MARKETING: The Social Search Impact

With Google and Bing both fighting for social search supremacy, it seems like social search is the next big thing in the search industry.

Thinking back when I was young (really young!), the introduction of search engines made life so much easier. School projects findings are just a a Google, or rather, a Yahoo away.

And that is also how pay-per-click marketing slowly established itself as the dominant online marketing tool till today.

So how will social search impact us and the way advertisers market their products? We shall explore that below.

We’ll listen to our friends more

Searches will soon include social updates from our social circle, and that will alter our buying decision. Our friends recommendations play a big part in helping us simplify our decisions quickly. We are all familiar with the “If John says its good, it must be good” decision process.

But a friend’s recommendation is only available when we ask for it. Plus, we normally seek information from closer friends only. Social search made it possible for you to see what your entire social circle are saying by simply typing in keywords.

Social search results roll out automatically with your normal search results. Your information set has just expanded without adding any hassle to you.

Advertisers and us

Social search has just extended the limits of social media and amplified its users’ voice. Whatever we say now have more weight so for advertisers and PR agents, it is essential to grab hold of influential Tweeps to help talk good about your product.

Paid to tweet services are likely to rise with social search. “Viral campaign” gets more viral since businesses are more likely to pay tweeps to spread their message. While it is getting easier for advertisers to create buzz, information quality might be compromised as opinions are likely to be manipulated by them.

The challenge that I foresee would be to balance loud buzz and information quality. I don’t think you would want to doubt or suspect your friend’s true motivations when he or she is recommending a product.