Last fall, Google launched a new social network with the intention of competing in the world of social. Based on recent reviews, the reigning kings of search may have succeeded with their goal. Unlike Google’s previous forays in social media, Google+ is a clean, easy-to-use application that provides a great deal of flexibility and integration with other Google features. Google+ takes advantage of Google’s already-established millions of users and is growing at a remarkably faster pace than Facebook or Twitter. If you use Google applications at all, you will see Google+ subtly promoted across their properties. Once you get started with Google+, it is easy to maintain and continue using it seamlessly with their other applications.
Establishing Yourself on Google+
For many individuals and businesses, it is important to establish yourself with Google+ while the social network is still in its early stages. Take an active role by engaging with others, promoting what you’re doing on the social network with white label email marketing and commenting on posts made by influential people who you are also following and in their circle.
Once you have established a profile on Google+, it is time to begin networking. You can network by connecting with others who are leaders in your field, adding them as friends (which Google+ calls adding people into circles) and commenting on their posts.
Getting Started
The first thing you have to do is sign up with Google+ and register for a profile. If you already are using Gmail or white label email, this is a very easy process. Even if you do not have Gmail yet, pull up the Google search page and look for the black toolbar and the +You tab. Click on it and it will take you to the Google+ sign-up page. Fill in the blanks and create your initial profile.
Add an Avatar
As with most social networking sites, every profile has a place to put a profile image. Since you will initially create a personal profile, add a photo of yourself. Keep in mind that the avatar image can appear small in certain contexts, so choose a picture that is square and small – face pics work best as avatars for personal profiles.
Complete Your Bio
Google will help you fill in the profile and bio information as much as possible, but you always have the option of changing whatever information has been automatically generated. Google will use this information to help others find you and connect with you in searches and through Google+, so make sure you put in what information you want others to see and use to connect with you.
Don’t hesitate to write a lot about yourself on you Google+ profile, as this information will help your search engines index you most accurately.
Add Links
In the “about” section of Google+ you can add links to other profiles you have. This is where you can include other social media profiles, business sites and links to your website or special pages on your website.
Begin Connecting with Others
The entire purpose of Google+ is to help people connect with others. You can start this process by doing searches to find people you might want to learn about and connect with. Try searching for people who have the same interests, occupation or are involved in the same community causes.
Google+ allows you to create circles of friends. One of the neat things about this feature is that it allows you to keep circles of friends who have similar interests together. You can also import someone else’s circle of friends. Once someone has shared their circle, you can either incorporate that circle into an existing circle you already have, or create an entirely new separate circle.
Getting Followers
Since Google+ is new, people are still figuring out how to use it best to get followers, especially if you are intending to use it for marketing purposes. However, there are several ways to build a following so that you are in position to take advantage of business features on Google+ as they are rolled out in the future.
- Follow Others – Social media sites are about networking, so make an effort to follow and connect with others you have a common interest with. This includes influential and important people in your field or industry. You will be listed in their profile as one of their followers, plus it will give you the opportunity to watch how they are using Google+ and learn from them.
- Talk to Others – Another way to get followers is to begin to engage with others. If someone makes a comment or post that you can contribute to in a meaningful way, then add to the conversation. As others take note of your comments, they will begin to follow you.
- Promote Yourself – Once you have a Google+ profile, let others know about it. Add a G+ icon on your website to encourage people to G+ you (the equivalent of a Facebook Like). Promote your Google+ account on all of your other social network profiles. Make sure that you regularly post content to keep others interested, and keep your account information up to date.
Once you get started on Google+ it is fairly fun and easy to use. Like all new technology, you will need to spend some time playing around with it to become familiar with all the features. Also, Google is sure to be adding features in the future to make it even more powerful and enjoyable. Like all social network marketing tools, in order to maintain and continue to add followers, you will need to commit yourself to engaging with your followers and adding interesting content.