2 Must-Read Updates for Financial Professionals in the Social Scene

November 10, 2011 by Amy McIlwain

2011 has been a revolutionary year for new technologies in the social media sphere. From the launch of Google to the vast changes to the Facebook platform, social media organizations are doing everything they can to stay up-to-date and in the good graces of businesses and consumers. The past couple of weeks have been no different, as Google unveiled Google pages for businesses and brands, and Google also announced that it is now indexing Facebook and other third party comments cheap downloadable software

in its search engines. Let’s take a look at these new features in more detail, and how it will affect your marketing strategy.

Google Pages

Up until this point, Google had focused solely on people connecting with other people. Now they’ve expanded their platforms reach to businesses and brands, unveiling their own version of “fan pages” within Google . According to the Google blog, “Google pages help you connect with the customers and fans who love you. Not only can they recommend you with a 1, or add you to a circle to listen long-term. They can actually spend time with your team, face-to-face-to-face. All you need to do is start sharing, and you”ll soon find the super fans and loyal customers that want to say hello.”

So how does this affect your marketing strategy? In any marketing strategy, whether traditional or using social media, rule #1 is to go where your audience is. And while Google is increasing its network size, it’s still not up to the power rankings that Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter holds. It also doesn’t have the wide range of networking features or applications that Facebook has within its fan pages. I’m interested in seeing what other components Google plans on adding in the future, but until then, I plan on putting the majority of my social media efforts into the main social media platforms.

Facebook Comments Google Search = SEO

The power of social networks in the grand scheme of SEO has continually risen due to increasing popularity of social media profiles and platforms. Try entering your name into Google’s search engine and your LinkedIn profile will most likely be listed on the first page. Well, Google has raised the bar and started to index Facebook and other third party comments to include in its search results. This means that any public comments made on a public Facebook post or blog can be found through a search in Google.

This is great news for those active in social media and looking to increase their network exposure and viral ability. Not only will social media marketers be able to promote comments internally on Facebook, but they will also be able to get them indexed in Google, thus helping their search engine optimization. This also puts an even bigger emphasis on the power of interaction and conversations online. Even if you and your business were active before, now is the time to increase the amount of commenting and joining in discussions and forums.

Bio
Twitter
Facebook
Google+
LinkedIn
YouTube
Latest Posts

Amy McIlwain

President at Financial Social Media

Author, speaker, and President at Financial Social Media, Amy McIlwain speaks at events around the world ranging from audiences of 1000 to small executive boardrooms. She's appeared on FOX, CBS, ABC, and NBC as a social media expert and her book, The Social Advisor: Social Media Secrets of the Financial Industry, has been featured as a best-seller in the Amazon business category. Hire Amy to speak at your next event! Visit www.amymcilwain.com

@amymcilwain

International Speaker, Author, #FinServ Social Media Expert, VP Social & Digital @MooreCommGroup. Former DI Soccer Player, Avid Traveler & Bengals Fan. Who Dey!