Social Search is the industry’s new buzz word, but while it may be the term on everyone’s lips, how can brands use it effectively to actually aid content performance?
What is Social Search?
Social search, in short, is the practice of finding information, products, or services by searching within social platforms rather than using traditional online search engines. It involves leveraging social platforms and their built-in search functionalities, as well as utilising the social connections and recommendations of users to discover relevant content.
It is well known for example, that Gen Z are turning to social as their first port of call to find products and services, and platforms like TikTok are leading the way in this, with 77% of Gen Z who are on the platform using it for product discovery according to Sprout Social. With that being the case, how do brands utilise this information to aid content performance, with a strategy that goes beyond simply optimising content for search?
Ways to improve content performance
Identify your Search Insights natively
Start with native discovery to identify search insights and turn them into content gaps that will inform your strategy. Searching for product-relevant queries on platforms like TikTok Creator Search Insights is a good place to start.
For example, look for unanswered questions in comment sections, misunderstandings people have about a topic or frequently searched queries on platforms like TikTok and use your content to fill these knowledge gaps with engaging tutorials and educational posts.
From this native discovery, you can also work out what formats, tones and overlays are gaining the most cut-through and begin to incorporate them into your own content strategy to ensure your content is getting traction while also driving engagement.
Create content series, not standalone
To gain real cut-through with social search, brands need to make sure that the content created are not just one-off, stand-alone pieces. To see real impact, content created needs to be part of a wider thematic series, to generate trust and credibility. This will ensure your content is authentic and will activate the platform algorithm, meaning your content will begin seeing greater reach.
Identify additional insights from SEO Tactics
Using traditional SEO best practices is also important. By cross-referencing wider SEO search terms on traditional search platforms, we can dovetail this intel to inform how we answer commonly asked questions, and incorporate frequently used search terms into our always-on strategy via creative, scroll-stopping content.
When we think about it, SEO and Social strategies can have similar KPI’s that cross over with each other, such as Visibility and Reach, both of which can help positively influence each other.
Utilising SEO terms in your social media content can help you reach that wider audience, especially when users are utilising social platforms to search.
Similarly, Social media signals such as likes, shares and comments, can help indirectly influence how your website content ranks in SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages), showcasing how a strong Social Media presence, can improve your overall SEO.
Ultimately, your content should be built to perform on social platforms but also show up beyond those platforms.
New era of SEO and Social Media integration
Talking of content showing up beyond social platforms, SEO capabilities are always evolving, which is why it’s crucial to keep your social strategy agile, using it to aid Search Engine performance as well as reach. For example, it was recently announced that Instagram posts from business accounts can be indexed in Google search results, thanks to a recent update.
This means that photos, videos and captions could be visible when someone searches for relevant topics on Google. This update opens new opportunities for brands to generate traffic, leads and visibility.
Conclusion: Strategy is key
What is crucial, is a distinct strategy that makes social search a performance tool, and not simply a social listening tactic to observe trends. While it is important, it’s not enough to just have your video answer search questions, or to create videos with SEO in mind, or to stop at trend spotting.
Real value comes when you activate what you find to improve content performance. The content you post needs to be engaging enough to stop users scrolling. It needs to be timely, creative and relatable to see genuine engagement.
If you’re looking to better elevate your content strategy through social search, get in touch with our Digital specialists.