Cracking the Code: Strategies for Success in the Era of Social Search 

At Dig & Dig we’re committed to curiosity. As we navigate an endless news cycle – the doomsday headlines for Google’s depreciation of cookies, the  decline of traditional news outlets – there’s one trends we believe deserves more attention: the growing influence of social search. 

According to Google’s own data, 40% of Gen-Z individuals prefer searching on platforms like TikTok and rather than using traditional search engines like Google. Pinterest attracts nearly half a billion users monthly, with 96% of searches being unbranded. 82% of Gen-Zers trust Reddit for information on new products and services, ranking it third after Google and Amazon. 

How we discover and search for information is constantly evolving, and we’re amidst a notable shift towards more visual, personal, crowd-sourced, and immediate queries.  

At Dig & Dig, we’re in constant motion to adapt to shifts in consumer behavior. Below, we breakdown three key strategies for social search. 

Create omnichannel content to improve organic search visibility.

Content should be designed with multiple channels in mind, rather than focusing solely on one platform. Often, internal department siloes lead to disjointed content creation. Take, for example, the role of a Content Strategist versus a Social Media Manager. One focuses on inbound content strategy while the other represents the company externally to drive awareness, foster engagement, and fuel growth. Their roles, KPIs, and sometimes even their supervisors are different. 

But, brands and companies that integrate these efforts will ensure content is cohesive and impactful across all different platforms. When omnichannel content is underpinned by a shared keyword strategy and value proposition it will make that content work harder to drive action effectively. A long-form blog that provides in-depth insights can be complemented by bite-size social snippets to summarize key points in a way that’s fresh and relevant.   

Easy, right? With commitment to integration, it can be. And your organic search performance will speak for itself. 

Leverage SEO tactics to enhance the visibility of social posts.

Every social marketer is challenged to “break-through” today’s saturated social feeds. But even thumb-stopping creative and catchy copy are not enough on their own. 

To boost the visibility of social content, it’s critical to incorporate SEO tactics such as keyword-led tags and hashtags. On social platforms, this includes optimizing alt text fields with descriptive language to improve content visibility. Tapping into SEO specialists here is a cheat-code for social teams as they offer a different perspective on keyword opportunities based on search trends which can enhance the discoverability of social posts.  

Winning social tactics can also improve SEO, by the way. Infusing creativity into the technical components of your SEO strategy can accelerate your keyword rankings and boost search discoverability. 

Maintain consistency to bridge the gap between user queries and information.

Consumers are toggling between six to seven platforms when gathering information to make a purchase decision. This underscores the importance of establishing content consistency between channels and platforms so that the narrative is the same whether a user is passively scrolling or actively searching. Tone, message, and value proposition should remain consistent across your website, search copy, and social channels. This not only enhances the user experience but also signals to search engines like Google that you are a reliable authority in those content areas. 

Adopting an SEO mindset for social and content planning is essential for digital marketers in 2024. By embracing these strategies, you can position your brand for success in this ever-changing digital landscape. 

If you remain unconvinced, consider this: generative AI natural language models are building massive datasets of text and code. While use of “direct social data” isn’t used to inform chat responses, it is learning from data that contains social snippets. Still unsure? Ask Gemini yourself.