Search engine marketing firm Spannerworks launched a Social Media division on 27th September 2006, with services to help brand and media owners implement effective strategy in this area...

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Social media is being positioned as Spannerworks� third division, joining to its existing paid and natural search marketing specialist teams.

As well as offering research, analysis, training and consultancy services, it is making serious investments in developing new software and content services to help brands engage with social media.

Spannerworks� eBook �What is social media?� published on 27th September can be downloaded from: www.spannerworks.com/ebooks.

Future of search bound up with social media

The company, which was voted number one search marketing agency by readers of Marketing and Revolution magazines this year, said that the future of search and the wider marketing industry was closely bound up with the social media revolution.

Antony Mayfield, Head of Content & Media at Spannerworks, said: �For a lot of brand and media owners, the most important thing is to get a clear handle on what social media means to them now, and how it will evolve in the coming years.�

Brands need a social media strategy

�When you see more traffic delivered to HMV�s website by MySpace than one of the major search engines, one thing is clear: brands need a strategy for social media.�

Arjo Ghosh, founder and CEO of Spannerworks said: �Social media is where search engine marketing was in 1998.�

�There was a huge amount of interest and enthusiasm for new electronic communications media, especially email and search engines. The first thing that needed to happen was education and the second was building a whole new marketing toolset � that�s where we are with social media right now.�

More information about Spannerworks Social Media can be found at: www.spannerworks.com/social-media

About Spannerworks:
Spannerworks was voted the number one search engine marketing firm in the UK by readers of Marketing, Revolution and Marketing Direct magazines in 2006. Founded in 1997 Spannerworks offers paid and natural search engine marketing services. It employs an approach to its services based on ethical techniques of search engine optimisation (SEO) and jargon-free, common-sense methodology. The firm employs 50 people and is based in the city of Brighton & Hove, UK. www.spannerworks.com