Influence of social media on search
It is a common misconception that businesses do not need a presence on social networking platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn or YouTube. The attitude is “I’m B2B, my customers aren’t on Facebook” – aren’t they? Let us have a look at some stats for last year:
- 1.43 billion social network users
- A Pew Internet survey found that 65 percent of Internet users in the U.S. used social networking sites
- Sixty-one percent of adults under 30 reported that they used a social networking site at least once on a typical day
- A joint study by global management consulting firm Booz & Company and Buddy Media found that 96 percent of companies surveyed would be increasing their investments in social media.
- Facebook boasts more than 845 million active users
The truth is that more and more people are using social networking sites, whether it is for business or personal use. Many businesses have caught onto this and have increased their social presence, many have moved budget from traditional activity and realigned it to social media.
What social media platform to use and how to use it
Which ones to use
What social media platforms a business should use will vary from one business to another and even one industry to another. But, typically we would expect a business to have some sort of presence on the following:
- Google +
- Youtube
- Flickr
- A Blog
How to use these platforms
Each of these social networking platforms has its own specific use
- Facebook – for more light hearted communication, talk about what the business is doing within the community, promote competitions or events
- Google + – Very similar to Facebook but currently has a more technical following, people who are in the technology, IT and development industry.
- LinkedIn – this is a professionals social networking platform, where professionals from all industries come together to discuss issues, join groups, advertise their services and look for a new job. LinkedIn should be used to promote corporate issues, such as Stock and Shares news.
- YouTube – Google video sharing platform, use this to upload company videos and then share on other sites as well as your own. Companies have used theis to upload and share AGMs, Webinars, Tutorials and Training videos.
- FlickR – made for sharing images, similar to YouTube but specifically for images, photos and graphics.
- A Blog – use a blog to deliver fresh news, articles and white papers to your audience and demographic. A blog can also help provide a face to a big business and add a human element. We have seen many CEOs start their own blog to help communicate with staff and customers better.
- Twitter – a micro blogging platform that allows quick short posts. This platform should be used to update your business followers on time sensitive issues. Companies have used Twitter to make board level announcements, to reveal exclusive news and to promote other digital activity.
Social media is a two-way channel
All of these channels/platforms can act as an excellent way to communicate directly with a business’ target audience and customers. This is a two way channel, so be prepared to be questioned and receive complaints. Deal with the negative elements properly and it can easily been turned into a positive. Having a response to a negative comment can sometimes be more valuable than a positive comment.
Before heading out into the social world make sure you have adequate resource to fully engage and submerge the business, only then will the business have a sustainable social presence.
Can social media influence my rankings?
In a nut-shell, yes, it definitely can. The largest search engine in most countries is Google; it owns a market share of above 90% in most countries. Therefore, ranking high on Google is paramount for most businesses.
Bing and Google’s latest algorithm changes now take into account “social signal” – this is how the brand is perceived on the social sphere. It will look at elements such as:
- Does the business have a following on Facebook?
- Does it engage on Twitter?
- What are others saying about the company?
- Does it converse with authority sites and companies via social networks?
All these will contribute towards where the site ranks. Google is very keen on its universal search results page, which presents videos, images, social profiles and news to its user when they carry out a search. If your company has these elements then it is likely that Google will present them to the user as well as the core website. By having a social presence a business has the opportunity to block out the first page of Google and push down all its competitors.
If you are unsure about Social Media and your business then feel free to get in touch with us and we can help by guiding you.
Kaled Miah
