Social media is the new search engine. Are you ready?

For decades, people have used search engines like Google and Bing to find answers to questions and discover products from brands they loved.

Now, social media has risen as the new search engine. It’s a place where a growing number of people are turning to find brands, get real-time updates on products ‌and seek out reviews from others. Social media search also offers something traditional search engines don’t—a place to follow influencers, seek out industry experts and scroll through niche content tailored to your interests.

Social data has given brands the information they need to curate content for their target audiences and deeply understand what drives people to make decisions online. It’s not surprising that according to The 2023 State of Social Media, 93% of business leaders say social media data and insights will be their company’s primary source of business intelligence.

But gathering and using this data is only possible if a brand’s content is discoverable.

In this article, we’ll look at what social media search is and how brands, like you, can benefit from it. You’ll also see how having a consistent presence across networks to increase discoverability will help grow your market share, improve overall brand impact and increase ROI.

What is social media search?

Social media search is the practice of looking for products, information, brands or anything else ‌directly within a social media platform.

Traditionally, sites like Google have dominated the way we search for information online. But according to Forbes research, 24% of consumers now use social media to search and find answers to questions. The number is even higher for Gen Z, with 46% of the demographic using social media as their primary search engine to find information.

Most social media platforms have a native search bar, allowing users to look for information based on mentions, specific usernames, products, trends and more.

Examples of social media search

Using social media search engines is different to traditional search engines. Some platforms offer filters, while others may suggest search terms based on trending topics.

Each of these social networks act as a social media search platform for a certain type of content or demographic. They’re also reshaping the way we search and offering users content based on trending topics and what’s most engaging.

Let’s explore popular examples of social media search engines people are using.

YouTube

People use YouTube to search for tutorials, reviews or just for entertaining content, making it the world’s second most-visited website. Not surprisingly, the platform fields billions of queries every month. When a search term is entered, YouTube suggests popular searches from other users and also places the most popular results at the top.

What’s unique about YouTube is its filters—you can target your search based on when content was uploaded, its type and its duration. The results you see from search inputs are continuously dictated by the platform’s algorithm, which learns what you like based on the content you’ve previously watched.

Facebook Groups

Facebook Groups is a social media search engine that combines advice and discussions. Thanks to its AI capabilities, Facebook Groups (and all Meta apps) can access real-time information from across the web. Inside your Facebook Profile, Groups are recommended based on your interests and behavior, which you can then ask to join.

Once accepted into a group, use the search bar to find topics or answers to questions you’re interested in.

Tapping into these user groups can help you improve engagement with your target audience and boost your Facebook reach.

Instagram

Instagram’s search engine helps you find content based on trends, matching accounts or even hashtags. It shows all of the results underneath the search bar to make it easy to click on the result that resonates with the user’s intent.

Instagram’s Explore page also gives personalized content suggestions based on your specific interests. Understanding how the platform works as a search engine can give you key insights into improving your Instagram marketing strategy.

Pinterest

Users are landing on Pinterest to search for visual ideas and inspiration about anything from house renovations to fashion. Unlike traditional search, Pinterest shows social media image search results using keywords, popular posts and images so users can instantly see what they are looking for.

TikTok

TikTok is increasingly becoming a platform for short-form video search to find trends and tips. According to Adobe, more than two in five Americans use TikTok as a search engine, with a growing number of Gen Zers ‌more likely to rely on it for search over Google.

Why social media has emerged as the new search engine

Google accounts for nearly 82% of traffic from search engines worldwide, with other platforms like Bing and Yahoo making up the rest.

So, why are users turning to social media search engines?

The answer is multilayered. First, Google is driven by sharing information instead of being entertainment-driven like a lot of social media search engines. The results we see on Google only have minor variations across users and regions, while social media search results can vary greatly by user and their location, making it a much more targeted experience.

Google also makes searchers do all the work to find answers to their search queries. Users will need to decide if they want to click on a blog post, image, video or eCommerce store to find the answer to their search query.

Another interesting reason is that while Google sends us elsewhere, social media search keeps us on the same platform. This makes social media search more accurate as most people spend over two hours every day on social media, which in turn, enables each platform’s algorithm to know user preferences deeply. In turn, this helps the algorithm recommend content or ads it knows the user will like.

Here are some more reasons why the use of social media search engine is climbing.

• Unprecedented number of people are using social media platforms. Social media usage is growing across every demographic and country. Over five billion people are using social media worldwide, and that number is expected to grow to over six billion by 2028.
• Users are naturally turning to social media for real-time information. It takes seconds to post on social media. The real-time nature of social media allows users to lean on it as a search engine for updates on what’s happening in the world, or what their favorite celebrities and influencers are doing in their day-to-day lives.
• Social is the No.1 channel for brands to build connections with consumers. Recent Sprout data shows consumers rank social media as the number one platform to connect with them. Additionally, 78% of consumers also want brands to use social media to help people connect with each other.
• Social media is authentic. Authenticity trumps all for today’s search engine users, and social media is giving them the experience they crave. Ever notice how social media feeds seem to know exactly what content you like or the types of people you want to follow? That’s because each social media platform is continuously learning from your interactions and offers up content that you’ll like, making search faster and more efficient.

Social media is more than just a platform to share photographs or chat with a friend. Each is a powerful tool to search for information, find answers to questions or purchase your favorite products.

Benefits of social media search

Let’s explore some of the benefits social media search brings to consumers.

• Dynamic content. From brands and news outlets to influencers and celebrities, social media gives users access to a range of information sources. Users can follow and interact with accounts that post the type of content they find authentic and trustworthy to give them a better search experience. Nike’s TikTok is a great example, where sponsored athletes are regularly featured alongside regular people wearing Nike merch and playing their favorite sports:

• Social proof. Social media searchers want access to real experiences. According to The Sprout Social Index ™ 2023, 45% of people will follow a brand because they find content enjoyable, with another 21% saying it’s because its values or mission aligns with their own. Social media search allows users to determine which brands and accounts they follow so results feel more genuine.
• Personalized search. Finding reviews, recommendations‌ and purchasing options is easier with tailored and personalized feeds. Social media search engines will track past interactions with accounts and preferences to suggest more relevant results to improve a user’s search experience.
• Visual appeal. Traditional search engines are text-heavy. Social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok are the opposite and provide search engine results through images and videos for a more interactive experience.
• Community interaction. Social media search results can create more interaction and discussion within a platform. Users can comment, share and discuss results with other users to get a deeper understanding of a topic or product. For example, Facebook Groups allows users to join niche communities and get answers to their questions from other people, like this group targeted at people visiting Ontario.

6 reasons why social media search is important for marketers

Social media search opens up a new way for brands and marketers to connect with customers. Let’s look at why social media search is so important for marketing strategies.

1. SEO for social media

Like traditional search engines, optimizing content for social media search makes it easier to find and increases your reach.

SEO for social media looks like optimizing your:

• Profile information. Align your handle or account name with your brand and include any relevant links to your site so users can access it easily.
• Keywords. Like traditional search, include keywords in posts and product descriptions that align with how users are searching on social media.
• Alt text. Always add (relevant and descriptive) alt text to improve accessibility and social search SEO performance.

For further reach, consider using hashtags to help users find your content quickly as they are a great tool to amplify the reach of your posts and drive engagement. Be mindful that hashtags perform differently depending on the social platform you use them on:

• Facebook hashtags should avoid spaces, punctuations and symbols. They’re best used when added to sentences in a marketing campaign like “Here’s your chance to win a #FreeSproutSubscription”
• Instagram Reel hashtags make your content easier to find, plus you can target niche communities and specific demographics.
• Tiktok hashtags help increase visibility and engagement of campaigns. They’re perfect to jump on trends and get content inspiration from other creators.
• Linkedin hashtags work best when used sparingly and strategically. Use LinkedIn hashtag analytics to see what’s resonating with your audience.

It’s also important to guide people from social media search to your website.

For example, SproutLink brings your Instagram publishing workflow together by creating posts as well as managing and reporting on any content links within your Sprout dashboard. With SproutLink, marketers can create clickable Instagram posts so your target audience can easily explore your brand’s content:

2. Brand insights

Understanding what consumers are hunting for on social media search can help marketers build more robust campaigns.

Tracking search queries using social listening tools offers marketers insights into social media search intent. For example, Sprout Listening can track conversations your target audience is having on social media around key topics and turn it into usable data that sharpens your strategy.

You can also use Query Builder to track mentions or your brand and related products.

It’s AI and natural language processing (NLP) capabilities automatically suggest any related keywords to a topic so you get the most relevant insights.

3. Content creation

As more users are turning to social media for search, marketers need to focus on creating content they want to see. This content shouldn’t just focus on branded assets, but also lean on SEO best practices to make it easily recognizable to each platform’s algorithm.

As Brandon Smithwrick, Head of Content at Kickstarter, recently discussed at a Sprout Roundtable discussion, marketers can make more of an impact with content and attract search traffic on social media with well-versed SEO tactics. He says a lot of social marketers can improve content prioritization of search functionality on platforms like Instagram and TikTok.

“You really want to think about how does your content ladder link back to what people are looking for. It’s very rare someone’s looking for ‘how do I do this’ or branded terms, but they’re going to look for broader terms. Really focus on what content are people looking at and that way we can be proactive versus just reactive,” he explains.

4. Engagement and analytics

Brands can actively participate in conversations and respond to queries in real-time to build trust with customers.

Leveraging social media analytics to understand search behavior is the best way for brands to participate and interact in these conversations. With semantic search engines constantly evolving, it’s important that marketers keep up with changing trends to ensure their content is discoverable to searchers.

Using Sprout’s Brand Keywords, marketers can optimize search operators and engage in conversations even if your brand isn’t mentioned. Just add similar iterations into the Keyword Query box and if a customer refers to any variation of your brand name, it’ll pick it up:

5. Competitor insights

Social media gives marketers a chance to keep an eye on competitors.

Research from the Index shows 92% of marketers believe social media insights play a key role in improving their brand’s competitive positioning.

Sprout’s competitor insights enable marketers to compare strategies and uncover gaps their competitors are filling. This data also tracks competitors ad strategies to help you understand how target audiences respond to them.

With Sprout, these insights are compiled into a competitive analysis report to give a deeper understanding of customer attitudes toward your biggest competition.

6. Real-time consumer and market trends

Insights from social listening keep you updated with the latest trends and breaking news.

Because social media search is so different to traditional search in the sense it’s driven by entertainment and geography, marketers can hone in on audiences based on location and specific interests.

Marketers can then use this data to not only discover trends and shifts in audience behavior, but also understand sentiment around their brand, discover new markets to tap into or find their audience’s ancillary interests.

How to optimize your social media profiles for search

Social media search isn’t just about appeasing algorithms—it’s about making it easy for your target audience to find your content. To get ahead of your competition and in front of your audience, make sure your profile is optimized:

• Use keywords effectively. Always include relevant keywords that describe what your brand does in your bio, posts and captions.
• Keep your profile consistent. Post consistently across your social networks to build trust and recognition with your audience. Part of this strategy is to make sure your profile picture, handle and brand name are uniform on every profile to make them instantly recognizable.
• Feature your best content. Keep your best content accessible by pinning it so it’s visible long after the 24-hour lifecycle of regular posts.
• Use hashtags in captions, titles and descriptions. Add hashtags in your captions, titles and descriptions to boost content in search results.
• Use location tagging. Add location tags where possible to help users find content when they search for a particular place.
• Add ​​subtitles to video content. Make your content accessible with subtitles for audiences who are hard of hearing or want to watch it without sound.
• Use high-resolution photos and videos. Always aim for your content to be high quality, as visually appealing content will be more engaging.
• Look at platform analytics. Use platform analytics to understand what resonates with your audience and improve your social strategy.
• Link optimization. Use UTM parameters to see how much traffic from social media is landing on your website. These are tags added to URLs and track traffic sources. This extra data point can help you tailor content to what’s working best with your target audience.
• Use clickable links. Ensure all links in your social media profile and posts are clickable and drive users to relevant content and landing pages. This ensures that when someone clicks, they find exactly what they’re expecting on your site.

Use social media research to drive social sophistication

Where audiences are finding information online has shifted. While most people still rely on traditional search engines, social media platforms are emerging as key players in information gathering, especially for younger demographics.

For marketers, social media search offers a way to deeply understand search intent and create content based on keywords, competitors and trends that build trust with their audience. Watch our webinar on refining your social media playbook and learn how your team can use these platforms to drive engagement, and ultimately, revenue.