By Vlad Vidaeff
The importance of social media in today’s evolving marketing landscape is undisputed: social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Instagram are important marketing content tools. But how about Google+? Should your company add the platform to its marketing mix? Are you impressed by the name behind the platform but confused as to its purpose? You’re not alone. This blog will discuss why you NEED to add Google+ to your arsenal.
If you’re not familiar with Google+, it is a social media platform with elements of heavy hitters such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. Like Facebook, a user’s homepage is similar to Facebook’s timeline but with fewer ads. Like Twitter, you can follow anyone you would like and hashtags are common. Like Pinterest or Instagram, pictures are prominent and look sharp on the site. Like LinkedIn groups, you can join Google+ Communities to find people with similar interests or who have a relationship to your industry. One of the unique aspects of Google+ is ‘circles.’ You assign each of your followers to a circle which can be anything you choose i.e. partners, sources for industry news, etc. This gives you the option to either post to all of your circles or target specific posts to specific circles or audiences. There are many technical aspects to maximizing your presence on Google+ and The REFUGE Group is well versed in these tactics and strategies.
Now that you’re familiar with Google+, you may ask is it worth my time? Our answer: a resounding YES! The main benefit of Google+ may come as no surprise due to the heavyweight pulling the strings. Google’s importance in marketing is paramount as a result of the importance of Google search and SEO. For most social media platforms, likes, shares, and other methods of engagement that each site tracks is only shared internally. Likes on Google+, called +1s, however, can be seen by Google search. This visibility adds some SEO benefits to your business. To try to simplify a complicated process, each +1 you receive creates an indexed page on Google+ with a link to that content. This provides an instantaneous organic link SEO for your site. Moreover, Google search will index every post that your company publishes on Google+, which can help your website appear higher in Google search results. As we know that most people do not look past the first page of Google search results on a specific topic, it becomes very clear why you want your content to appear as high up on Google search as possible.
For some more info on Google+ features, click here. If you are interested in learning more about how the REFUGE team can help you achieve your marketing goals, contact us by e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at (713) 528-0200.
