Approaches

BT_Insight

Real Time Search: What is it and how can you use it?

November 12, 2009

Posted by: Meg Hartman in Digital

With the evolution of social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, consumers’ thoughts and opinions are more accessible than ever before.  Advertisers simply need to know where to look.

Real time search is the newest tool for marketers to access instant feedback from consumers.  Similar to traditional search on Google or Yahoo!, marketers can type in a topic and see results listed on a web page. The difference is that with real time search, sources such as Twitter and blog posts are being mined for user-generated content. 

Real time search engines strive to sort results by relevancy and popularity. These provide searchers with immediate news and a consumer’s perspective.  A few examples are One Riot, Topsy, and Scoopler. Google and Bing are also entering the space with beta offerings of social search.

Marketers can use real time search as a tool to build new relationships with consumers and strengthen existing ones.  Here are a few ways you can utilize this new source of valuable data:

o Monitor what consumers are saying about your product.  Real time search provides value to marketers if consumers are discussing their products and services.
o Respond to consumers who have questions or comments about your brand.
o Shift messaging in order to immediately react to negative comments or align creative with consumers’ thoughts.