Michelle Hill of Red Rocket Media writes… If there is one thing all companies should do ASAP this year, it’s to get themselves on Google+.
“Arghhhhh, not another social media network” I hear you moan, “We’ve not got enough time to manage Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn as it is, never mind another one on top of those!”
I totally hear what you’re saying (I’m a marketing manager so know where you’re coming from) but there is one overwhelming reason why you need to do it and that reason is… GOOGLE!
Google+ is the next phase of Google
Before we talk about the little red box, it is important to stop thinking of Google+ as a social network but instead as the next phase of Google. Huh? Now it’s getting confusing!
OK, let’s define an online social network:
‘An online community of people with a common interest who use a Web site or other technologies to communicate with each other and share information, resources, etc’
We can all agree that Facebook is the ultimate example of a social network, but the essence of Google+ is very different. It’s about looking at how people and content connect in order to provide users with a much more personalised ‘search’ experience.
- Google+ is about learning what people like and dislike and feeding that information back to Google so that it is able to tailor its organic search results to each and every one of us.
- Google+ is the top layer that sits across all Google products, the “social blanket that envelopes the entire Google experience” to quote Vic Gundotra, head of Google+.
- Google+ is much more than a social network, it is changing the way the internet works.
Where is this ‘top layer’?
Well, if you have a Google+ account and you’re using any Google product – maps, images, gmail, news, Picasa – you’ll have no doubt seen the little red box top right showing the number of notifications awaiting your perusal. It is simply impossible to ignore and, every time, without fail, you will click-through.
Given the phenomenal sign-up rate to Google+ and the likelihood that your prospects and customers are using at least one Google product every day, this means that more and more of them are continually being drawn into the epicentre, Google+. Everything they do on there is then monitored ie. what content they comment on, what they +1, what they share etc.
Then, later, when they run a Google search, Google draws on that information and assigns higher priority to content from authors they have previously endorsed.
Social signals now vital
If your company isn’t publishing the right kind of content on Google+ (and by ‘right kind’ I mean high quality, original content which people will +1, comment on and share), you essentially have no social signals to send Google’s way. It simply won’t know about you when deciding who to return in its search results.
Ignore it at your peril
There is absolutely no doubt that Google+ is gaining momentum with or without you and those that ignore it, do so at their peril. Vic Gundotra recently said, “We have started the social engines at Google and we’re about to step on the gas”. Now there’s a word of warning if ever I heard one!
Need help?
If you’re lacking the aforementioned vital ingredient ie.high quality, original, shareable social media content, let our team of content creators provide it for you!
http://www.redrocketmedia.co.uk/blog/google-and-the-powerful-little-red-box/