Goodbye Google? The rise and rise of social search
Whether looking to be entertained, educated, enthralled or delivered e-commerce, we’re increasingly turning to social media first – and this is bad news for search engines, Bread Agency co-founder Mary Proulx writes.
In a world where social media has become our go-to source of entertainment, education, community and shopping, the boundaries between our virtual and physical lives are blurring fast.
As we scroll, like and share, a fascinating shift is taking place — users are turning to social media as their search tool to discover information, inspiration and recommendations.
While social platforms continue to evolve, encroaching on Google’s monopoly and incorporating e-commerce features at a rapid rate, a crucial question emerges for marketers. If consumers are bypassing search engines to find what they’re looking for, are your social channels optimised to show up when it matters most?
Social media platforms are the new search engines
Although chatter of social media optimisation – SMO – has been on the rise for a while, many brands continue to underutilise its potential.
Gen Z are using TikTok as their source for much of their information, searching the platform for products, local cafes, financial advice and everything in between. TikTok has even released a search widget for iPhone users, making it easier to access the app’s search functionality from the homescreen.
The in-built personalisation algorithms make TikTok and similar platforms ideal for delivering hyper-relevant search results. Moreover, short-form video continues to reign supreme as a favoured content format across platforms and demographics.
And while browsing a brand’s website might provide consumers with the detail they’re after, social search combines that information with the power of user-generated content, and we know just how influential that can be.
According to a recent study, more than 80% of consumers have researched, purchased or considered buying a product after seeing friends, family or influencers post about it.
The convergence of SEO and SMO
Marketers have been grappling with organic reach’s steep decline across social platforms for some time now.
Largely due to algorithmic influences, a vast amount of social media content may go unseen by a brand’s existing followers — let alone discovered by new ones.
Enter SMO. Just as SEO can help someone find your website when they type keywords into Google, SMO ensures your social media appears in searches related to relevant topics, hashtags or locations.
Several brands have already cottoned onto the fact that SEO can be an effective way to inform their social media content strategy too. Carrying out keyword research to find popular user questions about your product and brand can offer plenty of ideas for social content to answer these search queries.
This strategy works particularly well on short-form video platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts.
The basic elements of SMO
To get the most out of a combined SEO and SMO strategy, it’s vital to make sure your social channels are optimised for visibility.
Profile optimisation: First things first, get your profile information in order. Include key information, such as your website, product or service offering, location, and opening hours for physical businesses. These data are typically the most frequently searched and will help to keep web users on your brand channels rather than searching elsewhere.
Keyword inclusion: Just as with traditional content marketing for the web, keywords are critical. In the world of SMO this means including keywords in your profile bio, voiceover/audio, in-video text, titles and captions. When keywords are used properly, social platforms can categorise the content, helping it to show up in relevant search queries within the platform. To see if your TikTok content is social media optimised, head to your profile and begin to scroll through your video content. If you’ve used keywords properly, the search bar at the top of your screen should include a category title. If not, the search box will read “Find related content”.
Consistent publication: Just as it’s important to upload new posts to your brand blog for an SEO boost, it’s critical to stick to a regular content schedule for your social media content. Across most platforms, multiple posts per week is the sweet spot, while on TikTok, daily posting is recommended. This doesn’t mean creating new content multiple times for each platform. Instead, audit your existing content and find ways to update it with keywords. For YouTube Shorts, this could involve transforming your long-form content into keyword-optimised Shorts, which would improve your in-platform search result ranking.
Integrating SMO and SEO for long-term success
While it may be unthinkable to imagine a world without Google search as we know it, times are certainly changing.
In an increasingly connected world, capitalising on the growing influence of social channels is undoubtedly a smart move.
By combining SMO with your SEO strategy, your brand can not only achieve greater visibility, authority, and trustworthiness but also engage with your audience on a deeper and more authentic level.
Mary Proulx is the co-founder of Bread Agency.
