There is a clear shift happening in the use of social media. Where previously the focus was on following friends and family, we now increasingly use social media as a search engine for inspiration and information. Research by Hootsuite shows that especially young people between 16 and 24 years old prefer social media over traditional search engines for researching brands. They look for reviews, compare prices, and check what competitors have to offer.
Social media as the new search engine
This trend is not limited to young people. All age groups spend on average more time on social media than on search engines - about 2.2 hours per day. For Generation Z, this even goes up to 3.7 hours daily. This offers unique opportunities to bring your business to the attention of your target audience.
Social platforms are responding by optimizing their search functionality. Twitter (X) introduced advertising on search terms earlier this year. TikTok is expected to follow by the end of 2024, and Instagram's Discover page is already optimized for search behavior. Meta's platforms will not lag behind. This, combined with algorithms that recommend content based on search behavior, makes it essential to start with your Social SEO strategy now.
Effectively deploying Social SEO
Social SEO is about strategically incorporating relevant search terms into your social media content. You do this in captions, titles, alt-text, and profile information. Unlike Google SEO, this requires a platform-specific approach - Pinterest is mainly used for project inspiration, while LinkedIn is about business information.
Optimizing your social content
After thorough keyword research, it's time for implementation. We provide you with practical tips:
- Optimize your biography/page information with relevant search terms, naturally incorporated into a clear story
- Write strong, keyword-rich content for photos and videos
- Use strategically chosen hashtags (7-15 per post)
- Incorporate search terms in video captions and spoken text
- Fill in alt-texts with relevant keywords
- Add location information for local findability
Conclusion
Social SEO is becoming increasingly important for online visibility. Do you want to stay ahead in this development and elevate your online marketing strategy to a higher level? Contact us for a strategic conversation about the possibilities.
