Industry-Ecommerce
Are you using Google +
Cybertill’s Kate Williams gives us a step-by-step guide on how to make the most of social media. This month she explains the benefits of Google+
and marketing strategies – it allows them to engage with customers, boost awareness, act as a platform for product reviews and more. Out of the other social media networks, Google+ is most comparable to Facebook. It allows businesses to post status updates, photos, GIFs, videos, and much more. It is also, perhaps unsurprisingly, Google and SEO-friendly, a major bonus for companies looking to boost their performance on search engines. It offers businesses useful tools to engage with customers including reviews and ‘Hangouts’ which are video chats often used for webinars or group discussions. The network now has over 300 million monthly active users and is becoming a must-have profile for more and more retailers to maximise their online presence.
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ocial media now plays an important role in retailers’ sales
1. Company Profile Once you’ve created your Google+ Business profile,
ensure to fill in the ‘About’ section with your business name and an overview of what you do/sell including relevant keywords. Add your address, contact info, opening times, images/logo and links to your website if you have one. You will also need to categorise your page. If you’re an independent retailer, it’s best to use ‘local business or store’. This will all help to enhance your performance on Google and is an important step of utilising Google+.
2. SEO Simply creating a great post on Google+ can result in it
showing high up in Google’s search results, so think each post through before you press ’share’. Try and include some of the main points, or ‘keywords’, of your post in the first 70 characters, as this is what will show up in Google. For example, if you’re sharing a blog post from your website, include some of the main points first. Consider creating a content calendar of events or key dates throughout the year to tie in some of your posts with what people may be searching for at that time.
3. Hashtags Hashtags on Google+ are used in a slightly different
way than on Facebook and Twitter. If you don’t use any hashtags in a post, Google+ will automatically scan your post for keywords and if it finds popular hashtags, it will display them in the top right hand corner of your post. However, the best practice is to include relevant hashtags in posts yourself. This not only ensures there are definitely relevant hashtags in it, but Google+ can also be taught to relate hashtags to each other. For instance, if you include two separate hashtags in a post, and that post is shared by a few people, Google+ is likely
to then realise those two keywords are related, and will then display them when one of the hashtags is clicked on or searched for. They will also start to show up as auto-suggested hashtags when one is added to a post.
4. Reviews Reviews online are important because customers trust
other customers to review products in an honest manner. Think of Amazon, it’s likely that one of the first things you do when you look up a product on there is to read the reviews, right? Google+ allows you to host reviews on your business page, which will show up in search results when people search for your brand. Some of your customers may leave a review of their own accord, but don’t be afraid to ask them for reviews as well.
5. Design your cover photo Another thing to think about for your profile is your
cover photo. This is a wide photo displayed at the top of your profile. It can be used to grab people’s attention. It’s worth getting this professionally designed, using the correct dimensions, and perhaps changing it every now and then to promote different aspects of your business e.g. sales or new features such as click and collect.
6. Build your following and engagement As with any network, it’s important to actively try and
build it. On Google+ you have followers, and people are able to categorise who they are following by adding them to circles. For example, your followers may add you to a ‘shopping’ circle. If you create your own circles, you will also then be able to target your posts, either to ‘public’ or to certain circles. Youcan boost your following on Google+ by using the SEO and hashtags tips above, but it’s also worth engaging with Google+ communities. Join ones related to your business and engage with members.
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