Combined Search, Social Creates Ultra-Personal Info

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In two years, 70% of consumers will rely on search and social combined -- up from 48% today -- when making a purchase decision, according to Chris Copeland, CEO at GroupM Search. The only reason the percentage may not skyrocket is if engines continue to integrate social, and social platforms like Facebook continue to integrate search, making both synonymous with the other, he says.

Copeland's prediction stems from the rapid adoption of search and social by consumers when making buying decisions. In a recent report from comScore and GroupM titled "The Virtuous Circle: The Role of Search and Social Media in the Purchase Pathway," 53% of participants admit that content in social changed their mind on a brand they considered buying.

On Thursday, Bing announced deeper integration with Facebook. So, when friends publicly like or share content, the results serve up in the query, along with a photo when available. The move follows a similar change by Google.

If Google, Bing and Facebook continue to combine search and social, what will the combination look like within the next few years? "A level of personalized search that a lot of people aren't quite ready for," Copeland says. "I don't think most people want to search, they want to find. If we get to a place where you're able to curate information from the signals, then you get to a compelling place."

Who does that? Good question. Copeland says Google has shown little interest in revealing algorithmic secrets to allow consumers to determine preferences and shape results. "If a company becomes successful merging search and social, they will need the power to search all of the data points to give the user the ability to determine what they value most."

Someone might value the social graph more than search, or LinkedIn vs. Facebook. When users get the ability to move the needle and determine the outcome, the merger of search and social will become nirvana and become the greatest advantage.

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0 comments on "Combined Search, Social Creates Ultra-Personal Info".

1. Brian Hayashi from ConnectMe 360
   

   commented on: February 25, 2011 at 7:42 p.m.

   Social is the natural evolution of search, i.e. "addressability", the ability to find things based on descriptors, rather than having to know the exact name.

   Traditional search allows you to find documents based on features of the document: who wrote it, the subject matter, etc.

   Social (increasingly) allows you to find people based on attributes: friends, friends who are nearby, workers, friends of friends, as well as other attributes, like employees of IBM that work in Armonk.

   Up until now, the Internet experience has been consumer-centric. But along with the rise of social has been a rise in applications for businesses. The daily deal is one example of buyer addressability for businesses: the ability to reach consumers by descriptor rather than having to have possession of their contact information.

2. Joseph Benza, jr. from www.YourCity.MD
   

   commented on: February 28, 2011 at 11:01 a.m.

   I agree with Brian's comment. The reason is obvious as some of you know the company I represent.

   The social plus find engine has already been developed by http://www.YourCity.MD/OneClick. It is also free and available to anyone with a website at the address above.

   There is no longer any reason to search Health Care using a .com search engine. Save literally hours of time using the new trade-marked and patent pending, One-Click Find engine on all www.YourCity.MD city websites.

3. Joseph Benza, jr. from www.YourCity.MD
   

   commented on: February 28, 2011 at 11:17 a.m.

   We are working with several other industries to bring this same New Search/Find/Social Technology to everyone that has an interest in improving the web experience for their clients.

4. Jesus Grana from Independent
   

   commented on: March 1, 2011 at 8:26 a.m.

   Agree. Check out my latest blog entry for highlights on why this is true.
   If You Can’t Beat (or Buy) Them, Join Them – Need for a Social Media Ecosystem http://jrgrana.com/blog/?p=162
   

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