Unless you’ve been living under a rock, I’m sure you’ve noticed a huge shift for small businesses. Recently, with the unwanted changes made to Facebook feeds, the surfacing of dirty facts (people are paying for “likes” and ads – only to be duped into believing they’re reaching real, valuable audiences) and the impact that this is clearly having on reaching followers is forcing people to move away from Facebook and towards the Google+ bandwagon.
If you were around during the days of MySpace, I’m sure you can remember when the shift happened there as well. This kind of move on social media networking isn’t new. It shouldn’t be a shock that this is beginning to take place. However, people are still maddened by it.
I don’t know about you, but it has taken me years to build up my Facebook business page, gain the followers that I have, and build trust with my audience there. I’m sure one of the reasons you may be hesitant to move to G+ is because of that as well. You may also be concerned that your clients aren’t on G+ yet, so the people you will essentially be posting for are your peers. I get it! I completely understand your apprehension with wanting to add on “one more” thing to your already long list of to-do’s.
But, hear me out. This is probably one of THE most important moves that you can make this year. There are several reasons why…
1) Google has integrated many more options available to you through your Google+ pages, other than just having a business page. Yes, G+ is set up a lot like Facebook in that you’ll have a personal profile page and a linked business page. But there is so much more! You will now be linked to GoogleMaps, GoogleAnalytics, Google searches, Ratings & Reviews for your customers to leave for new customers to find. These options are made available to everyone, regardless of what device they’re using to search for you! And that’s a great thing, considering EVERYONE is mobile these days.
2) It will ultimately help boost your SEO. (And who doesn’t need that?!)
3) You can integrate a Google+ button into your blog and website so people who are already using G+ can easily access and share your content, without you having to lift a finger.
4) You can link everything together in one single location. And when I say everything, I mean everything. (Email. Calendars. Docs.) All you have to do is access a few apps.
I LOVE Google’s tagline at the top of their page: “Playing hard to get: good for dating,
bad for business.” It’s SO TRUE!!!
So, my advice to you is, stop hesitating. Follow the crowd and move to G+! (Usually, I would say that following the crowd is a bad thing…I hate it…I don’t do it. But in this instance, just go with it.) Open a personal G+ profile page and start a business page, if you’re a small business owner. BE FOUND! I’ll be waiting for you.
If you’d like to drop by my Google+ page to take a look around, please do! I love visitors. And I love it even more if you’d introduce yourself and follow me. (If you’re feeling super generous, you can also +1 my page while you’re there!) Oh…while I’m on the topic of +1 and following someone’s page – there is a very clear difference between the two.
When you visit a Google+ business page for the first time, this is what you’ll likely be seeing. Notice the buttons below the profile image on the page. There are two buttons, and that may seem a little confusing to people who aren’t already using G+ on a regular basis. The follow button means that you will be following my page, and I will be showing up in your newsfeeds. (This works a lot like Facebook! Easy as pie.) Click that button and you are guaranteed to continue to see content shared from me.
If you’d like to “endorse” someone’s posts, then you would click the +1 button. What this essentially does is it allows people inside of your circles (same thing as “friends” on Facebook, if you were to compare the two) to know that you not only like the content you’re seeing on these pages but you also “endorse” this post and trust the content that is shared on it. These are two totally different buttons and serve totally different purposes. By clicking this button, you are also helping to boost the page holder’s SEO.
And there you have it! Something completely easy to get started with that has lots and lots of benefits for your small business. So take the plunge!
I hope this post has help to clear up some questions you might have about navigating and using Google+ and how it helps to boost the page owner’s SEO! I would love to hear if you’re already on Google+ (so I can follow you) and if you have any questions about it’s features. Comment below!
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