30 Apr Social Media: Utilizing More than Just Facebook
Countless articles and blogs give attention to the topic of Facebook as a useful social media tool for businesses, primarily due to its massive number of users and ease of utility. Twitter, too, receives more consideration as the number of users continues to grow. Yet there are other platforms that receive less attention despite their potentially being more suitable for business contexts. A prime example is Google+.
Firstly, Google+ is hardly limited in content type: your business page can post pictures, text, links, and videos just like your Facebook page. Yet there are advantages to Google+ of which Facebook falls short. Having a Google+ account is crucial if your business is conscious of achieving search engine optimization. Most Internet users use Google as their preferred search engine, and the results of Google searches give additional weight or relevance to Google sites. So if you’re concerned with the likelihood of your business being found by potential customers, a Google+ account is a necessary advantage. Just like Facebook, Google+ offers a tool through which you can monitor the attention your account/page receives in order to better help you plan and manage your posts.
Google+ also has an extensive network of users that will enable your business to interact with current and potential customers and other businesses. The latter is particularly important, as business-to-business interaction is fairly limited across Facebook- not because it’s not possible, but because the platform is designed in a manner that doesn’t make this type of interaction inherently obvious or useful.
Google+ is not the only example of a digital platform that goes under-discussed or underutilized. Companies readily make pages on social networking sites, but somehow lag behind on sites that offer a formal review process like Yelp, Citysearch, or Local.com. Some companies expect to establish a presence on these sites once a customer takes it upon his/herself to generate a review, therefore generating a page for that company. Instead, companies should be proactive in creating business pages on these sites. Not only will this increase the likelihood of acquiring reviews, it will also better the chances of the company appearing in search results.
The number of digital platforms available to be used by individuals and businesses alike continues to increase, as do the number of account holders for these sites. Companies need to actively establish a presence on every site available, especially considering that this effort comes at no cost to the company. Prescription PR can help you maximize your social media postings to reach new patients.