Getting your business on Google+ webinar

By Helen Brown

This week I have watched the ‘Getting your business on Google+’ webinar. I know I have already written about Google+, but further to my post “Google+, the grown up social network” and also “the +1 button webinar from Google” I would like to discuss a little of what I have learned today.  Google+ can be beneficial to advertising your business, as well as for the social function previously discussed. The features within Google+ can lend themselves well to a business focus.

First topic of discussion within the webinar: The power of Google+. Within 100 days of Google+ existing, there were over 40 million users! All of these people settled into using the platform very quickly and now, billions of posts and articles etc are shared every single day. Were all human, and we all at some point or another need to connect with one another. Social networking is more popular than ever now, and it’s a perfect opportunity to get yourself and your business or brand noticed. A lot of big top brand companies are now using this and it is working for them, but it can work well for smaller businesses too. Also, there are also now over 1 million sites that have integrated the +1 button, so with all of this endorsement and also the ability to connect, this looks like another great way to put your business out there and gain some attention. Hooray!

So, how do we get started with this? It’s very simple, the first thing that you will need is a Google account log in. It is necessary to create an identity for yourself via a Gmail log in, and once you have logged in you will see +(your name) in the top right corner of the screen. e.g I see +Helen.
Click the +(your name) and you will then have the opportunity to create a page for your business via the ‘create a page button’ found on the right hand side of the page. From here you can choose your categories such as local business or place, product or brand, company/institution/organization, arts/entertainment/sports, other etc.
Next you can fill in all of the information that you want to give about your business, you can link to your website, decide on a best suited category for your business, and select who will be able to see your page. Then click create! You will see a prompt that will encourage you to tell your friends and family about the page. Next, you will see a congratulations page and this is where you can start to give your page its own identity by adding photos and videos. At the top of the profile page, you can add your profile picture and you have the opportunity to add five additional photos that will display in a banner fashion on your page (there’s a great tool for slicing photos and making a real display out of this!) Now you can also add your introduction, contact information and your website details etc. To successfully connect your website and your page to each other, you will need to add code to your site. Click the ‘Get the badge’ button, and then you can use the ‘widget configurator’ to customize the badge and get the code which can be copied and pasted into your site for it to display there.
You can also get the +1 button on your site, widgets can come in many shapes and sizes, there are a variety of buttons and once installed on your site a user can +1 your business directly from your site without having to go to your +page. Another great way of driving traffic.

One thing that should be kept in mind is that the page you have created is a representation of your business identity, it needs to follow your branding, message and style and should be visually appealing for the best results. Also, Google were keen to point out that it is important not only to link your page to your site, but also to your AdWords campaign so you can measure your results.

As I briefly mentioned earlier, there is a great tool for slicing images for your banner photos, go to http://gpluspic.com/banner and you can really give your page some extra appeal with a sliced banner photo of your choosing, which could be much more eye catching than displaying smaller, separate images.

In terms of your business, circles within Google+ can be very powerful. You can begin to segment your audience as when people find you and add you, you can then add these people to your own circles and you can use the circles to ensure that the specific message that you want delivered to the specific group of people is seen by that group e.g messages for a circle of customers, or maybe a supplier or buyers and also your staff! You can also use the circles to deliver specific messages or offers at you mat choose to run at certain times of day. The example used in the webinar was a coffee shop, to further demonstrate how circles can be used you could have a specific circle for early risers offering a free pastry with the coffee before 8 am, and another for study groups offering a meal deal of sandwiches and cookies at a reduced price etc.
You can allow users to opt into their own circles on your page too, by asking them what they want to hear about. Do they want to receive updates? Are they interested in job opportunities? if so, they can join the appropriate circle, this is a great way to split your audience into the appropriate categories and ensure that they receive the most appropriate message.
Now for me, this is the best bit! How about creating a ‘hangout’, where you can add a human element to your message and communicate face to face with your audience? You could use this to teach your viewers more about your products and services, you could give lessons on specific subjects within your business topic, there are so many ways in which this could be beneficial. All you need to do is click to ‘start a hangout’ and your profile picture and business name will appear in the news stream of your followers. They will see a button and clicking this will enable them to join in with your hangout.

When delivering your messages to your different circles, its also important to remember that you have complete control over the level of information that is displayed. You can disable comments and also disable re-sharing before sharing a message or a promotion etc.

Linking your page with your AdWords campaign will give you the ability to measure the performance with statistics such as clicks, impressions, CTR etc. You can use webmaster tools if you wish to know demographic information about the people who are using the +1 button.
And finally, two new features: the first called connect direct is an experiment by Google which allows a user to directly connect with your business page by typing +(business name) into search. The second called ‘Ripples’ has been released and this allows you to see the social ripples from the post you share and thus how it is re shared and its spread pattern. From this you can establish the most effective content for achieving good reach and you can learn about the fans of your brand. Good luck!

Article source: http://www.ipassexam.com/blog/index.php/getting-your-business-on-google-webinar/

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