There have been many updates and introductions in the digital landscape recently. In an effort to make sure you are aware of changes and have read up on what's new, I have compiled a few below. We have found with our clients that taking advantage of new opportunities quickly after they are introduced is advantageous from a competitive standpoint. If any of these will benefit your business, website or online marketing efforts – act now and get an edge up!
LinkedIn Has A New Look & Company Status Updates
Rolling out slowly, a new platform design by LinkedIn is meant to provide a better user experience for visitors. Not everyone can see this new version yet, but it does appear to be cleaner with information more streamlined from the homepage and navigation. Even if you have the latest version, LinkedIn promises to surprise with additional features in the future.
If you haven't already claimed and enhanced your LinkedIn Company Page, now is the time. There are many opportunities, in text and video, to showcase your products or services, as well as promote your business. A few months back, somewhat quietly, LinkedIn upgraded these Company pages to allow for businesses to make status updates, just the same as an individual would make on the channel. It's a great way to push information out to your followers and keep your news stream fresh and engaging. Although not nearly as active as a Twitter feed, this should be updated regularly with informative, newsworthy data, as well as company happenings.
Google Places (Maps) Merges Into Google Plus
For businesses with brick and mortar locations, Google Places (formerly known as Google Maps or Local) has always been an important, frequently-used component of advertising. Over the past month, Google has merged these Places listings onto the Google Plus platform (Google's entry into the social media network). As a result, it is critical to claim or initiate your Google Plus Business Page (will need a personal Google account to do so) – to leverage all that both Plus and Places can offer to a local/regional business.
Yahoo Scores Big
In an unexpected announcement last week, Yahoo named a new CEO – Marissa Mayer from Google. Ms. Mayer was one of the first waves of Engineers to join Google and has been instrumental in their success, having a large influence on their user-interface, local search and mobile. For many, it was a surprising move – yet one that is worth watching closely. If Yahoo can be turned around and become a more competitive player in the search space, Marissa Mayer would be heralded as a hero!
