The way in which we communicate with people today is much different than it was only just a few years ago. We keep connected with all of our friends via a computer, a smartphone and tablets. And if someone had told you five years ago they had 500 friends, you would be thinking they’re an egomaniac - but that’s social media.
As a digital marketer in this climate, you can’t afford to ignore any of the social media platforms and you can’t be the last one to find out about them. So we ‘like’, ‘follow’ and ‘connect’ with the so-called experts of social media looking to keep abreast of any emerging opportunities so that we can keep justifying our roles with our clients.
At the end of the day the hype, it grabs you, you can’t help but be excited about everything that comes out. Put simply, i’m THAT friend.
I’ve essentially been peddling Google+ for small business since its launch last July. However, I haven’t had the conviction to do it publicly via this blog, after all, some comments can come back and bite you on the bum.
On that, did you know that the Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said this about the iPhone in 2007 - “[Apple’s iPhone] is the most expensive phone in the world and it doesn’t appeal to business customers because it doesn’t have a keyboard which makes it not a very good e-mail machine…”
Anyway i’ve sat on the fence too long and now I feel like a sheep in the marketing landscape. Here’s my opinions and tips for those looking to get on board and use Google+ for small business.
Google+ for small business : What
Google’s main business is search, I don’t think they’ve ever stated otherwise. So their main goal is to provide you the most accurate results for your search in the quickest manner possible.
By creating the social media platform Google+ they have the opportunity to collect our information from what we ‘like’, what we read, who we trust and more…This gives them more power to provide more accurate results.
So Google+ has been described as positioning itself between Facebook and Twitter and I agree in most part. You create your profile and follow your friends, etc. But the difference here is that you can organise everyone you follow in circles and share what you want with those different groups of people. We’ve all reluctantly accepted Facebook friend requests from family or people from work, despite the fact that we know they might see something we don’t want them too. Google+ circles solves this.
Other than that, Google+ is very much like Facebook but with +1’s instead of Likes. You can even tag people in photos and bring people into a conversation like Twitter but with +JohnCitizen instead of @JohnCitizen. There’s a messenger as well. Oh and another cool feature is the Google Hangouts, which allows you to have a video call with other Google+ users, you might even find this handy with staff off-site.
Google+ for small business : Why
Google search, it’s really that simple. Google has in only the last week begun rolling out a change to the way they provide us results and it’s called ‘Google Search, Plus your World’. Basically, in their effort to give us the most accurate results, they’re going to put search listings that we have a connection to, up the pecking order and at this stage they’re going to do it via Google+.
So let’s say Jimmy and Michelle are connected via Google+, Michelle has +1’d the ABC Cafe down the road, now when Jimmy searches for a cafe the ABC Cafe comes up at the top of the results telling Jimmy that Michelle has 1+’d it. That might sound a little confusing but if you get it, you will understand how powerful it can be.
This is a massive game-changer. Now, when someone searches they’re going to have paid search, then social results and then the results coming from traditional SEO work. On the latter point, be aware that social sharing will increasingly impact on search results anyway so sit up and take notice. Your Google search page will reportedly even have suggestions on it as to who you may want to add to your circles, much the same as Facebook does.
Google+ for small business : When
When do you need to start paying attention to Google+? Well now, it’s that simple. With the search changes, Google has forced people’s hands and there is going to be a massive growth in the next few months - Google+ already has 90 million members and it’s projected they will have 400 million by the end of 2012. This is faster growth than MySpace, Twitter and Facebook.
So get into people’s networks while the platform is fresh. Don’t wait until it’s too late and start screaming because your opposition starts ranking better than you because of these Google changes.
Google+ for small business : How
Head to Google+ and sign up. Fill in all the key information. If you write a blog on your business’ website or any other website for that matter, make sure you include these in the section ‘Contributor to’. Also note that your introduction will form as the description in Google search results.
Now that you have your individual profile covered, create your business page. Fill in everything you can from contact numbers, trading hours and of course a link to your website. Upload photos and videos if you have them.
Now start searching for people to add to your circles and those to add to the circles for the business profile. Build those networks and don’t be afraid to cast the net far and wide while it’s still new. People will add you right back.
You need some Google+ action on your website. You want a Google+ button to link to your profile as you have with your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. But more importantly, you need to get a +1 button on your site. Ideally this will be on your blog posts as your content will be more likely to receive the +1. Think back to my Jimmy and Michelle story.
On another note, if you do have a blog on your website, and I strongly suggest you should, then ask your web guy to add a little code ‘rel=author’ to your author profile. They should understand. This verifies with Google that it is definitely you producing the content and this will help.
I don’t profess to be a social media or SEO expert, very few people in this world should really be claiming that mantle. But, now that i’ve taken this long to publish a Google+ dedicated post, trust me, getting on Google+ will certainly improve your business’ search engine presence. If you’re thinking that I am completely ignoring the other search engines, then yes I have but know that the more your content is shared across social media, the better you will result in all search engines.
Love to hear your comments below..If you think i’m a crackpot (and many people do), then let me know. If you want me to expand on what I mentioned, please join Google+ and add me to your circles or alternatively just send me an email.