Google+ has been growing steadily since it came onto the scene in 2011, in fact, it has actually been growing non-stop and at the time of writing there are 359 million active users on the network.
If you have a Gmail, Youtube, Analytics, Webmasters or any other Google service, you may already have a Google+ profile. If you are a person or a business who hasn’t, it is very simple to sign up. Simply visit the Google+ homepage and set up your own personalised profile.
Now, whether this is your first introduction to Google’s own social network or you have been present there for a while, you will find this blog very useful. This is especially true if you are looking to utilise the platform for your own personal or business use.
If you already well-versed, or you are planning to use Google+ to share content to others, then you need to figure out how to do it correctly. How will you achieve the best results and what strategies should you undertake in order to get other people to share your content organically?
Promoting your brand or content through Google+ means sharing stories, campaigns or products with friends, acquaintances or anyone else you are connected with. Essentially you want their digital stamp of approval. If online community leaders get hold of your content, their friends will also take notice. Word of mouth marketing has been around forever. It works. Within the digital realm, sharing content is the 21st century word of mouth.
You will want to find the right people who will engage with your content and amplify it to other users. By creating engaging content, you can build a loyal following. However, how do you do this on Google’s own social network? Facebook is the most popular social network, followed by Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest and then Google+ in fifth place. Zuckerberg’s invention has a strong hold across the globe and is the number one social network in most countries. Russia and China, of course, have their own variations due to censorship laws.
Don’t let the fact the Google+ is not a current frontrunner fool you; each network has its positives and of course they have their negative features. Think about which network will suit your business best; don’t spread your effort weakly across them all. Have a more focused approach. You may find Google+ works better for you than Facebook (and there is a good chance that you will).
Here are up to date stats to show how many people are currently using Google+. As of April 2014 there were:
- 300 million monthly users
- 22% of visitors using the service at least once a month
You may have mastered all of the other networks, amassing millions of Twitter and Facebook followers, but why is Google+ growing in importance and what can you do to improve your activities?
Our guide includes everything from strategies to content sharing. We are experienced in giving social network profiles a much needed makeover, as wells as starting-up Google+ for marketers.
Why is Google+ now important for marketers?
Google is all about rankings. There are billions of searches every day which bring up websites by popularity. Additionally, Google’s algorithms scan links and the SEO work and HTML of your web page. Google+ is now an important feature which should be integrated into every digital media output. Lots of Marketers are not taking advantage of Google+ integration with other platforms, but what could they gain from doing so?
Social extensions
Your Google+ page will be linked with your Adwords campaigns through the social extension feature. This means that your Google+ shares or +1’s as they are called will be linked with your Google+ page ads. This will all appear with your company information when it appears on search results. The social extension will allow your follower count to appear within any adverts you post.
Rel=publisher
You are able to connect your website with Google+ which allows the Google algorithms to determine the relevancy of your website. This means you will also be eligible for Google Plus Direct Connect which allows a searcher to directly land on a brands Google+ page by entering the brand name into the search bar.
Rel=Author
Rel=Author displays author information for content within search results, the authorship feature can help grow click through rates to your website. There are rumours around Silicon Valley that Rel=Author will be used as a signal for ranking search results in the future. Keep an eye on this this if you are a content publisher.
Google+ Local Optimisation
By being active on Google+, search results will begin to bring up a map next to your company web page in the search results. Your company logo will also appear; it is a fantastic feature for any local business and can have a huge impact.
And the rest….
The headline of this blog post was how to make people share your content on Google+, but we thought it was best to outline the benefits you can see from joining the site as a business or even for personal use. Other features include the fact that if you have a Google+ page, your site will be indexed more quickly within Google and will be picked up by their algorithm. Your latest Google+ posts will also appear in Google Search results. Being verified by Google will look tons better for your business and will improve click through rates to your website.
The last point before we move on is the integration of Youtube and Google+. If you have an account on each you will find your profiles are merged. Your profile photograph will become the same for each website, whilst a Youtube tab will appear on your Google+ profile. Everything will become more integrated; creating solid links between your video content, published writing, and business web page. Essentially offering a vastly improved user experience with is a lot easier to navigate.
Now, if the above has not convinced you to take up residency on Google+, then I don’t know what will. However, if you need further convincing, then what are the Google+ essentials?
How to make people share your Google+ content
You will want to find people who engage with your messages and then go onto amplify them for you, spreading the message to others. These people will tell others about your brand and become ‘brand ambassadors’. Google+ can help you find and engage with your brand ambassadors and lead you to a whole wealth of new clients. You should definitely make the most of the Google+ circles features.
By creating circles, you can tailor what content or messages you are sending to different people. For example, you could create circles like this:
- Potential customers / candidates
- People who already engage
- Key brand ambassadors
The reason you should you do this is that you want to be sending the right messages to the right people. You want to send the relevant content to the relevant audiences. Next you should search Google+ for potential candidates who are likely to help spread the word of your brand. Use hashtags (#) to see who is talking about your brand or keywords which are related to your brand. You can then filter searches to bring up more relevant results.
The ripple effect
Take a look through that persons profile, click on the arrow in the top right hand side of their page and scroll down to where it says ‘view ripples’. Ripples represent the public shares made by a user. The larger the circle, the more relative the influence they have. Browse users to find users with ripples which could be evant to your brand.
Browse competitor pages and hijack their followers. If they look like they could be great ambassadors for you, add them to your circles. Begin interacting with them as soon as possible, don’t hesitate. Comment on their most relevant post and introduce yourself, even thank them if they have been talking about your brand.
Engage
Never assume that people will simply come and contact you because they like your product or your business. Be proactive and engage with them first. Let them know you are active, spark up interactions. Give them +1’s, start interactions, and leave comments. This will mean they will be more likely to spread the word when you share anything. You can create your own brand ambassadors and start a following of active users, when followers become more active you should then use them to the ‘Key brand ambassadors’ circle you created when you joined Google+.
Be sure to check the ripples of those who engage with you on a regular basis, you will then find more potential ambassadors. Do this regularly, keep a schedule and remember that it is much better than publishing work and simply letting it out into the open, have a structured content plan for your Google+ publishing.
Make them feel special
When creating your brand ambassador circle, send users a special invitation to opt in. This will let them feel wanted and special, it will also let you know who is keen to become an online spokesperson for your brand. The invitation or offer will be sent via email. This will go someway to helping you build relationships in and outside the world of Google+. Think about enticing people with special offers; this might mean discounts whilst you could also invite them to a Hangout where you make them feel privileged to be in close cahoots with you. You can even showcase new products to them before the general public get to lay eyes on them.
Don’t forget…
Choose a high quality, high resolution image which represents you and what you stand for. Google+ uses 2120×1192 pixel images so always make sure the image you choose is sized in this way. Also use the ‘About’ tab wisely; convey a positive message about everything that you do and use a short tagline. Try to tell as story, be funny whilst you’re at it. Include links to all your other social accounts, this will improve the amount of Click Throughs you receive.
Google+ is a very powerful marketing and social tool which many people are not aware of, and even if they are, they are not using it properly. The Ripple feature allows users to see who is engaging with others, helping you build up a proper content strategy. The circles feature is also a fantastic way of segregating followers so you are able to tweak who receives which update or piece of content.
By following the steps above you can really find your audience and begin to use Google+ in a more refined manor, getting much better results. There is great value to be had in building a following of brand ambassadors. Be sure to look at the minor details when looking for potential users to interact with. Don’t be put off by Google+ because you don’t understand it, it pays to be disciplined with your activities.
If you are a large business or even an SME, you can really benefit from having a Google+ account with a consistent strategy put in place. The people at Google have worked to ensure that Google+ is now an integral part of the online marketing campaigns of businesses and their online activities. Taking time to engage properly on the network using circles, ripples and amazing content will help your campaign massively. And when this is combined with the publishing and social extension features can boost your ranking due to the recent shifts in the Google search engine algorithms.