Tech Tips From The Experts:

I am a consultant in social media, helping companies build a following and increase customers/patients/members.

The days of having a website and being “set” are all but gone. The key today is to get in front of the people who are looking for what you have. This is getting easier now with social media.

In the past, SEO was the primary driver for search engines like Google, but now Social Search is playing more of a role. Search engines have begun to include social context into their search results. Social media platforms are growing at such an astounding rate that it’s only natural that they should be considered as a search term resource.

So what does this mean for a small business? It means that Tweets, posts and videos are now playing as big a role in search as keywords. Google+ is the ugly stepsister of the social networks, but it might pack the biggest punch.

Since Google is the largest search engine, it only makes sense that they give precedence to posts that actively use Google+. With that in mind, it is very important to sign up and share your posts with Google+. If you post something on your Facebook page, share it with Google+. Got a Blog? Make sure you share the link of each new post on Google+. Did you add a new class or program to your facility? Be sure to get it on Google+.

With this simple change in your social media posting, you will see your business ranking higher on Google search and your potential customers/members will be able to see at a glance that you are the best.

Jim Devitt, Devitt Consulting