***Please note: this information is for historical purposes – for current information you should be reading this updated article instead.***
Everyone loves facebook, twitter, and other cool social media like Tumblr, Instagram or Pinterest. And of course, most of us have LinkedIn to advance our careers and to make professional contacts. Now, if you aren’t promoting your business on any of these, then that is your first mistake. But the second mistake that most business make is ignoring the world’s second largest social network: Google+.
What, second largest social network? What about twitter, instagram and LinkedIn? Sure they are big, but virtually anyone that has a Google account (think GMail and or YouTube) also has a Google+ account. That right there is enough to beat out popular sites like twitter. Now, you may hear that while many people do not really use Google+, you should consider the fact that engagement is quite high. Let me give you an example:
My twitter requires a significant amount of attention to keep up – there I just way too much going on. Many people are vying for my attention, and honestly, some just tweet too much. Keeping on top of it all is quite challenging. On Google+, I see fewer posts, and while my followers and people that I follow may be less, I find more (and usually better comments), and feel that it is easier to grab someone’s attention. While twitter can be awesome for making something cool go viral, twitter feels like it has a very short memory. The competition can be staggeringly high. You certainly need twitter to be part of your strategy, but if and facebook cannot be your only focus.
Perhaps the best reason for using Google+ is that it is Google. They are the largest and most dominant search engine in the world, so being on their social network is certainly a good way to be in favour with them. If you blog, be sure to setup Google+ authorship – this will add your Google+ profile pic to Google search results from your blog, which increases the likelihood of a user clicking on your page. All of this just from adding a little bit to your social media routine!
OK, so now you are ready to get started with Google+ – now what? First, make your personal Google+ profile (which is easy if you have GMail or Google Apps for your domain). Then, create a Google+ page for your brand or business. Once you have these easy steps out of the way, then make sure to personalize your profile. Find a new profile pic and header image. From there, start with engaging content. Google+ recognizes hashtags, so you use your facebook and twitter postings on it to start reaching your audience. Remember, the important thing is to build a habit of posting consistently – soon the rest will follow!
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