Facebook, Google Plus - What to share/like?

[echo1]

Hi everybody!

We are planning to offer an incentive to all our customers who interact with us on social media websites. What's the most important thing to ask from a customer?

Facebook

• to like our Facebook business page or to like our own website through Facebook?
• to just follow us on Facebook or to actually comment / interact on our wall?

Google +

• to +1, share, add to circle our Google+ business webpage or to +1 or share our own website?

So basically what do we need to promote most? Our Facebook / Google+ business pages or our own website through social media marketing? While we understand it's important to actually interact with the customers and offer value on social media websites, we are looking to boost our SEO efforts.

Thank you!

[echo1]

Thanks Robert!

[echo1]

Thanks, that's the plan

[echo1]

Are you saying you are not using "Likes" and "shares" at all?

_"Will lobbying take over SEO and SERP's? Just like Washington politics, will the bigger and deeper pockets wield the influence" . _

I'm not into politics, I'm just trying to rank my website.

[AWCthreads]

"We are planning to offer an incentive to all our customers who interact with us on social media websites"

Echo1 - I'm not knocking what you (or anyone else does regarding this) but this begs the question: How come Google doesn't like paid links, but lends credibility to solicited and incentivised "likes" and "pluses?"

Will lobbying take over SEO and SERP's? Just like Washington politics, will the bigger and deeper pockets wield the influence?

Google is inviting us to play by these rules (sorry for the soapbox moment).

[jennita]

If you're sole focus is on SEO and not necessarily on SMM, I agree with Robert, you probably want to spend more time on Google+. Rand just posted a blog post talking about the changes Google is making to the SERPs and why it's important to have a Google+ strategy: http://www.seomoz.org/blog/why-every-marketer-now-needs-a-google-strategy. I'd definitely check out the post and associated video.

When it comes to Facebook, be sure that you read the promotions guidelines: http://www.facebook.com/promotions_guidelines.php.

Personally though, while social is definitely an aspect of SEO now, it really does need to be considered as a whole strategy on it's own as well. If you're going to start using social sites, make sure you're dedicated to working on them and managing them.

Hope this helps!

Jen

[RobertFisher]

Echo1

Based on what we know currently about Google +1, I would have to say that it is much more important right this moment than Facebook. I would ask the customer to +1 you by simply having the bookmark/icon on the pages of the site. For your promotion, I would ask them to add you to their circles.

There was an article on Wired by Tim Carmody on Wired: http://bit.ly/wki28I a few days ago talking about how Google's +1 is essentially a real estate grab. Whether or not you agree with that statement, it appears based on all I have read that +1 is about being able to have yourself in more places on Google which helps you.

When you look at Cyrus Shepard's post of a week ago regarding how Google + is using SEO to steal search from Facebook and Twitter (A must read in my opinion) it is obvious that people are more likely to see something when searching on Google if it is in Google + versus Facebook.

No, haven't tested it out yet, but from all I see Google is after everything. Time will tell, but for today I would go with Google + if I could only spend in one area.

Best