In our last Social Agency article, we discussed the benefits of using Facebook for Real Estate agencies and how to make the best use of the platform. This time, we’d like to talk about an often-forgotten social media platform with tons of perks, specifically for businesses: Google Plus. At first glance, it might seem like creating a Google Plus account for your Real Estate business is a waste of time. But Google is the king of search engines, and the benefits of using their platform for promotion outweigh the tediousness of adding yet another account to your social media presence.

Why You Should Use Google Plus

One of the reasons that Google Plus is severely underrated is that it’s an entirely different social media concept from giants like Facebook and Twitter. You can’t compare one to the others, just as you can’t compare Yahoo and Tineye simply because they both have a search bar. The second reason is there’s a misconception that no one is on Google Plus.

Google Plus, as of 2012-2013, had between 135-300 million active users. That is a massive userbase, and the numbers vary by what you define as “active”. Why? Because many people have a Google Plus account simply by having a Gmail account. Their circle is their email contact list. And you can reach their list by harnessing this unique native connection through Google.

Google Plus Business Benefits

With the native Gmail connection, Google Plus influences the search results for anyone logged in to their account. Now imagine you have 500 connections on Google plus (like, say, your email list). Now your content has priority treatment when they search for local realtors or property listings. It’s a built-in white hat SEO advantage, just because you are already on their contact list.

Google Authorship also adds a distinct benefit for real estate agents on Google Plus. When your search results get boosted for your contacts, or when they show up on their own, your Google Plus profile picture and details show up too. Along with a link to more pages authored by you, which, if viewed for a certain amount of time, automatically returns more results when the searcher returns to the SERP. It’s a double-whammy of SEO benefits that need only your use of Google’s proprietary social media platform. It’s almost like a reward for doing what you were already going to do, because you’re flattering Google in the process.

How To Get Started

Joining Google Plus is much like joining any other social media platform. And, with characteristic care for user experience, Google will walk you through the process of creating your page and completing a profile. After that, add authorship to your posts to reap the benefits thereof and begin the work of expanding your circle (your email list is a good starting point for this) and joining communities to reach more people. Reciprocity is the key to any social media dynamic, so be sure to +1 and share content from connections. Finally, add checking in to your schedule (at least once a week). The volume and pace of Google Plus make it much more manageable to deal with than oversaturated networks like Twitter.

We know what you’re thinking: “But Little Egg, I have a full plate already with just the social media accounts I have.” We get it. Adding another social media platform to your overall content marketing strategy can feel like piling dirt on top of an already-growing mountain of tasks and it may seem like a landslide is imminent. That’s why we’re here: to take the shovel and shoulder that burden so you don’t have to. Contact us today to find out how!