Looks like Microsoft has “one-upped” Google this time by bridging search and the most used social network. Bing may not be the most used search engine, but with the need for better and more relevant search results you may find yourself clicking on that little red “x” on Google. Only 3 weeks ago Google announced that Zagat reviews and Google+ results would show with search results, enough time for Bing to get the idea and steal the spotlight.
The biggest change is the new right panel that allows you to view social results related to your search results; Facebook, Windows Live, LinkedIn, and Twitter are some of the viewable platforms. When searching about a particular subject, area of town or restaurant Bing allows you to ask any of your friends, or followers perhaps, and even suggests specific friends that may know more about the subject in question.
There could be some privacy concerns however as they arise Vice President Derek Connell assures users that they are working at “maximizing protection for your data and your privacy.”
As you can see to the far right, when searching for “Phoenix” the panel shows various friends that have either “liked” related subjects or have used the phrase in updates. So it seems the same still applies, maximize the amount of likes on your business page.
Ways to use this to your advantage
- Encourage customers to use Bing
- Encourage customers to “Like” your page on Facebook
- If need be, create a reward based system to increase the amount of “likes”
- Also, widen your target range to areas outside of your field. The social panel also shows people outside of their friends list that have reviewed or made posts specific to that subject. Called “People Who Know.”
