Google Vs. Social Media
There is an interesting post at Mashable about how social media may be affecting the value of Google’s PageRank system. The author, Steven Hodson, has some interesting thoughts (I’m paraphrasing) about how social media could really change the game and further empower consumers to dictate the popularity of something, shifting some power away from Google’s PR. He seems to be making a case for a tech entrepreneur to take on Google by leveraging social media, and he may be absolutely right. My take away from the article is a bit of a tangent.
Word of mouth is one of the most powerful and trusted forms of marketing. Google originally empowered consumers to take control and become more educated consumers. It empowered small businesses to compete with large multinational corporations. Now blogging and social media are connecting people into larger and more accessible networks, making each consumer more powerful (both good and bad) than ever before by making “word of mouth” easier to broadcast. Social networking has taken away geographical borders from networking with like minded people. Blogging has provided a fast and simple publishing platform to consumers to help them share ideas. When you combine them all, new media has given consumers an unbelievable power to direct brands and products into new directions through instant feedback. Combined, their strengths are magnified but I don’t see them as competitive.
As a marketer, and someone who enjoys working with entrepreneurs and small businesses, social media provides an opportunity to take control of a brand at a grass roots level, and guide it in a controlled direction. It requires careful and deliberate participation, transparency, and embracing the idea that solid networking is not about selling but about participating and providing value. You can’t force a viral campaign, and you can’t push your sales agenda on Twitter. What you can do is participate in new media in a way that leverages the benefits of search engines, social networks, and bloggers to build your brand the old fashioned way - through word of mouth and a solid reputation.
Google and social media are perfect for each other, and I don’t see them as competitors as much as having distinctly different agendas and purposes. Mr. Holden provides some thought provoking ideas, and maybe I’m being short sighted, but I see them as more powerful together than they are apart and I can’t forsee that changing.
Tags: business-blogging, Search Engine Visibility, social-media, social-media-search