Is a Google+ Presence Important for Your Company?

In recent years, experts in social media have often debated the role of Google+ among other predominant platforms. Some are of the opinion that it’s a platform that’s doing well with a steady growth; others feel that it’s not in the league of other popular social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Tumblr.

With the little data available, we are unable to paint a clear picture. One study touted Google+ as the second most-deployed social network in the world. Many recent studies related to social media usage do not even mention Google+. A marketing research center reporting on social media adoption of Fortune 500 companies showed that a mere 35% of large companies had a Google+ account, as compared to 70% with Facebook accounts and 77% being on Twitter.

If you’re mulling about whether or not your company should consider Google+, remember an important thing: Google+ is one of Google’s products. So when you’re deciding whether to have a Google+ presence for your enterprise, there are some implications you need to take into account.

SEO

Google applies indexes to Google+ content just like it does for all web pages. So Google+ content contributes towards your SEO ranking in totality. Also with Google+ posts, your content becomes more searchable and it features higher up in search results. In addition, it will be seen in the search results for longer periods than posts on other social platforms.

Google+ Hashtags

According to a recent announcement from Google, Google+ hashtags are now available through a Google search. For example, if you’re looking for some social media tips, Googling for “#socialmediatips,” will show you the regular search results and something more. At the right of the page, you’ll now be able to view posts on Google+ which include the hashtag #socialmediatips.

Now this is significant because of two reasons. Firstly, the right corner of every Google search web page is an area which is quite seriously sought-after. Secondly, it’s not necessary that all users looking for specific hashtags have Google+ accounts themselves. Even if they do, they might not necessarily be members of your Google+ group.

When you’re posting content on Google+, you’re able to reach your own Google+ followers as well as reach out to people outside the network in a systematic and impactful manner. An important thing you need to ensure is that your posts are tagged with popular SEO terms which are relevant to you.

YouTube Comments

Recently, Google announced that Google+ would soon power YouTube comments. If your business has a weighted presence on the YouTube platform, you will not be able to continue in full strength for very much longer if you don’t get on to Google+.

Once you’ve ascertained the proportions of your audience on Google+, with the resources you possess for support of the platform, and the other factors mentioned above, you may decide that the launch of a Google+ page for your company is not worthwhile. This is fine. But don’t make the mistake of writing it off completely. If eventually Google decides to make Google+ integrated with all its products, it’s in your own interest to keep a watch on the repercussions.

How B2B Social Can Become a Tool for Lead Generation

Marketers dream of arriving at a magical formula that can help them get the lowest possible CPL (cost per lead) and the highest conversion rates. They try to leverage social and technology in optimal ways for this. We’ve found the scene is much the same when it comes to B2B.

Here are some tips on B2B lead generation from experts:

Working on User Experience

A corporate website can serve as an important instrument for lead generation. Your audience needs to be served with interesting information that it can use right away. Introduce it to all that’s possible and show how to go about it. Use leading-edge technology and web designs to create a great user experience. More importantly, ensure that your site always remains mobile friendly.

The Twitter environment is such that the volume and speed of information can be leveraged for tremendous lead generation. It sometimes proves a challenge too because with around 6,000 tweets per second, what you say gets buried in a very short while.  

Facilitating Sharing

A notable tip for nurturing leads is the use of pop-unders instead of commonly used pop-ups. While your prospective customers are filling a form, you can serve them with targeted content they need on another mini site in a window behind.

Experts strongly recommend pre-populating social sharing forms using suitable baits on different channels like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Using Twitter

For generating leads using Twitter, the principles to keep in mind are as follows:

·         At acquisition stage, try to keep it as real as possible. Present yourself in such a way that you appear as a celebrity brand without appearing vain. Your content should not appear less interesting because of overexposure. Include as much information as required. 

·         At the nurturing stage, plan how you’re going to move people from inactivity to activity. Instead of your own preferences, think about what people like. They’ll click only when they like something. You need to think about the touch points in the near future.

·         A tweet has a life span of about 18 minutes. For increased lead generation, carefully watch the audience and make adjustments according to what works during this time.

Crafting Lead Generation Cards on Twitter

·         Content must not be merely titles and headlines. It must include valuable information for those who do not know about you.

·         Users need to know an email will follow so that they check for it even if it lands up in the junk.

·         Try to keep the text simple. Consider creation of multiple images of all assets you wish to promote.

·         Encourage people to take immediate action with things like download now and sign up now. Ensure that people can access your content right away because this is not Twitter’s responsibility.

User Experience is Important

For each asset that’s downloaded, it’s a good idea to send across an automated email a few days later mentioning that users can get some additional related data points for free.

Focus on Lead Generation more than Social.

Studies showed that the use of Twitter cards as a lead acquisition tool resulted in a 996% rise in acquired leads with a 500% decrease in CPL. As against other tools, Twitter cards do not require people to click out. This resulted in a three-fold increase in ROI as compared to LinkedIn or Facebook. Importantly, followers must not be your only targets - move outside and find relevant discussions and hashtags.