific data set analyzed for this report is comprised of:
} 521 North American search marketers active on Twitter during the report period
} Focused on individual SEM practitioner accounts vs. brand, agency, or company handles
} Total of 105,121 tweets, and 55,615 shared links
} Total follower reach: 1,135,439; median # of followers per marketer: 481
} Tweets published between Mar 1, 2014 – May 31, 2014

4. Key
Takeaways
Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!4!
} Search engine marketers are highly-skilled practitioners focused on curating a
social media presence that showcases their skills, expertise, and affiliations.
} Digital marketing, search marketing (both PPC and SEO), and analytics are all
active conversations for search engine marketers. These topics, and their
related sub-topics, should anchor the content strategy of those wanting to
reach and engage SEMs.
} Search engine marketers consume and rely on industry media to educate
themselves and inform how they do their jobs. This makes industry media a
key channel for influencing SEMs.
} Search engine marketers also engage heavily with content created and
curated by an elite group of vendors, creating both opportunity and challenges
for other vendors that want to compete for the attention of these marketers.
} Certain publications, vendors, and people are highly influential with search
marketers – these are good starting points for building brand awareness
and driving social amplification.

5. Who
Are
These
Search
Marketers?
Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!5!

6. Where
Are
They
Located?
While most search marketers are located in the major media hubs, many have set up
shop and are hard at work in smaller markets across North America.
Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!
!
6! Based on the location provided in the Twitter profile.

7. How
Do
They
Describe
Themselves?
The way search marketing professionals describe themselves reveals keywords that
can help you reach and engage them across the Social Web.
Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!7! Based on keywords used in the Twitter profile.

8. What
Do
They
Talk
About?
8! Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!
Hashtags reveal the topics and events, big and small, global and local, that captured
the attention of search marketing professionals during the report period.

9. How
Do
Search
Marketers
Engage
with
Content
on
Twi8er?
Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!9!

10. Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!10!
6%
8%
9%
10%
13%
14%
17%
18%
18%
18%
18%
22%
45%
67%
80%
Post with Klout
Twitter for Websites Widget
foursquare
Buffer
Twitter Web Client
Twitter for iPad
iOS
LinkedIn
HootSuite
Instagram
TweetDeck
Twitter for Android
Twitter for iPhone
Tweet Button
Twitter.com Website
% of Search Marketers that published at least 1 tweet from this platform during the report period.
What
Apps
+
PlaJorms
Drive
Twi8er
Sharing?
When it comes to engaging on
social media, SEMs appear to be
holding on to their favorite desktop
tools even as other business and
consumer audiences move rapidly
toward mobile apps and mobile
websites.
Desktop
Mobile

11. What
Types
of
Content
Do
They
Share?
11! Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!
By a clear majority, industry media sites are the
most common type of content shared by search
engine marketers. It plays an important role in
defining the conversations SEMs have with each
other, their internal teams, and ultimately clients
and customers. Many of these publications feature
submissions from marketing thought leaders and
experts, and have robust email and social media
distribution (plus, great SEO!) that keeps their
content in front of their target audience every day.
Mainstream media content is the second largest
type of content shared by SEMs, and tends to be
driven by the broader news cycles of business,
finance, and technology, with a smaller contribution
coming in the form of in-depth editorial content.
The social media content shared by search
marketers includes everything from slideshows on
content marketing, to Instagram photos of dogs,
awards, and office happenings…and lots of
cheering on our favorite sports teams!
% of 100 Most Popular Shared Content Sources
Industry
Media
58%
Mainstream
Media
29%
Social
Media
11%
Other
2%

12. 11. WSJ Blogs
12. CNET
13. Time
14. Google
15. HBR Blogs
16. WIRED
17. Washington Post
18. Slate
19. Gizmodo
20. CNN
21. The Guardian
22. Fast Company Co.Design
23. The Atlantic
24. Engadget
25. CNN Money
Following are the Top 25 Mainstream Media Content Sources shared by search marketers
during the report period, based on the number of unique marketers that shared each source.
Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!
What
Are
the
Most
Shared
Mainstream
Sources?
12!
1. Forbes
2. New York Times
3. The Wall Street Journal
4. Inc.
5. Huffington Post
6. Entrepreneur
7. Fast Company
8. BuzzFeed
9. Medium
10. Quartz

13. 11. SEO Roundtable
12. Ad Age
13. KISSMetrics Blog
14. Buffer Blog
15. ClickZ
16. Econsultancy
17. HubSpot Blog
18. Adweek
19. AdWords Blog
20. Bing Ads
21. Social Media Examiner
22. VentureBeat
23. The Verge
24. Unbounce
25. Social Media Today
Following are the Top 25 Industry Media Content Sources shared by search marketers during
the report period, based on the number of unique marketers that shared each source.
Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!
What
Are
the
Most
Shared
Industry
Sources?
13!
1. Search Engine Land
2. Search Engine Watch
3. Marketing Land
4. Mashable
5. PPC Hero
6. Search Engine Journal
7. Moz
8. WordStream
9. TechCrunch
10. Business Insider

14. 11. Spotify
12. Vimeo
13. Kickstarter
14. SoundCloud
15. Flickr
Following are the Top 15 Social Media Content Sources shared by search marketers during
the report period, based on the number of unique marketers that shared each source.
Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!
What
Are
the
Most
Shared
Social
Sources?
14!
1. YouTube
2. SlideShare
3. Instagram
4. LinkedIn
5. Facebook
6. Google+
7. Foursquare
8. Pinterest
9. Reddit
10. Vine

15. Which
Publishers,
Vendors
and
People
Are
Most
Influen?al
with
Search
Marketers?
Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!15!

16. Which
Publishers
Do
Search
Marketers
Retweet
the
Most?
Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!16!
As social media continues to reshape
how information is consumed and
shared, creating high-quality digital
content is the minimum bar for online
publishers.
Raising the bar further, vendors are now
expected to pump out content on par
with professional publishers to engage
their prospects and customers before,
during, and after the sale.
But producing the content is only half the
battle. Successful publishers and
vendors must also develop high-quality
social channels, and get their content in
front of their most important audiences
on a regular basis. (After all, you have to
tweet to get retweeted!)
The word cloud to the right reflects the
publishers and vendors who are doing
the best job creating content that appeals
to, and is reaching, search engine
marketers in a way that drives
amplification via retweets.

17. Top
50
Publishers/Vendors
Most
Retweeted
by
Search
Marketers
* Based on unique # of search marketers in the sample that retweeted the person. Ties broken using Klout score followed by # of followers.
11. @Moz
12. @adage
13. @WordStream
14. @FastCompany
15. @googleanalytics
16. @Inc
17. @HubSpot
18. @Forbes
19. @Adweek
20. @WSJ
21. @TechCrunch
22. @EntMagazine
23. @BruceClayInc
24. @google
25. @nytimes
26. @hootsuite
27. @socialmedia2day
28. @WIRED
29. @SportsCenter
30. @VentureBeat
31. @ForbesTech
32. @ClickZ
33. @buffer
34. @CNET
35. @Econsultancy
36. @MediaPost
37. @ThinkwithGoogle
38. @WhiteSharkMedia
39. @3QDigital
40. @point_it
41. @Digiday
42. @semrush
43. @seroundtable
44. @Slate
45. @Gizmodo
46. @HarvardBiz
47. @SAI
48. @eMarketer
49. @GrowthHackers_
50. @MarketMotive
1. @sengineland
2. @ppchero
3. @BingAds
4. @mashable
5. @Marketingland
6. @adwords
7. @unbounce
8. @sewatch
9. @KISSmetrics
10. @sejournal
17!

18. Who
Do
Search
Marketers
Retweet
the
Most?
Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!18!
When it comes to the people search
marketers are retweeting the most, the
same rule of “great content” prevails –
only here, tweets may be amplified
because they’re timely, topical,
provocative, or insightful – all without
regard to whether the content was
originally created by the tweet author.
Original thought leadership is definitely
well represented, but so too is
meaningful curation and clever
commentary.
The word cloud to the right reflects the
people who are doing the best job
building a personal brand around the
type and quality of content they create,
curate, and comment upon, resulting in
retweets from other SEMs.

19. Top
50
People
Most
Retweeted
by
Search
Marketers
* Based on unique # of search marketers in the sample that retweeted the person. Ties broken using Klout score followed by # of followers.
11. @rustybrick
12. @LisaSanner
13. @LukeAlley
14. @GinnyMarvin
15. @bgtheory
16. @robert_brady
17. @ArianaWolf
18. @bigalittlea
19. @elisabethos
20. @BryantGarvin
21. @michellemsem
22. @SamOwenPPC
23. @PPCKirk
24. @DuaneForrester
25. @TheGrok
26. @dr_pete
27. @SusanEDub
28. @avinash
29. @ebkendo
30. @Szetela
31. @aleyda
32. @siliconvallaeys
33. @AndyGroller
34. @NeptuneMoon
35. @sugarrae
36. @lisabuyer
37. @mattmcgee
38. @danbarker
39. @RavenJon
40. @RickGalan
41. @rodnitzky
42. @aknecht
43. @DannyNMIGoodwin
44. @HeatherCooan
45. @glenngabe
46. @AnnieCushing
47. @leeodden
48. @portentint
49. @CyrusShepard
50. @bill_slawski
1. @larrykim
2. @Mel66
3. @Matt_Umbro
4. @dannysullivan
5. @randfish
6. @mattcutts
7. @Realicity
8. @jmgagnon
9. @John_A_Lee
10. @chrishaleua
19!

20. Which
Publishers/Vendors
Do
Search
Marketers
Men?on
Most?
Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!20!
The publishers search marketers
mention on Twitter can give us yet
another perspective on the forces that
shape their views on products, services,
and industry trends.
Mentioning a publication or vendor can
be a reference to an experience, a
thank you (or no thanks), a question or
even one of those highly-coveted social
recommendations. That means
mentions can often represent a deeper
level of engagement than a retweet.
In any case, the publications and
vendors in the word cloud to the right
have captured valuable mindshare with
the search engine marketers that
they’re trying to engage.

21. Top
50
Publishers/Vendors
Most
Men?oned
by
Search
Marketers
* Based on unique # of search marketers in the sample that retweeted the person. Ties broken using Klout score followed by # of followers.
11. @YouTube
12. @unbounce
13. @sejournal
14. @LinkedIn
15. @ClickZ
16. @Forbes
17. @CNET
18. @smx
19. @googleanalytics
20. @HubSpot
21. @Hanapin
22. @bing
23. @KISSmetrics
24. @TechCrunch
25. @SlideShare
26. @facebook
27. @amazon
28. @Econsultancy
29. @MarinSoftware
30. @twitter
31. @copyblogger
32. @Inc
33. @adage
34. @3QDigital
35. @EntMagazine
36. @buffer
37. @smexaminer
38. @FastCompany
39. @WSJ
40. @TheNextWeb
41. @HarvardBiz
42. @acquisio
43. @semrush
44. @BuzzFeed
45. @nytimes
46. @MediaPost
47. @avalaunchmedia
48. @Adweek
49. @VentureBeat
50. @verge
1. @sengineland
2. @adwords
3. @sewatch
4. @ppchero
5. @BingAds
6. @Marketingland
7. @WordStream
8. @google
9. @Moz
10. @mashable
21!

22. Who
Do
Search
Marketers
Men?on
Most?
Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!22!
Mentioning a person by name can
mean a few different things in social
media: giving credit to someone for
an idea or piece of content being
shared, engaging someone directly
in conversation, or giving a shout-
out to a person you’ve recently met.
In any context, being mentioned is a
sign that a person is an active part
of the social conversation, and
those mentioned most are the
people you’ll find at the center of
engaging conversations between
search engine marketers.
This word cloud shows the people
mentioned most by search
marketers during the report period.

23. Top
50
People
Most
Men?oned
by
Search
Marketers
* Based on unique # of search marketers in the sample that retweeted the person. Ties broken using Klout score followed by # of followers.
11. @SamOwenPPC
12. @SusanEDub
13. @Realicity
14. @chrishaleua
15. @mattcutts
16. @BryantGarvin
17. @LisaSanner
18. @robert_brady
19. @dannysullivan
20. @bigalittlea
21. @NeptuneMoon
22. @jenstar
23. @TheGrok
24. @PPCKirk
25. @Szetela
26. @I_Marketer
27. @HeatherCooan
28. @dr_pete
29. @ebkendo
30. @AndrewPPC
31. @IntelligentPPC
32. @avinash
33. @pateast
34. @oligardner
35. @timothyjjensen
36. @mattmcgee
37. @markkennedysem
38. @tallykeller
39. @RickGalan
40. @andrew_goodman
41. @ArianaWolf
42. @ecouch11
43. @lsussan
44. @DuaneForrester
45. @MattSouthern
46. @RichardFergie
47. @mvanwagner
48. @stonetemple
49. @aimclear
50. @nateknox
1. @larrykim
2. @Matt_Umbro
3. @bgtheory
4. @Mel66
5. @rustybrick
6. @jmgagnon
7. @LukeAlley
8. @John_A_Lee
9. @GinnyMarvin
10. @randfish
23!

24. Conclusion
Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!24!

25. Conclusion
Imagine if you could listen to the daily conversations of search engine marketers.
How would you use that information to better reach, engage, and influence these
marketing professionals to take the actions you care most about?
For example, would it provide you insights into where to advertise, what content
to create, whom to build relationships with, and how best to develop and
implement your social media strategy? Sure it would.
We created this special report to provide you with social media insights to help
you make more informed decisions about how to reach, engage, and influence
search engine marketers.
And since the topics, content sources, and influencers are constantly changing
so, too, are the social media insights.
Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!25!
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26. About
Leadtail
26! Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!
Leadtail works with innovative companies to
develop social media strategies and to leverage
social insights research.
The Leadtail team has developed and
implemented social media programs for leading
business brands and venture backed startups
including: WageWorks, Trend Micro, Adaptive
Insights, DNN, NetBase, and PunchTab.
Our social media insights reports have been
referenced in major publications including: The
Wall St. Journal, Forbes, Search Engine Watch,
Adweek, MarketingProfs, and Econsultancy.
@Leadtail
www.linkedin.com/companies/Leadtail
www.Leadtail.com/blog/
www.Leadtail.com
Interested in collaborating on a future social insights report? Email us: advertise@leadtail.com