The Almighty Implications of Social Search

Filed under: Social Media

Yesterday, big news dropped about the future intersection of social media and search.

First, news broke that Microsoft’s Bing had inked deals with Facebook and Twitter to include status updates in search results. Big news. Huge, as Mashable put it. Just as that proverbial wave was crashing, however, Google announced a similar deal (but without Facebook).

Both search engines plan to activate social search in the coming weeks. Why is social search such a big deal? On a personal level, it means a couple things:

  • Those Twitter and Facebook status updates? Unless you’ve set your accounts on private, your personal musings will be displayed in search results. Next time you tell your tweeps that “My nose is running from eating all those hot wings,” you better believe people around the world will see that statement pop up when searching for “running” or any other word you’ve included.
  • Just as strangers will see your status updates, theirs will be turning up in your searches as well. Need to know where the best vegetarian food is in Raleigh? Search Google or Bing. I’ll bet you’ll find more than a few people recommending their favorite spots through Twitter or Facebook status updates. Real-time observations mean that you’ll have recent info by consumers like yourself. Is a restaurant tasty, but crowded right now? Reading a strangers tweet complaining about the line will help you avoid the hassle.
While the news of social search is pretty cool on a personal level, the implications are even bigger for companies and brands looking to keep up online:
  • Online reputation management will be more important than ever before. When a customer comments about your brand on their Twitter or Facebook profile now, that comment won’t just spread through social media — it’ll be visible to anyone searching about your company on Google or Bing. If the comment is good, kudos! If it’s bad, you’ll need to run damage control faster than you can say “social media FAIL.”
  • Having a social media presence will become increasingly important. Once social search goes live, Twitter and Facebook updates will give brands another way to show up in search results. Want to show up for “Raleigh ice cream shop”? Updating your company’s Twitter and Facebook profiles with posts that include those keywords will help you show up in the ranks.
While the latter implication means that social media will be an important tool for many companies (when paired with SEO), it’s crucial to remember the cardinal rule of marketing in the social realm: don’t be spammy. It may be tempting to get a Twitter profile for your business and tweet out keywords all day, but while you’ll show up in social search, spammy content will only earn a negative reaction.

Posted on October 22nd, 2009 by Hannah

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