Social media sites come and go every few years, but there are a pair of big exceptions. Facebook doesn’t appear to be going anywhere, despite its longevity on the social media scene. And, while still new, Google+ isn’t going anywhere but up. Google’s position as the gatekeeper of the internet’s information is not loosening.

Here are just 3 ways Facebook and Google+ are different when it comes to your law firm’s marketing efforts. If you’ve read our blog before, it shouldn’t be a surprise that you can also read this post as 3 reasons why your firm should have your eyes set on Google+.

1. Don’t forget who owns Google+. It can help your search rankings.

Facebook currently blocks Google from indexing its pages, meaning your Facebook posts don’t show up in Google searches. While this is a benefit to any job-seeker who has posted photos of drunken antics to their Facebook page, it offers no search ranking boost to law firms that successfully use Facebook to market themselves.

Not the same for Google+. The number of +1s (think of them as Facebook “likes”) is one of many factors that determines a page’s ranking in Google’s organic results. Trust us, attorneys: the correlation between Google+ and organic search results will increase in the future, not decrease.

 

After Page Authority, a URL’s number of Google +1s influences search rankings more than any other factor.

2. Google +’s Circles allow you to effectively and easily segment your audience.

In Google+, users create circles of friends. If you use these Circles wisely, you can divide and conquer your audience. You can broadcast different things to different groups of people.

Facebook now allows users to create groups of friends, but it’s not as straight-forward as Google+. It also came so late in the game that, for Facebookers who already had a solid listing of friends, the thought of arranging them was too daunting to bother with it.

This video explains the benefits of Circles well.

3. Establishing “authorship” is becoming more important, and it’s only on Google.

Think of authorship as authority in the eyes of Google. By linking your content with your Google profile, Google’s internal gears will make the same connection and offer greater legitimacy to that content. It doesn’t improve your organic search results, according to Google, but it will help users more easily find content created by your law firm or your lawyers when they go looking for it. And, with your name attached to it, you’ll want to make sure it is quality content.

Here are the authorship details straight from Google.

There are many more differences between these popular social media platforms, but each of the 3 above should undoubtedly be of high importance to your law firm’s marketing approach.

For more on Google+, keep checking back to our blog here at Obu Interactive. I don’t imagine we’ll run out of things to say about it anytime soon.

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