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?

We recently published the Search Marketing Playbook. It’s designed not only to help you figure out how to begin experimenting with discovery marketing but also to give you a practical step-by-step guide to help you achieve mastery in the space. It provides practical advice to help you employ best practices in your search marketing program and will help you evolve into a discovery marketer. With this playbook we’ll help you:

1.     Discover: what discovery marketing holds for you in our vision report; understand users search behavior in our landscape report; and learn how to make the business case to experiment with discovery enablement on channels beyond organic search.

2.     Plan: to improve your search and discovery marketing initiatives based on your unique needs. You’ll learn how to assess your search marketing maturity today; create a strategic plan to help you graduate to discovery enablement; and understand the best tactical roadmap to discovery marketing.

3.     Act: to create a discovery marketing practice. Learn how to build the right team and improve the existing one; get an easy-to-understand explanation of best practices; and determine which service and technology partners will help you achieve your search and discovery marketing goals.

4.     Optimize: to position yourself for search marketing 2.0 and to become a true discovery marketer; learn what (and how) to use measurement to gauge true success; and understand the future opportunities for your discovery marketing practice.

Start to understand your opportunities by reading the executive overview. This will help you understand the need to start thinking beyond search engine marketing and inspire action to advance your search programs today.