Is social search a distraction?
Social search has become an enormous issue for many marketers in 2010, and we’ve covered the dramatic shift as social media becomes a larger part of the search landscape.
As part of an internal presentation I made here at SmartBrief, I showed how critical social profiles were to our brand. Of the top 10 search engine results from “smartbrief,” four of them are some sort of social profiles. Cutting right through my proclamation of social-media dominance, one member of our executive team posed a simple question that (amazingly) I had never considered: “Is that good for us?” After months of chugging social media Kool-Aid, my immediate reaction was, “Of course,” but deep down, I wasn’t so sure. Let’s take a closer look.
As a starting point, let’s pretend this is NOT SmartBlog on Social Media and we are not necessarily sold on the merits of social media. Let’s say you are a pickle pusher selling pickles online at ProperPickles. As the proprietor of Proper Pickles (OK, I’ll take it easy on the alliteration now), your No. 1 goal is to increase sales. Do these social results bring customers closer to a sale? If you’re like me, you’re ready to jump in and say, “Of course!”
But we have to look at this from a direct marketer’s viewpoint. Before social media, potential customers who heard about these great mail-order pickles could search for “Proper Pickles” and find one clear, concise answer to their search. After social media, the customer has to choose from the homepage, the @ProperPickles Twitter account, the Facebook fan page, the Proper Pickling Blog and Proper Pickle LinkedIn company profile. Sure, the ProperPickles Web site is still the first result, but one cannot argue that attention has not been diverted. Instead of going directly to the site and ordering pickles, the end user is watching as you interact with a customer who received cornichons rather than kosher dills. Score one for transparency — but did you just lose a sale?
Upon hearing my concerns, one search engine marketing specialist reminded me not to lose sight of the “long tail” perspective. While some of these social results might dilute your brand’s target when someone searches directly for your company name, they undoubtedly boost visibility elsewhere. If a potential customer is searching for the name of that rare pickle Aunt Ethel used to bring over on holidays, he or she might come across a discussion on your blog or on Twitter. Now, you’re gaining market share by being at the center of discussion and have garnered the opportunity to begin a relationship with a passive user.
There we have it. On one hand, our new social presence is distracting driven customers, and on the other, it’s creating opportunities to forge engaged relationships. So what can we do to take advantage of our social-media presence without sacrificing the sales funnel? Here are some things to keep in mind while building out your strategy:
- Keep your No. 1 goal No. 1. While your social-media presence must serve your customers, you have to be more mindful of those who are not following you or reading your blogs. Many of them will stumble upon your information — so while you don’t overwhelm with sales pitches, make sure the path to your product(s) remains as simple and direct as possible.
- “Just being there” will hurt you. If you started a Twitter account a few months ago and neglected it, you might be surprised at how visible it may be to those searching for your business. If potential customers come across an account with little activity or a one-way feed spouting corporate announcements, it will leave a bad taste in their mouths. Increasingly, companies are judged on their interaction with customers — so make sure you display that at all times.
- Beware of dilution. As a follow-up to the above point, don’t do it if you’re not going to do it right. Make sure your social presence serves a purpose legitimate enough to steal eyeballs away from your central hub.
What are your experiences in the new world of social search? Are you seeing fewer organic impressions to your site directly from search engine results pages? How is this affecting your overall numbers?
Image credit, DSGpro, via iStock
Posted by Promotional Products on January 26th, 2010 at 7:44 pm
Thanks for you post. I hear #2 loud and clear. I know some people who got a twitter account and use it very sparingly, They wonder why no one is following them and why they are not growing. So important to stay up on that stuff.
Posted by Tweets that mention SmartBlog On Social Media » Is social search a distraction? -- Topsy.com on January 27th, 2010 at 3:23 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by SmartBrief on SocMed, Paul, Rob Birgfeld, Lissa Duty, Ruxter and others. Ruxter said: RT @SBoSM: Is social search a sales funnel distraction? http://bit.ly/byy5IR [...]
Posted by Natalie on January 27th, 2010 at 8:45 am
Great post! I have been talking to several of my clients about the importance of social activity and using social search as an argument for it. I appreciate your perspective and agree that if you are actually going to delve into it you better present yourself well.
Posted by Andrew McFarland on January 27th, 2010 at 11:45 am
Seems obvious that relying on your website to control content is a thing of the past. Your customers want to engage with you in an environment that is convenient to/useful for them. Change or be left behind.
Thanks for the post.
Posted by Zack on January 27th, 2010 at 12:22 pm
I’m not a real big fan of social search to be honest. I question the relevancy of even having it. I think Google and the others should have a place for it, like blog and image search, not in the main serps. It is opening up a door for spammers and the spread of malware. If you want to search for something real-time, there is Twitter, etc. I have a feeling it is not going to last anyway.
Posted by luisfernandes on January 27th, 2010 at 12:51 pm
Another good way to help qualified traffic connect with your main site is to keep updated and compelling sitelinks through Google. Accessible through Google Webmaster Tools.
Posted by James Todd on January 27th, 2010 at 6:27 pm
All the noise about social media is causing businesses to panic believing that any presence is a good presence. As Rob said only do what you do well However many times that are various ways to use the different social media that can be coordinated effectively to enable you to do a good job with a controlled and manageable effort.
James Todd
Publisher: BuildMySiteforFree.com
Posted by Tweets that mention SmartBlog On Social Media » Is social search a distraction? -- Topsy.com on January 28th, 2010 at 7:06 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Zack Hanebrink, Karima-Catherine. Karima-Catherine said: RT @Zack_Hanebrink: Is social search a distraction? http://ow.ly/1151N #socialmedia [...]
Posted by Michael West on February 1st, 2010 at 7:56 pm
GREAT point on number 2. Your company will look a lot worse if your facebook account has two followers! What will your investors think of you?
Posted by Is social search diluting your brand? « FCEdge Powerful Marketing Communications on February 9th, 2010 at 5:30 am
[...] Is social search diluting your brand? Social search makes it easier than ever for customers to find your brand on sites such as Facebook and Twitter — but it also increases the chance that they’ll wind up on those platforms instead of on your company’s main Web page, writes Rob Birgfeld. That’s fine if you keep your social outposts spic and span, Birgfeld writes, but it can be a big problem if they’re neglected or unpolished. “Don’t do it if you’re not going to do it right,” writes Birgfeld. “Make sure your social presence serves a purpose legitimate enough to steal eyeballs away from your central hub.” SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Social Media [...]
Posted by q100229077 on August 25th, 2010 at 1:03 am
About the wonderful, very pleased to see this article, learn some things, and view the text is recognized. Thank you for sharing. At the same time，i love Buy Baby stroller very much !