The ways consumers find information about companies or brands is changing. Where natural search results once were the primary way users discovered content or websites, now non-search engine media such as mobile apps, social networking sites, and consumer review hubs are veritable contenders in your users' paths to discovery. Users have become so comfortable searching and discovering online that they employ their own methods and weave together personal paths of discovery that lead them to what they’re looking for. To ensure that marketers are “findable” across all different types of media, Forrester believes that search marketers must shift the scope of their work from just buying paid search ads and conducting SEO projects to enabling brand discovery — a practice we’ve dubbed “discovery marketing” — the practice of collecting users engaged in all forms of digital discovery.
This won’t be easy. Search marketers have been marketing on search engines for over a decade and are no strangers to success — the need to expand their oft-effective strategies doesn’t feel quite pressing to most search marketers who hardly struggle to meet their search-engine-centric goals. And sure, they’ll continue to meet their search engine goals but will miss out on incremental benefits if they continue to ignore the opportunity that lies for them across other types of discovery media. But where and how to start?