Social Media – A Total Waste of Time!
Updated Feb 28, 2022
I can’t tell you how often I hear that. Business owners just do not see the point, purpose, or reason to engage in any Social Media. If you are wondering ~ I am defining Social Media sites as the following:
- YouTube
- Digg
- StumbleUpon
- The Thousands of other media and content-sharing sites out there
I am here to tell you that Social Media is WORTH your time as a business owner. Let me explain:
Google has added a new feature to change your thoughts concerning Social Media.
Social Search
Social search is the next BIG thing for searching. I will explain from 2 points of view ~ the consumer and the business owner. Social Search is when Google includes content from the people you know (via social sites) in your search results. The Social Search results sit at the bottom of the first page of your search results. They include a photo of what that person said and links to it. These are often reviews posted on social media for you or your business.
Social Search Consumer
If you are looking for a service, restaurant, or whatever in your local area, would you be more likely to use the services of someone you already know? How about a service that is recommended by someone you know? I am much more likely to click on content produced by someone I already know and trust. I searched for a realtor in my area.
Social Search Business Owner
You obviously want to be featured in the Social Search if you are a business owner. Realtor (in any city) is a very sought-after and hard-to-achieve keyword phrase. To get on the first page of Google for such a highly competitive keyword takes a great deal of Search Engine Optimization and constant work on your website. Pay-per-click advertising for highly competitive phrases is very expensive. Dale Chumbley and Mitch Canton are in my Social Circle (directly connected to me); therefore, I would seek their services before going elsewhere. As a Business Owner, you will never appear in these search results if you do not have a Social Circle – period.
How Social Search Works
Google determines your Social Circle through the people connected to you on different social networks. They know your social networks by the links YOU enter into your Google Business Profile. (Don’t have one ~ shame on you!)
Your Social Circle extends to the people connected directly with your social accounts. Factoring in Twitter, FaceBook, my FanPage, Digg, StumbleUpon, YouTube, Flikr, Plaxo, and the other networks, the number of people (including second level) is huge. I have added up 141,676, which is not all of my network when considering the second level or the more obscure sites I belong to ~ and I have relatively small networks compared to some people I know. When any of those people search for something I have written content on, a service I have recommended, or anything I have shared with my Social Network, my image and content will show in their search. How cool is that?
Do you want a piece of that pie? Get out there and start using Social Media ~ It won’t kill you; it might just help! :)
Update: May 30, 2024—Google no longer displays social circles. The new thing is AI-generated results. Look for more information on that as it develops!
