In the past month there have been two  Google services that I’ve been keeping an eye on. 

First was Google+.  I’m happy to say that I’m one of the 18 million users on the newest social media network.  The first week it came out, I was asking everyone I knew for an invite!  I was so jealous of people who got to play around with the “circles” I had been hearing  about.  Now that I’ve been on the network for about a month, I’m intrigued by what the service can do for the SMB sector.  I’m not saying it’s better than FaceBook, or any other network, but it’s getting more and more popular every day – you don’t want to miss the wave.  The G+ team has asked business owners to not create profiles yet, as the full program for businesses will be launching later this year. However, I would suggest you sign up, create a profile, test out the circles by adding friends, join conversations, and try promoting your business with G+.   If you need an invite, let me know.  Leave a comment and I’ll make sure you get one.

The second service was Google Sites’ for mobile sites.  It’s a new tool that allows any business to easily create mobile-friendly websites!  This allows the small business who may not have the resources to have a mobile presence the ability to provide valuable info to potential and existing customers.  Give it a shot, you may be surprised at how well it works.

Social media.  You hear it all over the place.  What is it, and are you taking advantage of it for your business? 

The nature of social media is to share.  It is a place where conversations take place.  It is a place where a community is built.  It is a place where people try to influence others.  These activities are what marketers try to create, and it’s all happening within social media.

So which tools and sites are the most popular for businesses?  I’d say YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are all sites where you can easily create a presence.   With the influx of information available online, creating these social channels will help your business stand out among the rest.  The advantages of using social media is to increase exposure (of your business and brand), traffic (a source for leads/customers), and search rankings (ultimately lowering marketing costs).  So no matter what you do with your business in 2011, integrate these cost effective (if not free) methods of social media into your marketing plan.

Cheers!

Julia 

PS.  With all of the social sites out there, make sure your online reputation is accurate by monitoring your business credit score.  Sorry, I couldn’t resist plugging our product!