Social Media B2B

Google Social Search allows you to see custom search results based on the people in your social circle. By connecting with customers, prospects and others in your industry on the social web, B2B companies can discover what topics are important to those audiences. It’s also a great way to find content from your trusted sources and to find additional content you may be missing.

In late January this year Google released the social search feature in beta. In order to use it, you’ll need to have a Google Profile established.

Here’s how to use Google Social Search:

1. Sign into Google
2. Run a search on a topic like you normally do
3. When you see the results, click the “more search tools” drop-down in the left side navigation
4. Look under “All Results” and click on “Social”

The results will then be filtered to include those found through your Google connections, which Google calls your “Social Circle” (see screen below). These connections come from your Google Reader subscriptions, Google Buzz followers, Google chat buddies/Gmail contacts and people you’re connected to via channels like Twitter and FriendFeed that you’ve listed in your Profile. This is why it is important to follow customers and prospects on social networks. Results can also come from secondary connections that are publicly associated with your direct connections.

As a next step, click on “My social circle” to go to the Social Circle page. There you will see all your direct connections listed alphabetically. Each connection will list all the links to content they’ve provided in their Google Profile.

From that list, review the people or other connections and make sure you’re following all their content. This will keep you up to date on industry issues, and you can also identify topics on the minds of prospects. Knowing what they are sharing online will inform conversations with them, both online and offline. If they are sharing information about a competitor’s products, review how that product or service compares to yours before communicating with them again.

You should also click on the Social content tab at the top of the screen to see what content and channels you’re sharing. You may want to optimize your profile so you can lead your connections to the content that is most relevant to you.

Using Google Social Search is a great opportunity to learn what your customers and prospects find interesting enough to share, giving you opportunities for contact. You can push connections to your social content as well as find additional content from the sources or contacts that matter most to you.

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