Google+ Communities: Engage and Be Seen

This week we are talking about Google+. I truly believe that 2014 is going to be the year of Google+. Between great decisions by Google and poor decisions by Facebook, Google+ will become a leading social media platform.

One of the great features of Google+ is Communities. A Google+ Community is a place for users to meet and engage with others on topics that they are interested in. Google has struggled with their groups/communities function in the past but they have now built a great feature. Currently there are more than 100,000 communities on Google+ so there is something for everyone.

So why are Google+ Communities Great?
We are going to concentrate on answering this question from the business/marketing perspective. Here are the reasons:

1. Google will help your SEO. The top factor for Google Page Rank is Google +1’s. Google+ Community posts and engagements can be shared and +1’ed to help your SEO rating. The content is also indexed so that will help with SEO as well.
2. Build new relationships online. Google Communities is a great way to build an online network. The more fans and followers you have online, the more people you can fit into the sales funnel.
3. Position Yourself as a Thought Leader – People buy from companies that they believe are the best at what they do. By establishing a community and engaging regularly, you can easily position yourself as thought leader – and with Google+ your efforts will be far more likely to be seen in Google Search.

I think as we look forward in social media, Google+ will be a major player. Google+ Communities is one of the best features of Google+. Check them out.