One of the more common debates in SMB digital marketing revolves around the DIY vs. DIFM dilemma. Is it realistic for a service provider to hand over its tech platform to a small merchant, or is high-level “done for you” assistance required? Surefire Social CEO Chris Marentis thinks the answer may lie somewhere in the middle.

The company recently released SMB Visible, its integrated social media, content marketing and SEO platform that helps SMBs tackle the fast-evolving discoverability challenge, where social signals, “earned backlinks”, fresh content and mobile optimization all have a hand in getting found.

Surefire Social’s proverbial special sauce, however, may be its network of “coaches” spread around the U.S. that work directly with clients to create their full digital footprint and generate a roadmap of editorial that drives engagement and leads. Certainly not DIY, but also different from many of the DIFM platforms that often take control out of the hands of the SMB and produce generic, high-level content that can at times homogenize brand voice and miss opportunities for direct customer engagement.

Marentis envisions building out the coach network to 100+ within two years to scale the SMB Visible platform. Also look for deeper movement into leads-based content.

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