How do you know which Social Media platforms are best for your growing business?

Let’s sort out the details!

Whether you are hoping to attract new customers, wanting to connect with your industry, needing to spread your marketing message further or simply looking for information about something – increasingly we are all turning to Social Media Sites.
When it comes to choosing which social media platforms to utilize for your business, select those that offer the best potential for reaching your ideal audience and broadcast the specific type of media you’ve decided is best suited for your company. Most people/companies can’t be amazing on every platform; that takes a huge amount of bandwidth and resources. Instead of having a sub-par representation in a lot of places, be awesome on a few of them.

Here is a list of 5 influential Social Media sites for business:

1. LinkedIn

Join the world’s largest professional network.

LinkedIn is the consummate networking site. Even before the term “social media” became fashionable, we had social networking, and that clearly defines LinkedIn. It’s a way of growing connections in the business world and utilizing them as necessary. It’s great for reaching out to people and getting into their Rolodex, so that when they need your services, there you are.

2. Twitter

Start a conversation, explore your interests, and be in the know.

Twitter is a social networking and micro-blogging site. Users send and read other users’ updates known as tweets. Updates are displayed on the user’s profile page and delivered to other users who have elected to ‘follow’ Twits (people who Twitter) that interest them. Really useful if you connect to the right people such as leaders in your industry – it will give you a real idea of what their thoughts and influences are.

3. Facebook

Connect with friends and the world around you on Facebook.

Facebook is one of the most powerful social platforms in the world. It’s size alone is a positive for any business, because you can assume most people are on it. Almost any business can benefit from having a Facebook page. But Facebook isn’t about selling. Your goal in using Facebook for business is to let customers get to know the people behind the logo.

4. Google+

One account. All of Google.

Your Google+ page connects you with customers, whether they’re looking for you on Search, Maps, Google+ or mobile devices. Best of all, it’s free. Monitor website visitors with Google Analytics. Add to the SEO of your website with Google Webmaster Tools. Share documents and calendars online.

5. Pinterest

Join Pinterest to find (and save!) all the things that inspire you.

Pinterest is a content-sharing service that allows members to pin or post photos, videos, and other images to their pinboards. The site, which has a predominantly female audience, is ideal for businesses for which visual imagery is a main feature or selling point. You can say a great deal about your products and services through your stunning photos or videos.

It’s hard to be on all platforms, so choose the three that best meet your needs and monitor — or hire Belle Media to manage — them closely. Social Media only works if you stay involved!

Although networks like Facebook and Twitter have been around longer than Google Plus, that doesn’t mean it’s any less important. While Google is still experimenting with different ways for Google Plus activity to influence their search results, it’s clear that Google Plus marketing is going to have a role in both search engine optimization and general social media optimization for the foreseeable future. Since Google has made it clear that their network is here to stay, let’s take a look at five different tactics you can employ to increase your influence on Google Plus:

Have a Great Profile

When someone visits your profile for the first time, you want them to be drawn to what they see. Not only do you want to have a profile that’s visually appealing, but make sure it has plenty of information so people will be able to get a good idea of what you’re all about. Although you don’t want to copy exactly what they’ve done, feel free to look at the profiles of popular Google Plus users for inspiration.

Be Active With Your Sharing

A big part of successful Google Plus marketing is actively sharing content. While this component is crucial, plenty of people make mistakes in regards to it. For example, there are lots of individuals who think they should only share content from their own site. But even though there’s nothing wrong with letting your followers know that you published a new blog post, try to limit self-promotion to 10-20% of your overall sharing. By focusing more on establishing yourself as an authority for your entire industry, you’ll find that people naturally view you as more influential.

Know How to Utilize Circles

This ties into the previous point of sharing. If you’re trying to spread your influence among multiple target audiences, the Circles feature of Google Plus can really help you out. By taking the time to organize people in logical groups, you’ll be able to control who sees different pieces of content you share. This will make it possible for you to share a lot without worrying about clogging people’s feeds with posts they don’t really care about.

Take Time to Hang Out

Because Google Plus Hangouts make it possible to communicate with multiple people via video calls, this can be a great way to really boost engagement by hosting special events.

Add Value with Comments

When you write a comment, think of what you can do to really add to the conversation. By giving different opinions or spurring new thoughts, you’ll find that the people who follow and interact with you will be excited to see what you have to say in future comments that you leave.
Developing a truly effective Google Plus marketing strategy is something that takes time. But as long as you start putting all the tactics we covered into action, it won’t be very long until you start seeing noticeable results from your social media marketing efforts.
Post originally published at Web Strategy Plus.