Improved Social Icon Widget - Whatsapp, GMB & Waze

People love to hate social networks, and quite often for good reason. The reality of the situation as a business owner is that they are definitely a necessary evil. Up until recently the social widget has been limited to a few of the big guns, but now with the massive growth of Whatsapp around the world and Google rapidly expanding the potential of Google My Business (GMB), it was time for a little update.

The widget also got a face lift with some design tweaks for social medias like Instagram’s stunning gradient, YouTube’s distinct red, and LinkedIn’s new font.

I'm fairly persistent that GMB is THE place you have to be when it comes to social networks. If you only get to pick one, GMB is my pick for it. Yeah Facebook has plenty of people signed up but Google has over 90% market share in search and a whopping 2 trillion searchesevery year.

SMS/MMS is dead yo! Well at least until RCS replaces it in it's current form. WhatsApp allows you and your clients to communicate from your phone, receive files & documents along with pics in their full, instead of compressed like MMS does. With it's huge popularity around the world and simple unobtrusive interface, it makes sense to be on board. You can even have a dedicated business WhatsApp account that differs slightly. Be sure to say g'day on the Irez WhatsAppaccount

Make it easier for site visitors to reach your client’s brick-and-mortar location quickly with Waze, the community-driven GPS and navigation app that helps people reach their destination as quickly as possible.

Social media is hugely important today, and companies who maintain social media accounts should link them to their websites.
Here are some reasons why:

• Easier to stay in touch. Site visitors are more likely to follow a company on Facebook or Instagram than they are to sign up for a newsletter. So, adding social media icons gives an additional way for business to communicate with site visitors after they leave a site.

• Authenticity. Social media can give site visitors the feeling that a company is dynamic and authentic. While an Our Story page on the site may tell a company’s initial story, links to active social media accounts enable the story to continue.

• Multiple channels, one central location. Websites are a great place for gathering all social media channels in one spot. Think of your website as a transit hub for visitors who can then move onwards in the manner that's most convenient for them.