Meaning behind the Internet Marketing Tree

My company’s manager posted this infographic on Google Plus:

The organization in this graphic is very intriguing. I  wish there would be more insight into the overlap in related areas. Perhaps the fact that some items are roots and some are branches, speaks to the related functions. Also email marketing and social media are very related. Maybe that’s why they have those two branches near each other at the top.

I might be reading too much into this, but are email marketing and social media two areas of higher growth than the other areas? (Hence they are at the top of the tree where most growth occurs).

Also, what would one feed the tree of internet marketing?

A google image search for this graphic gave hundreds of results. The one with the highest resolution pointed to this blog post. I’m not sure if this is the original author of the graphic, but he certainly talks more about the metaphor of Internet Marketing as a tree:

Deep Roots
First, planting strong, deep roots in the form of research, strategy, branding and content. It is tempting to jump ahead to the design and development phases of projects, but like a tree that has a weak root structure, your marketing will not stand without a solid foundation to support it.

Sturdy Trunk
The roots support a sturdy trunk made up of good web design and development. Just as a tree grows bigger and thicker over time, your website and web presence should be set up to do the same. The trunk is the core of the tree, just like a good website should be the core your company’s marketing.

Sprawling Branches
The branches of the tree are a perfect symbol for the tremendous range of opportunities that exist for you to promote and advertise yourself. From Search Engine Marketing to Social Media Marketing, from Email to Online PR, etc., there is an ever growing number of categories and subcategories of promotional channels to exploit. But the important thing to understand is how they should grow out of a common strategy and how they should feed back into your marketing core, namely your website.

Your Tree, Your Forest
A tree thrives by drawing in rain and sunshine, growing bigger and bigger to take up more space, expanding upward and outward to block out competing vegetation and ensuring its long life. You have the choice – are you going to plant a mighty oak or settle for a struggling bush?

Ok, wait. Mainlinemedia did make this graphic. When you click on the image on their blog post, it comes to a PDF with all this text in a side column, along with their logo. It’s too bad all instances of this graphic online have the logo cropped out.

All the metaphors for the tree really hold up to internet marketing. The trunk being the central strategy with the branches and roots supporting the trunk. Also, the notion of competition in the forest is noteworthy.

Looking  at this graphic, it’s fun to picture where in the tree you sit. For the past few years I certainly have a swing built off the email marketing branch. Where do you see yourself in the Tree of Internet Marketing?