Going for Gold with Google Plus: Learn What Google Plus Can Do For You

Welcome back for another round of Mastering Social Media Tips by Branded Innovation. At Branded Innovation, we strive to work for you. For that reason, we have created different blogs breaking down the most important aspects of each social media platform. Our first breakdown was all about Facebook, the next blog consisted of Twitter, so today, we approach the impressive world of Google Plus.

Yes, we are aware the olympics have been over for some time, but that doesn’t mean we cannot bring you to the gold medal in social media. Ready to get your medal?

Although Google plus is relatively new, it’s importance has already been recognized by at least 50% of companies who regularly use social media engines. Not only that, but 15% of marketers have said to have gained at least one customer brought by Google plus. WIth more than 500 million registered users, it has been deemed the second largest social media platform since January 2013. In addition, because Google plus is integrated with various Google products such as Google search and Youtube,it can help your company reach even more potential customers than Facebook.

Ok, so we heard why we need to use Google plus, now, let’s break down HOW to use it.

Create a Page

Obviously, this is a no brainer, but creating a proper, professional page can be more difficult than you think. To create a page, go to www.google.com/+/business, and click the “create Google + page” button. From here, you pick a category which best represents your business or organization. Why is this needed? Well, by adding basic information about your business, Google can better understand the specifics about your business, and surface the right content from your business into numerous search queries made by potential customers. So, make sure to always add your companys basic content (company name, website, and customer age range) into your Google plus page.

Customize Your Page

Finally, the last step is to customize your page! By customizing, we mean adding more detail, story and description. The story should be around 10 words which do the best possible job of describing your company. Add all your public contact information into the page, but always make sure the information is consistent with your other social media sites. Lastly, create a stunning profile picture that truly grabs the attention of your audience. Remember that your profile image will represent your brand and show up whenever you interact on Google plus.

How to Manage Your Google Plus Page

So, the page is set up. Now, what do you do next? One of the most important things to keep in mind while setting up the page is that it is there specifically for the client. Thus, it is essential you view your page from a customer’s perspective to ensure everything is set up simply and professionally. In order to do this, click on the “go to view profile ” located on the top of the navigation page, or simply type a specific users name to see how the page looks like to them.
Another great thing about Google plus is the ability to invite others to manage the page with you.
Because social media relies on constant interaction with customers, it makes the job more efficient when many people work to answer questions, share content, or simply monitor the page.

Share Content Directly to Communities

Sharing helps your companies online network grow. By gaining a larger network, you have a higher chance of obtaining more customers. To share content, just add your content into the + feature in status update.

Don’t Forget The Hashtag!
Although hastags began on Twitter, various social media platforms now use them. The point of using a hashtag is to make a page discoverable. You can do this by having Google plus automatically add hashtags to posts based on the content of your update, include your own hashtag into the post, or even remove those added to you if they are not relevant. In the end, this will help Google plus bucket your content into conversations spaced around relevant topics to your content.

Google plus has become a social media platform quickly gaining a place among the best social media sites used for advertising. With all it has to offer, not taking advantage of the potential benefits it can bring you would be a huge mistake. That was all for today! Join us next time, when Mastering Social Media Tips by Branded Innovation delves deeper into the world of Google plus in part two of Going For the Gold with Google plus!

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