Google Business Profiles Introduce Social Media Feeds

Google has released a new update to Google Business profiles, allowing you to attach social media feeds from many popular social platforms. Your posts on these platforms can then appear on your Google Business profile.

The integration is easy to set up and may have some ripple effects on businesses and how they choose to manage their presence on social media and Google.

How to Include Your Social Feeds in Google Business

The process for setting up social feeds on Google Business is simple:

• Log in to your business account on Google and access your business profile. If you don’t have a Google Business profile for your company yet, you’ll first need to set one up.
• Click “Edit Your Business Information” on the main panel.
• Scroll down to Social Profiles. Currently, there’s a small “NEW” icon next to this area, though that will likely disappear soon.
• Use the dropdown menu to choose a social platform and paste your business’s social URL into the required field.
• Wait for Google to approve your edit. This usually takes less than 10 minutes.

Nothing additional is needed on Google’s side of things to set up this integration. You are allowed one URL per platform, so for example you wouldn’t be able to link two Facebook pages that both relate to the same business.

SEO Implications of Social Media Integration With Google Business

For most businesses, this won’t change much in terms of how they operate or what they post. However, here are some considerations as you decide which social platforms to attach to your Google account:

1. Only attach social platforms where you’re active. This seems obvious, but a dead social media account can actually hurt your business.
2. Google Business is an increasingly important aspect of any company’s digital presence. For those looking to optimize their presence, adding and maintaining social media profiles may end up being a necessity.
3. As ever, relevant and useful content is the most important thing to Google. If your social content is relevant and useful to your audience, there’s nothing you need to change.

Importance of Google Business Profiles in Your Digital Presence

Google Business is often cited as the single most important aspect of a company’s digital presence when that company is local and has a regional footprint and/or physical location. Home services, restaurants, and other local businesses need to be maintaining an active profile to maximize its benefit.

It’s important regardless of industry or location, though, and it’s one that any marketing-savvy company should be paying attention to.

While it can seem intimidating trying to keep up with the many different options in Google Business, it can be worth it to set up a systematic process for updating and maintaining it for your business.

This includes several types of updates, including:

• Accurate contact information
• Comprehensive description of the company
• Pictures and short videos showing products, staff and culture
• Social media integration, as outlined in this article
• Posts directly to your Google Business platform
• A pipeline for generating consistent reviews on Google
• Information related to holiday and weekend closure and business hours

Do these and you’ll benefit from a stronger, more trustworthy presence on one of the world’s most important websites for businesses.

Want more strategies to expand your digital presence? Reach out to Leadflask today and let’s talk!