Google Plus for Bail Agents

• October 06, 2013
• by Courtney Gordner
• Business Tools
• Marketing
• Social Media

We could start this whole discussion by relating everything explicitly to the world of bail bonds, particularly touching on how social media can be used to reap benefits. That would be incredibly silly, because business is business any way you cut it.

It doesn’t matter what type of business you run, marketing is one of the primary factors in attracting new customers.

It doesn’t matter what type of business you run, marketing is one of the primary factors in attracting new customers. It goes without saying new customers bring higher profit which results in a much larger net income. Every business in existence is interested in improving their net income, and that is why marketing plays such a pivotal role in the business world. Of course, you probably knew most of this already. It’s a no-brainer really, and any successful business owner will tell you exactly the same.

What they won’t tell you, is how social media fits into modern marketing strategies and goals. In fact, a lot of businesses out there just plain overlook social media when it comes to marketing products and services. That’s a no-no as far as success is concerned, especially in this day and age. Everyone uses social media these days, and we have the increasing popularity of always-connected mobile devices to blame for it.

For the best results, it’s always great to have a social media team managing several networks like Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus. Plenty will argue that all the social media networks matter, and that’s definitely true, but if you had to explicitly choose one to focus your marketing efforts on then Google’s platform is it.

Why Google Plus Over Alternate Social Networks?

This really boils down to simple Internet logic. Google runs one of the most widely used search engines on the planet. All Internet content is indexed by Google Search, so much that content producers pay close attention to their search results ranking on a daily basis. This is important because it determines how visible your website, content or service is to the public.

Any time someone performs a web search through Google, it pulls the most relevant results and displays them based on ranking. Since Google Plus is owned and operated by none other than –you guessed it- Google, it benefits significantly when it comes to search ranking. If you have a business profile setup on Google Plus, you can take direct advantage of these benefits. Ultimately, it will earn you much better exposure when it comes to search results, thus resulting in more customers and visitors.

Of course, there is work involved in all of this. You don’t just become the top listing in search results by creating a profile and letting it sit idle. The work behind this is SEO. This is another important thing you should be focusing on to ensure your website is successful. Something to focus on for this is your conversion analysis, to make sure you’re having successful results. SEO can get a little complicated, but it’s something worth investing your time into.

Spruce Up Your Profile

Don’t just name your profile, throw up a decent profile image and call it a day. Invest some time and effort into making your profile interesting. Aside from any posts or content that you publish, the ‘about’ section of your profile will see a large amount of traffic.

This is where you want to define your business, and as a bail bondsman show off what you can offer your customers. What exactly will you do for them? How can you help them? Where can they turn if they have concerns or issues?

As an added bonus, when your Google Plus page shows up in search results, interested parties will be able to see some of the content from your about section as the page’s meta description. If you’re not familiar with the meta description when it comes to search engines, it’s the small description that displays below a result listing.

You want to be informative, yet interesting when you create this content. Most of all, you should use backlinks to your main website as this helps establish anchors between the two, provided you use a good selection of key words. If you integrate the links well, it will drive traffic to your website thanks to visitors originally checking out your Google Plus profile, and that’s what you want.

Stay Active, Share Content

You can’t just sit around and wait for leads all the time- sometimes you have to go searching for them. In order to find decent leads, you also have to remain fairly active. The same holds true in the world of social media.

If visitors see that a profile or user is not very active, they are less inclined to follow or subscribe to the related account. Therefore, you want to post content, status updates and more on a continual basis. Unfortunately, garnering a large follower base on any social media network is not going to happen overnight. It takes time to establish a large amount of followers, subscribers, fans or what have you.

If you want people to add you to their circles on Google Plus, then you need to keep them interested. The only way to do that is to share, share, and share. You don’t always have to post content about your business either. For example, you could post tips, hints or helpful guides on any number of topics. You could squash common myths about bail bonds. You could offer advice to individuals on handling their first court appearances or where to turn to find an effective defense attorney. You could even post funny pictures that coincide with current pop culture trends or memes.

The main point here is that you need to remain active, and consistent.

Circle Tons of People, but Don’t Forget About Them

In the real world, if you say “hi” to someone they’re probably going to say “hi” right back. Therefore, if you add someone to your Google Plus Circles, they’re probably going to do the same. Google Plus will even recommend users for you to follow and interact with based on preferences and interests, use that feature to your advantage. Furthermore, if a user interacts with you, Circle them.

Keep adding people to your circles in order to build your own user base, that way when you share content it’s visible to a larger audience. The more +1’s, comments and interactions you receive on a post or shared content, the more likely it is to show up higher in Google search results. The best way to garner a lot of interaction on a particular post is to have a large audience see it.

If a customer or follower comments or mentions you, then make sure you respond in a timely manner. Google Plus can also be a great word of mouth marketing tool, in that customers see how active you are when responding to complaints, questions and more. If visitors see an account that is more active about answering questions on bail bonds and the related processes, they’re more likely to turn to you in the future when they need advice or need to pay for services.

Adversely, just because you have a lot of people following you does not mean you’re going to be successful. You need to engage your audience regularly and entice them to interact with your posts and profile. To do that, you need to keep the content you’re sharing both interesting and relevant.

Consistency is Key

By now, you can probably see that it’s one very big circle. All of these different points are intertwined, so that success through Google Plus doesn’t come from just one of them. If you focus on all them equally, you should do just fine.

In the world of bail bonds, word of mouth is an important tool, and social media networks like Google Plus function on exactly that. Use that simple fact to your advantage.

In the world of bail bonds, word of mouth is an important tool and social media networks like Google Plus function on exactly that. Use that simple fact to your advantage.

Social media as a whole may seem daunting, but don’t let it frighten you. The real issue with most companies that try to market through social media is that they fail to remain consistent. Stay active, comment regularly and continue to post content to your audience. If you do those things above all else, then you should see an increase in both traffic and business. If you want to learn a little more about marketing, there are some easy ways to take classes and get an online degree, that way you can still maintain your business while you are learning!

About the Author:

Courtney Gordner is a journalist/blogger who has a passion for internet marketing. She enjoys writing her advice for a variety of companies from bail agencies to treatment centers, including 12 Keys Rehab.

Become a guest contributor

This article was written by an industry guest contributor. If you are interesting in being a guest contributor or have an article suggestion, please send an email to [email protected].