We highly recommend you claim and create these pages.
Having an online presence is highly important, but with all the outlets that are available, how do you know where to begin? To help you boost your online presence, we’ve compiled a checklist to jumpstart your social media and digital marketing plan today. You’ll be asked to fill out profiles for the following pages, so we recommend preparing a company bio in advance and having a logo and / or photo(s) handy. We highly recommend claiming and creating pages for these networks / outlets:
Social Media Pages to Set Up
Facebook for Business Page
First, you will need to have or set up a personal page. Click on the above link, or while on your personal page, click the top right hand arrow and select “Create A Page” from the menu. Facebook will provide a variety of page categories – select the one that best suits your business and follow instructions to set up. You will become the administrator of that page and you will be able to delegate other members of your company to also act as administrators.
Google + Business Page
To begin, you will need to have or create an accessible Gmail account. It is advised to create an account for your business rather than your personal email so that other delegated administrators can access / update the page. Click here, or select “Pages” in the left hand menu of your profile page to create your Google + Business page. Select the category that best suits your business and fill out the requested information. You should also create and verify a Google Places listing (this step is detailed below).
LinkedIn Personal + Company Page
It is important to maintain both a personal and company page on LinkedIn. To create a LinkedIn Company Page, you will first need to have or set up a LinkedIn personal account. On the home page of your personal account, go to “Interests” and select “Companies.” Click the button under “Create A Company Page,” and fill out the requested info. You will need to verify that you are the official company representative to get started.
Twitter Business Page
Setting up a Twitter profile is simple: just go to the page and fill out the short contact form to get started. Twitter will then take you through a series of steps to set up your profile and build your following list.
Business Listing Pages To Claim:
Google Places
Google Places serves to place you on a map – it uses GPS tracking and Google Maps to pinpoint your business’s location so you can claim / create a listing that customers can find. To set up Google Places listing, visit the link and follow the instructions. Before officially launching the listing you will be need to verify your address through a PIN number that Google will mail to you. This is done to ensure that fake business listings aren’t being created. Your Google Places listing will also be synced in with your Google + Business Page.
Yelp!
Setting up a Yelp business page is easy, but it is important to make sure that you are setting up a business page rather than a personal page. Visit the provided link above and follow the steps to set up your Yelp business account.
Foursquare
Go to the site and follow the steps to set up an account. If you don’t claim a Foursquare page, it’s possible for your listing to be set up by someone else with information that isn’t entirely accurate, so it’s important to claim your page even if you don’t plan to use it.