Personality Profiles and SEM

 

A corporation is “a body that is granted a charter recognizing it as a separate legal entity having its own rights, privileges, and liabilities distinct from those of its members.”

To construct and implement a cohesive corporate SEM (define) campaign, an in-house search marketer must span departmentalized crevasses to coax different individuals into fulfilling unified SEM goals. To do this, you’ll to have become familiar with the different personalities that make up a corporation.

Just the Facts, Ma’am

Performance-oriented personalities seem to ask the right questions at the right time. Performers are principled, focused, determined, and self-motivated. They tend to be perfectionists, expecting the same from others. When you deal with a performer, make certain you have substantive facts, detailed research references, and metrics boiled down into succinct sound bites.

Performers dislike carelessness. They are why spell checker exists. If you need to influence a performer, your search strategy must error-free and flawlessly presented to appeal to the performer’s high standards.

Miss Congeniality

Be it Miss, Mrs., Ms., or Mr., congenial types are genuinely kind, caring, affable people. These good-natured sorts are pleasant people who dislike solitude and prefer personal dealings. To them, a handshake is a binding contract. If you need to influence a congenial type, you’ll need to make a personal connection with the individual.

Be prepared to talk about school, kids, films, and life in general in a casual conversation as it relates to SEM. This personality is often a mentoring type. If you are going to guide a counselor toward supporting an SEM strategy, use a tutoring yet personalized approach.

A Real Character

Generally speaking, this personality dwells in a creative atmosphere where she can be an expressive individual. These creative types tend to rely on intuition to make decisions. They usually dislike uniformity and standardization. Forget the rules and regulations. A real character likes to put her personal mark on things.

Be ready for an up-and-down working relationship with a real character. Be prepared for temperamental outbursts and receptive to creative input. If you need a real character’s support for an SEM campaign, allow her to put her stamp on things. Turn over the reins, and enjoy the ride knowing her backing brings your project closer to fruition.

The Rescue Missionary

These challenge-oriented personalities like to be first on the scene of a calamity. Rescuers thrive on the mission. They are self-confident, decisive, determined, and occasionally confrontational. They dislike indecisiveness and are attracted to strength and strategic action. They’re highly responsive troubleshooters who perform best in a crisis but tend to underperform in long-term strategic planning.

A corporate SEM strategy is naturally rooted in long-term strategic activities. But building a successful strategy isn’t without crisis-management opportunities. Don’t hesitate to bring this personality into an SEM campaign. Be prepared to deal with this individual by exhibiting the same qualities that appeal to him. Be tough, decisive, and prepared to make a strong argument if your SEM strategy fuels a fire.

Blessed Peacemakers

Tranquil, reassuring, and composed, peacemakers dislike tension and conflict. Yet they can thrive in a stressful environment because they are so very agreeable and complacent, striving to be a magnet for harmony and stability.

Peacemakers are admirable because they stay calm and collected in the eye of the storm. But be wary of building a false sense of security that evades reality. Peacemakers are necessary for dissolving departmental barriers. But don’t be surprised if they recede into the background when more contentious circumstances arise.

Curbed Enthusiasts

Impulsive, resourceful, and glib, enthusiasts are typically chatty scatterbrains. If they take medication to avert attention deficit disorders, these rah-rah-types are curbed enthusiasts. Both types attracted to new possibilities and excitement. Neither is highly organized. Any way you cut it, enthusiasts are never boring.

Enthusiasts make great parrots when pitching an SEM strategy, but they usually don’t have enough of an attention span to focus on the details. Cheerleaders have their place on the corporate playing field. You can expect them to stand on the sidelines, encouraging a search strategy along. But you’ll need to be a hands-on coach if they’re involved in a big campaign’s nitty-gritty implementation.

Discovery Channelers

Curious, explorative, and innovative, this personality type hits very close to home for me. Naturally investigative, highly perceptive, and frequently appearing to be guarded or detached, discovery types are attracted to learning for the sake of learning — ever in pursuit of knowledge and wisdom.

When you need detailed lab work done, discovery types will submerge themselves into the project’s depths. They can be difficult to work with, as they dislike intrusions on their time and space. To be a part of the group, corporate discovery types must learn to be more flexible and responsive to the different individuals involved.

Final Analysis

Did you recognize yourself? A colleague or client? If you’re going to be an effective search marketer in a corporate environment, you must take into account how diverse individuals take care of business.

Understanding different personality types may be a far cry from building a comprehensive SEM strategy. But accepting how different individuals’ personalities, motivations, and thinking styles influence an SEM strategy is essential to your ultimate success.

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