There are three main social networks a business should be utilizing to increase their brand awareness and relationships within their local communities as well as those who are willing to connect. Those 3 main social sites are Facebook, Twitter and yes, Google+.

It is no surprise that 80% of users prefer to connect with brands through the Facebook platform; however, although businesses are present on Twitter, 56% of consumer tweets are still being unanswered, so even though you are there your actual presence is required to be interactive or your efforts are pointless. Businesses certainly cannot complain on how social networks are not working in their favor if they are not using them correctly, right?

The statistic you may find more surprising is that of Google+, some say that its site is a ghost town, but as I have stated in prior articles, it should not be your social media write-off, in fact, not taking Google’s social network Google Plus seriously, is most likely hurting your business right before your eyes.

The reason is due to many businesses not realizing the true power Google’s social network has within the Google search engine. The two tie in with one another and together help boost your businesses relevance within search. Just by adding a +1 button to your website actually increases page traffic by 350%. (You may need to read that last part again).

Of course it is not just which social networks your business is on, but who from your business is taking part in the social media experience, this is including the social activities of your CEO, since 49% of corporate reputation is attributed to the activities of your CEO’s online presence.

And finally, timing, timing is an important aspect in knowing when to post, but it is not set in stone since you need to pay attention to your analytics and insights for each individual social network. However, in order to gain that relevant data you should be aware of certain times that have been known to work for your particular industry when posting to social networks.

You can learn more about What Businesses Need to Know to Connect Successfully in the Digital... in the following infographic.