Social search is the term that professionals and researchers in social media will continue to hear about and discuss for 2011. Google is actively looking into its new social search feature and how to transform Google to Google 3.0. It has become personalized and visual in a way that the information is presented in many different formats. One of the issues with social search is that the source of the information and the message being shared has to be validated and perceived as being credible.
Social Search Relationships (TopRankBlog)
Searching for key terms for articles, reports, and information is key – and these terms have to be taken into consideration when sharing with others in your online communities and social networks. We are using our mobile devices in sharing information, making network connections with professionals, connect socially with friends and family, and listening and monitoring the information through websites and apps on our smartphones or tablets.
So, what does social search mean for PR professionals? There are several things to consider for public relations professionals. First, making sure that you are using the key terms across your various online platforms (ex. websites, blogs, social media sites, etc) are appropriate and reflective to your own personal brand, your client’s brand, and are easily searchable for others to find this information online. In addition, what is important with social search is to establish a positive reputation as someone that is consistently sharing valuable information openly with others. Engaging in sharing the information through these online communities is key – this will create trust, credibility, and commitment to the individual and brand. In addition, people will look to sites and social media platforms that provide search items that are integrated with information in various formats (ex. pictures, audio files, videos, etc) while giving the opportunity to comment and share this information with others. People will go where they can comment and have their voices heard, and some companies have taken this into consideration and are adapting their sites to fit the needs of their audiences. Some have even tailored these features to specific social media platforms like Twitter – so social search will continue to evolve and transform each day that we turn on our computers, phones, and connect with our social media community – both professionally and personally.
In terms of PR research, there are many questions that come up with social search. For example – what is the effect of a message in a campaign if it comes from a professional source (ex. traditional media organization) compared to if one of your followers shared a link with you on Twitter or friend posted a link to your Facebook page? Does this influence people’s behavior offline across the board, or just in certain situations? How is influence in communications messages transferred via social networks between organizations to individuals (and vice versa) across these various social media platforms? What are the relationships between these various networks – can we look at social networks from a relationship perspective and determine if these are based on long-term conversations and dialogues, or if they are just online but not offline relationships. There are many future research studies that can go and explore this further – these are a few things that I have been working on for my dissertation at the University of Tennessee – particularly focusing on social media and crisis communications.
Also, it is important to look at the fact that while these new technologies are evolving and changing every day – the same conceptual framework and strategic foundation for public relations are applied, but they have changed slightly to fit the medium of online communication and dialogue. However, it is key to remember that people may only go to one or two sites for information directly since they do not want to be overloaded with information and being on too many social media sites. These are just a few things for public relations professionals and researchers to think about for future campaigns and research studies. We are living in a very exciting time where technology is evolving rapidly and impacting our profession both in research and in practice. 🙂
Hope you all are having a great day!
Best Wishes,
Karen
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