It’s fair to say that we all value content shared by people that we know, over just any Tim, Dick or Harry. This principle idea has been the catalyst for a number of innovations from Google over the past couple of years, with the aim of making search a more personalised experience for users.

When Google created their very own social network in the form of Google+ back in September 2011, they enabled people to create their ‘own little world’ on a Google platform; this has spawned their latest development in the ongoing search/social saga - ‘Google Search plus Your World’ - which launched a couple of weeks ago.

If (and it’s a big ‘if’, as we’ll talk about later) you are signed into a Google account and have a Google+ profile, you’ll be able to access the ‘personalised search’ feature. The crux of ‘Search plus Your World‘ is that it incorporates content from Google+ directly into your search results. Within the search results pages there are options to show personalised results; hide personalised results; and to just see personal results. It’s currently only available when searching on https://www.google.com/ in English but will undoubtedly be rolled out across the globe over the coming weeks and months.

The screengrab below shows a few of these features…

In full, the three elements to ‘Search plus Your World’ are:

1. Personal results

Content including posts and photos will be pulled from Google+ and included within the search results. For example, if you were searching for photos of somewhere you’d like to go on holiday, you may come across a photo that a friend (in one of your circles) took whilst they were on holiday there a couple of months ago and subsequently posted on Google+. You could then easily get in touch with your friend via Google+ to find out more about what they thought of it.

2. Profiles in search

If you start to type the name of someone in your Google+ circles, a number of predicted profiles will appear within the autocomplete box (although let’s hope you aren’t friends with a number of John Smiths). Once you’ve selected the person you were looking for, the results page will include their Google+ page (with recent activity), as well as other related web results such as twitter and LinkedIn profiles.

3. People & pages

When searching for a particular topic, you may see prominent people or pages from Google+ listed on the right-hand side. On Google’s official blog they have used the example of searching for the topic of [music], for which Britney Spears appears at the top - we’ll let you decide for yourselves if Google still need to do some tweaking here and there!

So, what impact will this have on search channels?

In order for users to see these new personalised search results they will need a Google account, a profile on Google+ and to be signed in when searching; this remains the major stumbling block, particularly as Google+ has a mere 60 million users compared with Facebook’s 800 million.

At present, the number of searches made by those logged in to a Google account is estimated to be between 10-15%; of that, only an estimated 20% of searches will be returning ‘Search plus Your World’ results.

In search, some markets will find it harder to attract clicks in a traditional manner from both paid and organic search as results are ‘polluted’ with Google’s own agenda, with social results effectively taking up positions in the search rankings that could otherwise have been showing ‘traditional’ results. So, brands will either have to embrace  Google+ by posting content and encouraging their website visitors to +1 them…or increase their activity (and therefore spend!) in paid advertising. Or, indeed, do both!

Is ‘Search plus Your World’ a good thing?

Along with many of our search industry peers, we’re not convinced that content from Google+ should be ranking higher than ’standard’ natural search results.  Should it be given prominence simply because it was posted on Google’s own social network?!

Given that Google already has a more than dominant share of the search market in the UK (which stands at 91.4% according to StatCounter), ‘Search plus Your World’ is adding fuel to the fire for those arguing that Google’s monopoly is bad for the Internet.

Twitter’s Alex Macgillivray declared that it was a “bad day for the Internet” and that search is “being warped” (by making it harder for people to find real-time information provided by Twitter) - with Google responding by saying that they were “surprised by Twitter’s comments” as “they chose not to renew their agreement with us” (a reference to the end of the deal which saw tweets included in Google Realtime Search results).

Time will tell

As with all new developments, time will tell as to whether this is going to be a game-changer or whether it’ll just die another slow death like other Google innovations (Buzz, Wave). But word is that Google employee bonuses are tied to the success of Google+ - so chances are that ‘Search plus Your World’ is here to stay and is a key part of the strategy to grow Google+. If it ever does compete seriously with Facebook in scale, then ‘Search plus Your World’ could well change the face of search.

I’ve read much about the potential demise of the ‘big idea’ in marketing. That social media is in danger of turning the creative business into the message business. But actually I think it’s the reverse.

Creatively, the likes of Facebook and Twitter have raised the bar

It’s not simply about coming up with a great TV execution that ports visually online and is replicated in print. It’s about adding more heart to the idea and looking to see how we can make more creative use of social media channels to enhance and add depth to a campaign.

The truth is we need to do this

Consumers have become much more selective and harder to please. Simply talking at them won’t cut it. They want to play with brands in their own time and way. In much the same way they like to watch their favourite TV shows when they want to, not when the schedules decree. Social media enables us to offer that flexibility. And people like that. Brands that get this, get ahead faster.

Above the line is now a door

It’s the entry point to potentially far richer experiences that deliver (often immediate) genuine rewards and dialogue. There are very few consumers who don’t like hearing their own voices or being recognized on a bigger stage.

The result? Overall higher ROI, better brand loyalty and awareness

We’ve extended the efficacy and longevity of campaigns by developing additional films and features (from games to quizzes and competitions to simply asking pertinent questions) for Facebook and Twitter. They elicit conversations, active participation and encourage further engagement. Everything feeds back in to the original idea, making it bigger and more inclusive.

But you don’t need a massive ATL budget to make it work

A good idea takes root anywhere, so even more modest budgets can make social media work creatively to support existing campaigns or even actively create engagement independently. You just need to factor in the requirements of these channels into your concepts. Remember, we need to engage people. Give them real reasons to respond and engage. Reach out to your audience in a manner you know they’ll love.

Saying social media is killing the big idea is missing the point

It’s not just about messaging and chat. People who say that are missing the point. It’s like saying that every company has just one phoneline. The truth is social media can message, provide support and engage and entertain.

It’s equally crazy to say everything needs huge amounts of social media exposure

Does the campaign REALLY merit social media elements above and beyond a basic level? Is the return on investment going to justify the investment of time and money? So think carefully.

As a creative the challenge is very much on to see how we can expand our ideas to have relevance and return within social media. And here’s the best bit, you don’t need huge amounts of money to make it work. In fact you don’t necessarily need a massive TV budget. Just a good idea and plan.

Now might be a good time to check your privacy settings as Facebook have just unveiled the ‘subscribe’ button. In a bid to further compete with Twitter & Google+, this feature allows users to subscribe to other people’s public updates which will appear in their news feeds. Public updates are those which are not restricted by any privacy settings, indexed by Google and can therefore be seen by anyone online.

“The ‘subscribe’ button means that as well as friends on the site, Facebook users can now have followers that they don’t know, just like on Twitter. Interestingly when a Facebook user sends a friend request to another person on the site, they instantly become a subscriber to that user’s public updates – unless the user turns the subscribe button off” - Emma Barnett, Digital Media Editor of The Telegraph.

To check your subscription settings, click the ‘subscriptions’ link on the left-hand side of your profile. If your privacy setting are already locked down like mine, then the subscribers should be turned off too.

Another new feature launched by Facebook this week was Smart Lists, a new tool which is being seen as a direct response to ‘Circles’ in Google+. This feature makes it easier for people to group their Facebook friends into different categories, so a user can control who they see the most or least information from. Smart Lists automatically groups friends with common characteristics into Friend Lists based on their relationships and what they have in common.

Source: The Telegraph

The current social media phenomenon is Twitter, before that it was Facebook, MySpace and Friends Reunited. And while your brand wants exposure in the most popular digital environments you shouldn’t forget there are some communities that are probably here to stay.

What am I talking about? Well it can only be Facebook can’t it?

In the UK only Google gets more traffic than Facebook and in terms of social networking websites Facebook is a country mile ahead of the field.

I’m certainly not saying forget everything else but given that Facebook traffic is more than everything else in the top 10 added together you’d be crazy not to even consider it. Add to the fact that it has 200 million active users and more than 4 billion minutes are spent on Facebook each day then the reasons not to become harder to justify.

So, what options are available?

For brands the obvious place to start is by creating a fan page. They are quick to set-up, easily tailored to your needs and can become extremely viral if done properly. The key benefit though is that it gives your brand the opportunity to listen and talk to your consumers in an environment they are already very comfortable in.

Redbull on Facebook

Adding fancy gadgets and links to your corporate site is fine but the chances of your page being successful will be pretty slim. At the launch of Creston’s strategic approach to social media Kieron Matthews of the IAB stressed the importance of “respecting your environment”. If you are going to enter into your consumer’s community then make sure you follow their rules. If you don’t then you could quite easily end up following Habitat’s recent Twitter debacle.

A few fan page must do’s are:

• Conversation is key. If your fans ask a question, give you feedback or make a complaint then don’t ignore it: respond. Being open and honest will create trust.
• Keep your fans engaged with regular updates but don’t over do it so it becomes spam.
• Plan ahead and create a content plan. That way you always have something to say.
• Make your fans feel special. Treat them to Facebook only discounts or leak them news before it’s officially released.
• Remember it’s a two way conversation. Treat your fan’s as individuals and try to add a human face to your brand.

Facebook fan pages aren’t right for every brand but if you do venture down this route then make sure you invest the time in listening and responding to your customers.

And one final thought: more than 6 million users are becoming fans of Pages each day.