How Deb Shops Used Social Media to Improve its Search Rankings … and Grow its Revenues

5 Reasons Social Media Should be Search's BFF
Larkins began the presentation with a rundown of five reasons why social media and search work best when harnessed together. They include the following:

1. Google likes social media;
2. social media produces quality inbound links;
3. social media is a proactive form of reputation management;
4. social media increases brand awareness; and
5. it increases consumers’ time spent on your website.

Encourage content creation from your customers and employees, said Larkins. To find your brand evangelists, offer consumers something in return — e.g., advance notice on sales, special offers, free stuff, exclusive access, etc. This also works for bloggers, Larkins pointed out. But it's the responsibility of retailers to provide consumers the context to put content out there the right way. For a general audience, keep those opportunities simple. For example, encourage videos, product reviews, photos with them and your product, recipes, etc.