There are many social media platforms out there and most businesses are taking advantage of them. The top sites seem to be Facebook and Twitter, but recently business have started utilizing Pinterest, which has seen immense growth over the past year. All of these communication platforms are valuable, but if you’re not adding to your “circle” and hitting “+1” then you’re forgetting about Google+. Not only is it a great networking and communication platform, but it’s also great for recognition and SEO (Search Engine Optimization). We’ll walk you through some best practices and tell you where to begin.

How do you get started? Start by setting up your profile and filling in the contents completely. Take advantage of using links in the “about” section–link to your company site, blog and elsewhere.

Customize your page. Add a cover photo and a profile image that represents your company. People will notice the banner image at the top and they will see the profile image next to posts. Make them want to click & follow!

Add to your circle. Take advantage of the opportunity to add relevant brands to your circle. Once people take notice and start adding you, your circles will begin to grow. Don’t forget to check out “Communities” to see who else you can add.

Post and network. Start posting. You can tag people from your circles and share (+1) most things of interest, so do it! If you see a post that you’d like to share, +1 it. Create original posts and make your circles want to +1 it too.

Start your Google+ journey by adding Mopdog to your circle!