The standard definition of a “social ladder” is a hierarchical structure of society where those with a higher social status are at the top, and those with a lower social status are at the bottom. Nowhere is this structure more evident than in social media, where you quickly can discern a brand’s power and influence by its number of followers, likes, and shares. And nowhere is there better proof than in company social media pages that brand followers respond better to brands with great personalities. So what does this mean for your aging care services company and your company website? A whole lot.

Marketing today has become increasingly social and interactive. In fact, the number one place people go to search for something they need or find out what others think of it, be it a service, a product, or a business, is the Internet, and more specifically, to social media. Consumers want social proof that yours is a great company to do business with. “Going social” and increasing your social status is now an essential tactic to increase referrals for your business, search engine authority for your website, and achieve a higher ranking in search returns when customers are looking for the services you provide.

In fact, search engines like the almighty Google are now looking for social signals that your company pages are well-followed and well-received by your target audience. Yep, Google cares if your company is in the “in crowd” because that is social proof that your business deserves to rank higher than others when people are searching. The sad truth, however, is that social media marketing still takes a back seat to other marketing tactics for many, many aging care services providers despite the fact that, according to a National Research survey, 96% of respondents said they used Facebook to gather information about health care while 28% used YouTube and 22% used Twitter.

What Are Social Signals and How Do You Send Them?

Simply put, social signals are the likes, shares, votes, pins, or views your business gets on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media sites that filter out to the various search engines. Every time a person likes, shares, or tweets content about your brand, they are sending a social signal to search engines, and the more social signals your brand sends the better your chances are of ranking higher on search engine result pages when people are looking on the Internet for the services you provide.

Social signals indicate to search engines that your brand is being talked about by consumers, and search engines interpret those signals to mean that your brand is popular and should be ranked higher so more users can find it.

How to Climb the Social Ladder for Better Rank and Authority

First, and most importantly, if your company has not yet created a social media presence, it’s time to start setting up social media accounts and company pages. Begin with the top social media sites, like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, and YouTube. Once you’re set up, work on building an audience and sharing content on your social media sites regularly.

Show personality. Your social media posts should give followers a sense of who you are as a business. Share posts about caregivers’ birthdays or work anniversaries, post photos of your staff during training sessions or at community events, and even include your clients (with their written permission, of course). Personal posts tend to get the most likes, comments, and shares, so don’t forget to include them along with your other informative posts.

Make time. At corecubed, we often hear from clients that they simple don’t have enough time to devote to running their social media accounts. In fact, this is a common reason why many businesses skip social media marketing entirely. However, a solid social media presence sends “social signals” to search engines that help give your SEO a boost and aid in getting your website found more easily, so not participating in social media due to a lack of time isn’t a good excuse.

According to a recent Ascend2 study, “About one-third of companies outsource all or part of their social marketing campaigns, gaining access to higher levels of specialized expertise and performance.” If your agency doesn’t have the time to devote to maintaining a solid social media presence, corecubed’s social media, content and SEO experts can help. Contact us to learn how we can increase your business’s social status and improve your website’s authority.