Your Customers Are Now Searching on Social. Here's How to Show Up.
When did you last search for something on TikTok or Instagram instead of Google? If it's happened even once, you've already experienced the shift this article is about.
Your customers are doing it too - more than you'd expect, and more often than last year.
Here's what this means for your business: the way people find you is changing. Not slowly, either. It's already changed. And if your active marketing strategy is still built entirely around Google, you're likely invisible to a huge chunk of your potential customers.
Let's dig into what's actually happening, why it matters for Kiwi businesses, and what you can do about it right now.
Social media is the new search engine. The data backs it up.
This isn't a trend that's coming. It's a trend that's here.
41% of Gen Z now turn to social media first when they need answers, compared to just 32% who still go to Google. (Sprout Social Q2 2025 Pulse Survey)
That's a generation that has already flipped the script. Social platforms are now ahead of search engines for information discovery among under-25s. And it isn't limited to Gen Z.
35% of Millennials primarily use social media over traditional search engines for discovery. More than 1 in 3 consumers across all age groups now prefer social platforms for product reviews and local recommendations. (Forbes Advisor, 2025)
Zoom out even further: roughly two-thirds of US consumers reported using social search in 2025. Among Gen Z specifically, 62% are actively using TikTok as a search engine. Not occasionally. As a default.
This is a behaviour shift that has been building for years, and it just went mainstream.
What does "social search" actually look like?
Social search isn't someone opening TikTok and randomly browsing. It's intentional. People are typing queries directly into the search bar on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, the same way you'd type into Google, but expecting video and real-person content instead of a list of blue links.
What are they searching for? The top categories reveal a lot:
Recipes and food (50% of social searchers)
TV, film and entertainment recommendations (43%)
Music discovery (36%)
Travel, fitness, fashion and health
Local business recommendations
Product reviews and comparisons
That last one is the real wake-up call for NZ businesses. People are searching for your product category, your service, or your suburb right now on TikTok and Instagram. And they're not typing "best plumber Auckland" into Google. They're searching inside the app.
The phrase that captures it perfectly: social media is the new window shopping. People arrive on TikTok not looking to buy, and leave with something in their cart.
Why trust has shifted away from Google
This is the part most businesses miss. Social search isn't just about convenience. It's about trust.
52% of Gen Z say they are more likely to trust brand or product information found on social media compared to Google or AI chatbots. (Sprout Social Q3 2025 Pulse Survey)
Think about why. A Google result takes you to a company's own website, a sponsored listing, or a review site that might be gamed. A TikTok result takes you to a real person, standing in front of the camera, showing you a product or service in real life. That's a fundamentally different experience.
This is great news for smaller NZ businesses who can't outspend big brands on Google Ads. The playing field on social search is far more even. Quality, relevance, and authenticity carry more weight than budget.
This works for product AND service businesses. Here's why.
A question worth addressing directly: does social search apply equally to service businesses like accountants, HR consultants, or mortgage brokers? Or is this mostly a product-brand story?
The honest answer is that the behaviour looks slightly different depending on your category. For product businesses, social search is where discovery happens - someone finds your brand before they even knew they were looking. For service businesses, the high-intent search ("HR consultant Auckland," "mortgage broker NZ") still largely happens on Google. But social is where trust is built before that Google search ever happens.
Here's what makes keyword-rich social content essential for both, though. It's doing double duty in three very specific ways, and it's why content creation in New Zealand has become as much a search play as a brand play.
1. Google is now indexing your social content
Google has been pulling TikTok videos, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts directly into search results. A keyword-rich video captioned "best HR software for small NZ businesses" doesn't just get found inside Instagram; it can show up on Google too. Your social content is already becoming part of your SEO footprint, whether you intended it to be or not.
For service businesses, this is significant. You've been competing for Google rankings through blog posts and website copy. Now your video content is an additional ranking asset; often one that Google treats as fresh and highly relevant.
2. AI answer engines are pulling from social content
When someone asks ChatGPT, Google's AI Overview, or Perplexity a question, those tools are increasingly pulling from social content and creator-led sources, not just websites. Keyword-rich captions and video descriptions are now feeding the AI-generated answers your potential customers receive.
This is what the industry is starting to call Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO). It's still early, but the brands creating consistent, keyword-rich social content right now are building an advantage that will compound over time.
3. It’s all part of the journey to discovery
For service businesses, the journey most often begins on Google. Someone searches "HR consultant Auckland" or "mortgage broker NZ," lands on a shortlist, and then does what almost every buyer does next: they check your social media before making contact. That's the moment social content earns its keep. If your feed is consistent, credible, and keyword-rich, it confirms what Google already suggested. If it's patchy or hasn't been touched in three months, it creates doubt. And doubt kills enquiries.
For product businesses, the journey often starts on social before Google is involved at all. Someone sees your product on TikTok or Instagram, gets curious, and either buys directly or searches for your brand name to learn more. Social is where discovery happens, and where the decision to investigate further gets made.
Two different journeys. But the same underlying truth for both.
Consistent, keyword-rich social content reinforces Google's understanding of who you are and what you do. The more your captions, hashtags, and video descriptions align with your core terms, the stronger the signal Google receives across multiple touchpoints - quietly supporting your search rankings over time. Whether social starts the journey or closes it, the content is working either way.
So what do you actually do about it? The strategy.
Understanding the shift is one thing. Adapting your content to take advantage of it is another. Here's the framework to follow.
Treat every caption like a search result
The biggest change you can make right now costs nothing. Start writing captions with search in mind. Use the actual words and phrases your customers type, not your industry jargon.
If you run a hair salon in Ponsonby, your caption shouldn't start with your brand slogan. It should contain words like "balayage Auckland," "hair extensions NZ," or "best colour correction Auckland." That's how people find you now. This applies equally to Instagram marketing, TikTok, and YouTube in the New Zealand market. Keyword-rich copy isn't just for your website anymore.
Build a content series around answering questions
The most-searched content on social media is for help. How-tos, explainers, myth-busting, comparisons, FAQs. Think about the questions your customers ask you every week, then make videos answering them.
A mortgage broker who posts "Can you get a home loan in NZ with less than 20% deposit?" will get found by exactly the people who need them. A skincare brand that posts "What actually causes hormonal acne?" will build an audience of highly relevant followers. Every answer you give positions your brand as the expert before someone has even visited your website.
Video NEEDS to be part of the mix
73% of marketers say short-form video will dominate content strategy in 2026 - the single most prioritised content type, ahead of static images and long-form video. (Emplifi Report, 2026)
TikTok and Instagram Reels are the primary engines of social search. YouTube remains the second-largest search engine in the world, used by over 85% of online Kiwis. If you are not creating video content, you are not showing up in social search. The good news is that polished, high-production video is not what performs best. Raw, real, direct-to-camera content consistently outperforms studio-grade ads on these platforms.
Use hashtags like search tags, not trend chasers
Hashtags aren't about going viral. They're about being found. Use a mix of broad category tags and specific, location-based tags that match how your customers actually search.
Broad: #skincarenz #aucklandbusiness #nzfoodie
Specific: #ponsonbycafe #wellingtonfitness #christchurchhair
Intent-based: #howtofixleakyshower #nzmortgageadvice #acnetips
The intent-based hashtags are the gold. These are people in active search mode, not passive scroll mode. If your content answers their query, you've earned a follower with real commercial potential.
One important nuance: Google isn't dead
This shift doesn't mean abandoning SEO. Google still holds around 90% of the global search engine market share. It remains the dominant platform for complex queries, high-intent commercial searches, and older demographics.
What's changed is the journey. Your customer's path to purchase now often includes social media to build that all-important trust through active posting, answering any concerns, and social proof.
So the question isn't social search or Google SEO. It's whether your active marketing strategy is built for both. Most NZ businesses are still only building for one. The brands that win in the next few years will be the ones that show up at both the beginning and the end of that journey.
The search landscape has shifted. Your customers (especially if they are under 35) are actively looking for you on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. If your content isn't optimised for social search, those customers are finding your competitors instead.
The good news is that social search rewards exactly the things NZ businesses are naturally good at: authenticity, local knowledge, and genuine expertise. You don't need a big budget. You need a clear social media strategy and content creation that actually answers the questions your customers are asking.
Start with one content pillar. Film a FAQ series. Write captions like a search result. Use hashtags with intent. That's where it begins.
And if you want a specialist team in your corner to build a content strategy that works across your customer journey, we'd love to talk. Social is what we live and breathe, and we work with ambitious NZ businesses who are ready to show up with intention.
