How to optimise your content to rank in social search

Jan 29







Whilst Google was once the reigning search engine of choice, we are now seeing a rise in people turning to social media to search for information. Below we explore this shifting behaviour and provide guidance on how to optimise healthcare content to rank in social search.

What's the trend?

Younger generations are driving a rise in search taking place on social media. 50% of Gen Z report that social media is their preferred way to look for information on products, brands, or services. Compared with only 45% preferring search engines1. Gen Z report preferring this type of search as it is more convenient, it doesn't have the bias of Google results, and you can quickly access a range of opinions2. 

This is even on the radar of Google. Prabhakar Raghavan, a Google senior vice president, said at a recent technology conference “In our studies, something like almost 40 percent of young people, when they’re looking for a place for lunch, they don’t go to Google Maps or Search. They go to TikTok or Instagram,”. The recent addition of Google perspectives , a filter that will surface more videos and content from social media sites, could be an attempt to address the threat of growing search taking place on social media sites.

Whilst social media was becoming a pay to play environment, the emergence of TikTok and rise in popularity of content like Reels on Instagram has turned that on it's head and driven a revival of organic content and reach opportunities. In these new spaces, people aren't just here to see what their friends are up to, but they come to watch creators they are not personally connected with.

It's worth noting, that this shift has yet to impact older audiences or change behaviours of Facebook users. 

TikTok have recognised it's role as an emerging search engine, with their latest campaign in the UK looking to celebrate the search and discovery that happens on the app. 
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How do you optimise your content to rank in social search?

SEO involves optimising your website and content for appearing in results on search engines like Google. In this case we are looking to optimise content to appear in search that happens on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram. The key to doing this successfully is crafting content that aligns with user demands and optimising your assets so they will be visible on the social platforms when people are searching. We break down how to do this into five steps below. 

#1 Embrace organic channels and content

Organic social media content can be discovered in search, paid ads cannot. Think of your organic channel on TikTok or Instagram as an evergreen hub of information (much like your website is).

#2 Create social content that answers search queries or social trends

Before you start creating content, it's important to understand where there is demand. You want to know what information or questions your audience are searching for so that you can create content that answers these topics. There's a few ways you can research this. 

Trending social media content: Look at your disease area to see what content is already ranking well in social search. Social listening tools cam also help you to identify trending topics and hashtags. When searching on TikTok you can also see the 'People also searched for' feature to get correlated topics to your search. TikTok trend analysis tool also allows you to see trending hashtags, songs, creators and videos in your region. 
 
Google keyword planner: Whilst we are not optimising for Google, looking at search trends in this platform can still help you to understand where there is demand for information on your subject matter. Tools like Answer the Public can also help to spur new ideas. 

Popular content on your website: Popular content on your website indicates that there is likely already some demand for those topics. This can be a great place to start. Translate your website content into social media assets. 

#3 Conduct social listening to understand the language used by your audience

This will help you to be able to incorporate the right keywords in your content. Some language we use in pharma, doesn't hold meaning for our audiences. For example, in pharma we often say 'healthcare professional' in patient educational materials, but people use words like 'doctor' or 'GP'. 

#4 Optimise your post copy

Include relevant search-optimised keywords in your organic social copy.

#5 Don't rely on your website to share information

Some healthcare companies are heavily reliant on their websites to provide detailed information to their audiences, but optimising for social search requires a different approach. To capatilise on social search, you need to create content that lives on social media and answers the question without leaving the platform. 

Social media health education example

Case study: “Intensivão da PPK” (Vagina Academy)
By Bayer Brazil and Analog Folk
This execution for Canesten is a prime example of a social-first execution. This focused on bringing the content into social, and working with voices who are influential on TikTok to deliver the message.
Bayer Brazil launched the digital school of intimate health offering a five-week program to educate young people on the topic of vaginal health in a fun and forthright way. The shame-free school curriculum covered all things vaginal health through nine interactive lessons. They utilised bold, engaging and fun experts to lead the final exam with pelvic physiotherapist Claudia Milan acting as headteacher, accompanied by body positive advocate Hana Khalil and psychologist and comedian Pequena Lo. The lessons specifically targeted Brazilian-specific myths and taboos. The whole experience lives in social, and can be there any time someone is looking for information. 
References:
1. Global Web Index, 2023.
2. For Gen Z, TikTok Is the New Search Engine. The New York Times. Sept. 17, 2022. 

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