For a while, we’ve known that having a strong searchable name on social media platforms is important and your social media profiles on Facebook and Instagram need to be optimized for search. But, more and more data is showing that people are not leaving social media apps like TikTok and Instagram and searching from within.

Google and TikTok are the most popular websites among users. In September 2022, Google announced it would revamp their traditional search to allow users to naturally explore information.

According to a TechCrunch article, “The changes it’s introducing now show it’s taken some inspiration from how younger people use the web — preferring easily accessible and visual content, as well as more guidance as they begin to make queries.”

Note how they said “younger people?”

Generation Z, in particular, are driving the changes in search as average watch times on apps like TikTok and Instagram are climbing up and up, taking time away from heading over to Google something or watching YouTube.

It’s pretty clear, we’re heading into the visual age and video is the star.

With all that being said, it’s time to think about search optimizing your social media posts and there isn’t a lot of information out there on the Internet on how to go about that.

Here are some ways to be mindful of how to make your content more searchable:

Know your keywords. Do the research on how people are finding your website content and use that in the copy of the caption of your posts. If you’re unsure what your keywords are, a great place to start is Google’s keyword research tool or UberSuggest where you can put in keywords and see how often they’re being used. If people are Googling them, more than likely they are searching for the same content within TikTok and Reels.
Use those keywords in your social media captions. You can write up to 2,200 characters in each Instagram post and recently TikTok allows for 2,200 characters as well. Yes, we’re back to thinking about the captions of our posts as being micro-blogs – they’re just now being found within the apps.

I’m not talking about keyword stuffing but using the keywords, naturally. One way I like to stop off posts is with a question or statement someone may be searching.
Use in-app features on social platforms to edit your videos. The other way I like to say it is, use the app to put words on your screen. This tip is for those who are creating TikToks and Reels.

There are a lot of apps out in the app store that claim to level-up the aesthetic of the videos you’re making but Instagram recently said using their in-app tools for fonts, colors, and editing will give you an advantage in the search. It’s left me to suspect that Instagram is “modeling” their competitor, TikTok, and assume it works the same for TikTok. Ditch the fancy apps and just use the tools the apps give us.

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