Social Media Basics: Google+ (part 2)

Google+Can I be blunt? Facebook is not about lead generation, and it is getting less so every day. With Google Plus you have multiple ways to generate leads with similarly positioned businesses and entrepreneurs.

Today we’ll focus on three things where using Google+ can give you an edge: brand awareness and positioning, social engagement, and marketing.

Your Google Plus Profile

This is the Google Plus Nerve Center. Building a quality profile is important on any platform, but it is critical with Google Plus. This is an instant, fully integrated CV. Let me share an example.

google+ in search returnsCheck out the Reading Tub® logo next to the site reference! When you search on Google.com, when the Reading Tub shows up in the return, you get an image.

Why? Because I took the time to fill out my Google Plus profile. Click on the Reading Tub icon. Voila! You can see a complete profile not just for G+ but everywhere else I am online: my other social accounts; my website and blogs; and the other sites where I curate or publish content. All on one page.

Together, my about page (called “My Story”) and all those links establish my expertise (called Authority). If you’re going to be on Google Plus taking the time to establish your authority is critical.

Remember in Part 1 where I talked about my search engine optimization (SEO) allergy? Thanks to Google Plus I don’t worry about algorithms AND I get the benefit of improved discoverability. The Google search engine spiders and indexes my Google+ profile page.

Google+ Hangouts

Authors will love Hangouts. You can host a school visit, talk to bloggers, or do an interview with media on the other side of the globe. Hangouts give you a chance to meet face-to-face with your target audience.

It is like Skype, but you can record your hangout and put it up on YouTube (or another video service you may use). Here are three things that can happen when you upload a recorded Hangout.

  • Participants can re-visit your chat whenever they want.
  • By re-viewing your video, they’ll visit your channel and see all of the other things you do.
  • You have a “demo tape” that you can share with librarians, booksellers, agents in advertising your services.

Communities in Google Plus

New-Google-Plus-apk-screenshot-196x350What makes being on any social platform successful is being part of the conversation … a community.

In Google Plus parlance, communities are interest-based groups that act like a forum for discussions and help connect like-minded Google+ users. Folks have compared them to Facebook groups. I never had any luck with my Facebook group, but the children’s literacy community on Google Plus is alive and well.

Join a community as your business page and when you post, people will come visit you and may put you in their circles.

Another time saver: get post notifications in your email. That way you can keep up with the conversation and just click to view the post if you want to comment.

Once you are in Google+ type in a few keywords of interest to you and see what communities are already out there. When you join communities, you will likely find people to add to your circles and pages to follow.

Next time you’re on your Google Plus page, check out that notification bell in the upper right corner. That alerts you to new followers, helping you grow your community.

Marketing & Promotion

If you are not comfortable with direct marketing or the hard sell – then Google Plus is for you. Google+ lets you make the most of content marketing.

Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action. (http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/what-is-content-marketing)

You want to optimize your content to promote your work, but not solicit every time you’re online. Let your About Page (“My Story”) do the selling for you. An effective content marketing strategy for Google Plus includes

  • Photo albums (book covers and/or interior images, event pics, etc.).
  • Video content (e.g., book trailers, product demos, interviews).
  • Links to your website, blog, and/or points of sale.

This more comprehensive marketing strategy makes it very easy to stay within the 10 percent rule (no more than 10% of your content should directly reference or pitch your product) AND at the same time increase awareness and direct people to ways to get your books.

Once you start using Google Plus you may decide that it has everything you need in the social-sphere. Which means you’ll have more time for doing what you want in other spheres – like the real world!

Reading Worth Your Time

64 Google Plus Content Strategies by Maria Peagler, copybloggers.com (February 2013)
The Anatomy of an Effective Google Plus Image by Wade Harmon, bloggersmakemoney.com (November 2013)
Customize your Google Plus Hovercard to gain more followers by Mark Traphagen, virante.org (February 2012)
How to Market Your Content on Google Plus by Jeff Bullas, jeffbullas.com (September 2013)