Modern users are savvy and look for bits of context to judge the value and trustworthiness of the content.

1. VALUE
= Relevance
= Context
June 13, 2012 1

2. Executive Summary
• The sheer quantity of information means that even
though search results may contain what users are
looking for they still need ways to judge the
trustworthiness, and therefore the usefulness, of the
information.
• Users are savvy enough to look for context – e.g. the
date of the Yelp review – to judge the value of the
content. They may also look at what is most shared
by their peers as an indicator of value.
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3. When users think it …
http://digitalstrategyinstitute.com/
• uses bitly click info
to rank top digital
marketing stories
each day
… useful enough to share
June 13, 2012 3

4. When users think it …
http://sharedmost.com/
• uses bitly click info
to color code the
sections that are
most shared – red it
hot and yellow is
least shared.
… valuable enough to share
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5. When users share and…
shared : clicked 261 times
http://drag2share.com
shared : clicked 1,605 times • uses bitly click info
to show which
story items have
been most shared
shared : clicked 354 times
… others click on shared link
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6. Users look for context
Actions of others (# of shares) give context and prioritization to content
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7. Search Ranking Factors
Source: June 2012 http://www.marketingcharts.com/topics/research/social-signals-seen-highest-correlating-factors-with-google-rankings-22335
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8. So What?
“Out of the ocean of information, users need
tools to find what they want; when they find it,
they need context to judge the trustworthiness of
the content. Instead of pushing ads at users,
advertisers should find ways to give users
context and clues so they can judge the value
and trustworthiness of the content.”
- Dr. Augustine Fou
June 13, 2012 8

9. Dr. Augustine Fou – Chief Digital Strategist
“I help clients find ways to get their
message to target users, cutting
through the clutter and delivering it
with relevance and context.”
FORMER CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER, HCG (OMNICOM)
MCKINSEY CONSULTANT
CLIENT SIDE / AGENCY SIDE EXPERIENCE
PROFESSOR AND COLUMNIST
ENTREPRENEUR / SMALL BUSINESS OWNER
PHD MATERIALS SCIENCE (MIT '95) AT AGE 23
ClickZ Articles: http://www.slideshare.net/augustinefou
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
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acfou@mktsci.com