Google+ Redesign is the Perfect Time for Businesses to Join Up
Jason Wersits, April 12, 2012
Those business owners who turn to social media sites for customer traffic are known to rely just a little too heavily on Facebook. Sure, the world's biggest social network continues to expand its influence, and it's a given that it will grow towards a projected one billion users by year's end. While there's certainly no lack of potential customers to be found on Facebook, there is the matter of market saturation. For every type of business out there, there are literally thousands of competitors with which to contend. Small business owners who try to maintain a strong presence in social media have to work much harder when rivals are involved.
While there will always be stiff competition when building up a follower base on any social network, sometimes it's best to focus one's attention elsewhere. Many company owners make the mistake of putting all their eggs in one basket when it comes to social media. Even if they manage to establish themselves on Facebook, they're still missing out on other social media markets. In particular, it's Google+ that goes untouched by many businesses these days.
Growth, Slow but Steady
Although Google+ doesn't have the staggering user numbers that Facebook boasts, that doesn't mean it's a ghost town (as some would have us think). For the past several months, Google has been working tirelessly to connect its social media site to every aspect of its network. As a result, every new Google account has its own Google+ profile already attached to it.
While only a small percentage of newly registered users remain active on Google+, more people are joining the network as time goes on. The integration of YouTube, Google Maps and other Google services into the social network is enough of a motivator to get people to begin using the site. The company reports that over half of the 170 million registered Google+ accounts see constant activity. Getting one's company established with social media optimization on the network now will allow for a lot of groundwork to be laid out in the future. Small business owners also won't have to worry nearly as much about competitors stealing followers.
Taking Advantage of the New Redesign
Only a few days ago, a number of new features and a revised interface were rolled out for Google+. Google claims that the newest update makes its social media site sleeker, more intuitive and more flexible to members of other social media sites. While much of the redesign mirrors Facebook's recent Timeline layout update, that doesn't diminish the potential for the network to attract new users. Business owners may want to take advantage of the new site design in a number of ways.
- Create a Google+ account and fill it out thoroughly. The more information that can be provided the better off you will be. A complete profile gives plenty of information to users and, since Google pulls information from Google+ for its SERPs, will allow you to show up better in searches.
- Find plenty of photos and video clips to share on your Google+ feed. The redesigned page layout now allows users to post larger images when sharing media. Attractive and colorful photos can get users in your extended network to interact with your company more often.
- Direct your website's traffic to your Google+ account. If you haven't already placed media sharing buttons throughout your site, now is the time to do so. Encourage users to share your content on their Google+ pages. By building up a sizeable number of supporters, shared content will reach more users more easily.
As always, I encourage our readers to look more into professional social media optimization and social PPC services when trying to get the best results out of their social media campaign. WebiMax takes a great deal of pride in providing its clients with efficient social media management that excels at gathering new followers for both short and long-term high conversion rates.