It’s back and better than ever, the Social Media Tool of the Month blog post. In these posts, we will explore social networks and the tools that help your social media efforts be more efficient and effective. By the end of the post, you will know whether the tool is a viable option for you or your business to consider. 
In this edition of the Social Media Tool of the Month, we explore Microsoft’s new social network, Socl (pronounced “social”). Initially launched in May, Socl has the look of Pinterest and is all about helping people search to find interests similar to theirs. Like with any other network, the biggest question is whether Socl can entice users from the other, much larger social networks to migrate to it.
On Tuesday, Socl opened its beta version to anyone interested. They’ve made it very easy for a user to sign up by allowing users to connect Socl to their Facebook or Microsoft accounts. Socl’s homepage appears to be a never-ending, random collection of posts from all users. So how do we make sense of it?
Users select a topic on which their post will focus. They then create posts using images from Bing search results that have been pulled using the post topic as the search keyword. Bing search results are automatically integrated into the platform. From there, the site functions much like any other network and allows users to comment, share or use the J function, which essentially is the same as a Facebook “like.”
The fact that users can only post content pulled from Bing search results underscores the importance of optimizing your organization’s web site for search engines. By ranking well for the keywords that apply to your business, you’ll be more likely to be listed in user posts on Socl. Socl represents yet another social network focused primarily on images. Therefore, image use and choice becomes even more important when creating content for the web. Using interesting, unique images will increase your chances that users will share your images on sites such as Socl or Pinterest. Consider this: photos used on Facebook are liked two times more than text updates. Images matter!
Overall, Socl combines many of the aspects that we already use on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Therefore, I don’t think it has the power to draw avid social media users to it. Still, regardless of whether your business uses Socl, there’s a lesson to be learned from it. You should be focused on search engine optimization to rank higher in search results by, in part, providing beautiful, share-worthy images in your content. This way, users on Socl will be more likely to use your content in their posts.
And although Socl might not be the right platform for you, your business should still be using social media. Here are six reasons why.
Have you tried out Socl? If so, what do you think of it? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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Emma Walter is an account executive for WordWrite Communications. You can find her on Twitter @emmasreallytall.
