Google has been talking about adding more social relevancy to it’s rankings. Today Digg has announced their plan to do just that on their search results and it may be a preview as to the methods that Google might use. Here is how GMIG announced it:
Social Proof
Have you noticed how many updates to the social media websites are happening right now? Well, not to be left out Digg has launched it’s new Newsrooms feature today to a small group of top Digg users who have requested an invite. After this initial testing phase it will be released to the wider Digg community.Newsrooms are an interesting way of delivering the most relevant news to Digg users. The relevant news stories will be detected by Digg themselves by monitoring ‘social signals’ on the Internet and the top echelons of Digg users will be responsible for refining what is (or is not news) simply by reading it, Digging it or Burying it.
A key factor in finding the most meaningful news are the Digg users themselves. Now all the reading, Digging, and Burying activity will be shown transparently in a real-time activity feed within each Newsroom. Digg have even built a way to measure and reward Digg user’s influence. So whether you are an Ace reporter (First story promoted to that Newsroom Front Page) or “Trendsetter” (25 stories or more), you are making a difference in what people read.
So, what does this mean to business? Digg is a massive source of website traffic, but it’s notoriously difficult to get to the coveted front page. So, now the key will be to put out the right ‘social signals’ to get into the running for a newsroom – but we won’t know what those are for sure until Digg newsrooms are out of the testing phase. No doubt social signals will include:
•Facebook ‘likes’
•Google +1s
•Re-tweets
•Any other ‘social vote’
It’s important to get social votes for your content anyway, but it appears Digg have just upped the ante.
That is what Digg has done, what do you think Google will do? Social media has suddenly become more important and relevant again after languishing for a couple of years. Exercising your social muscle is crucial. Let me give you a really easy, but also a really powerful social media technique that’s going to ease your tension.
“Don’t try to build your personal brand or company brand alone. Go out of your way to look for opportunities to help others and give others credit. This may seem like a lot of work in the short term, but it pays off in the long run. Plus, it’s the right thing to do,” said Erik Qualman, author of Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business.“Easy ways to do this include recommendations on Twitter of others’ work, retweets and hot tips on the comment section of blogs,” Erik added.
“Heed Guy Kawasaki’s advice and select those not on the A-list. The Mari Smiths, Chris Brogans and David Meerman Scotts already are showered with love. Select an up-and-comer, as you will stand out more to that person,” explained Erik.
What are your ideas on adding social media to your campaigns? Let me hear them in the comments section below.
