Bing announced several weeks back that they were going to incorporate social search into their results. This week the full service launched on the Bing engine, allowing users to search for their friends’ recommendations and information in the same way they would search for news or products. This integration of social media into the search process has a wealth of opportunities for internet marketing.

The service is optional, and to activate it you have to link your Facebook page to Bing. This is only possible by opting in, and will mean all your friends’ profiles will show up in your search results, even those who have privacy settings that would usually prevent their profile being included in search engines. This is possible as the social search results are unique to the user making the query, so only they can see them.

Bing Social Search allows pretty much exactly the same profile access as Facebook does. Bing have commented that they developed this full profile access in response to user reviews, which highlighted ease of profile access as a chief priority of the service.

As well as including profiles in search results, Bing Social Search will also link you directly to your friend’s likes, through its ‘Liked by my Facebook friends’ option. So, if you’re looking for the latest gossip on a new movie or buzz around a restaurant, then you can now access one of your most trusted sources online.

Including social media within search engine results will mean that now, more than ever, a company’s social media campaign and reputation can have a massive impact on marketing and sales. To ensure you’re in the best possible position, contact NS Design for a free no-obligation quotation.