Is It Social Media or a Search Engine?
Content creation for social media can be exhausting. Staying up to date on the latest tactics for each platform can make your eyes cross.
Add ever-changing analytics to the equation — or even declining reach, followers, and engagement rates — and it’s easy to feel discouraged and frustrated.
What if you’re not getting desired results on some of your channels because you’re creating the wrong type of content?
It’s time to review these terms and make sure you’re not wasting your time creating social content for a search engine. Allow us to explain!
First, you need to do the research
First things first, let’s outline the differences between social media platforms and search engines. While they have similar functions, the way they share content and information is very different.
When was the last time you read a definition of either term? Sometimes refreshing our fundamentals can be incredibly enlightening.
Social media is defined as “websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking.” The goal of social media is to create connections and develop relationships with other users. And to keep your eyeballs on the feed for as long as possible.
For example, think about the last time you hopped on Facebook just to check something quickly and suddenly found yourself scrolling aimlessly for 15 minutes. Facebook is designed to pull you in and keep you there, with compelling content from your friends and family, and with ads tucked neatly in between their posts.
A search engine is defined as “a program that searches for and identifies items in a database that correspond to keywords or characters specified by the user, used especially for finding particular sites on the World Wide Web.” The goal of a search engine is to find the right answer or content for the user based on their query.
Google cares how long you spend on a webpage, but they care even more about whether the content they pulled answered your question.
There are a few platforms that folks commonly put into the “social media” category that actually function more like a search engine. If we aren’t careful, we can fall into the trap of creating content that doesn’t satisfy the underlying algorithm’s preferences. So, it’s important to understand what each platform is before you start generating content.
Who’s who of social and search
There are over 103 social media platforms, but let’s review some of the fan favorites and highlight which ones are search engines dressed up as social media platforms.
Social media platforms
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and TikTok are our typical social media platforms. They’re the first ones that come to mind when we think about social media.
These platforms are designed to share user-created content, drive connections, and encourage conversation. Their algorithms account for a user’s previous interactions and behavior to determine what they’d like to see going forward.
Users typically go to a social media platform to see content from their network, find entertainment, or scroll through a curated feed of some kind.
Learn more about how these different platforms’ algorithms work in these helpful articles.
Search engines
YouTube, Pinterest, and Google My Business are search engines dressed up like social media.
Even though most people think Pinterest is a social media channel, many marketers have reclassified Pinterest as a search engine based on its core functionality.
Pinterest determines what to share on the user’s feed based on the keywords they follow or search. Pinterest also analyzes titles, descriptions, and graphics of each pin to figure out what to share with a specific user, based on their search.
If you’re looking to utilize Pinterest as a marketing tool, prioritize finding the right keywords for your posts. And if you’re investing in content marketing and SEO for your business, consider applying the same SEO strategy to Pinterest.
Google My Business may not be the first thing you think of when it comes to social media, but many businesses treat it more like a social platform than a search engine tool.
Google My Business not only allows you to update your business listing but also share posts and host your business reviews. So, it requires the same upkeep as a social media platform.
However, Google My Business is still a search engine — Google shares information from your listing based on what a user searches for online. When you set up your Google My Business listing, utilize your keywords, location, and reviews to ensure you show up when people search for your services or products.
And it may not surprised you to know that YouTube is essentially a giant search engine… one of the most popular in the world! Use these SEO tips just for YouTube and be prepared to spend some time on this if you want to boost your views and get subscribers.
3 steps to improve your content strategies
Now we know the differences between the platforms, but what does this mean for the content you create?
1. Reorganize and restructure your approach to each platform.
It’s easy to get into the rhythm of creating the same type of content for all platforms, but that’ll undercut your results. Instead, you should understand how each platform works and fits into your overall strategy. Then you can adjust your content to be the best it can be for each one.
You may even discover that certain platforms aren’t helping your business grow or reach your goals at all. Maybe it’s time to consolidate!
2. Get the right people in the right position.
Since social media content and content optimized for SEO are different, you may need to restructure some of your roles and responsibilities. You may even need to add to your team if you don’t have the right personnel.
For example, if you want to use Pinterest to grow your business and drive traffic to your website, you’ll need someone who can research keywords and create content that will attract viewers to your website. Maybe this is someone already on your team, or maybe you should talk to an SEO specialist who can lend their expertise.
Each platform requires a different skill set. This is crucial to understand if you want to get the right content out at the right time with the right message.
But before you run to Indeed or LinkedIn Jobs, think about your business’s marketing strategy. Which platforms fit into that strategy? If Pinterest isn’t right for you, focus on other platforms; but if others are falling flat, Pinterest may be worth the investment.
3. Start experimenting!
The most critical step is to just get started. Make a plan and then implement it to see how these changes impact your results.
You can start small and re-do some old Pinterest posts with new keywords, or prioritize engagement with your followers on platforms like Instagram and LinkedIn. But the bottom line is that understanding what each platform really is, why it’s successful, and how each platform works from top to bottom is key to creating content that will be successful.
What are some changes you plan to make?