Getting the most from Google+

There’s a common misconception out there that nobody uses Google+.
But this absolutely not true. Google+ isn’t just another social network – it’s home to lively, active communities whose users engage deeply and often.

It’s time to explore Google+ and leverage its communities in the interest of building solid and long-lasting relationships with your customers and prospects. Here’s how to get started:

 

1. Create your Google+ page

…and be sure to add the Google+ button to your website, blog, etc.

2. Focus on creating and sharing great content

High quality content is key to your success in using Google+, just as it is for your other social networks. A couple of tips:

• Use visuals like videos, infographics and other images to catch the eye, and promote engagement and sharing. Hint: Delete images that are automatically generated from links in your posts, and upload the original image, or a relevant and visually interesting image, instead.
• Publish posts that include links back to your blog or website to drive engagement and traffic.
• Use #hashtags on Google+ to make it easy for people to search for and find your content. #Hashtags also make it easy for you to find relevant content, join trending topics and follow conversations across social platforms, not just Google+.

3. Start networking!

• Create communities (Google calls them “circles“) based on different themes that are relevant to your business, and participate often.
• Search for relevant pages, people and posts to add to your circles using keywords.

4. Engage proactively

• Don’t just rely on posting content to build your presence on Google+. You must engage in the conversations there by commenting on other people’s posts, asking questions, or offering your perspective on conversations.
• If they’re relevant to your business, consider participate in the “What’s trending?” topics (found on the Home menu under “What’s Hot“).
• Set a goal to post  2-3 proactive comments, questions or compliments each day (as well as sharing your original content).

5. Join hangouts and communities

Google+ hangouts and communities are designed to cultivate connections between users around specific interests and passions, and they are crucial to building a strong presence on Google+.

There are over 50,000 communities on Google+ at press time. Join the ones that are relevant to your industry and business, and commit to participating regularly. Hint: Self-promotion is not welcome, so it would be wise to avoid it.

Google+ hangouts provide the opportunity to have live, real-time, multimedia interactions with your customers, prospects, etc. They make it very easy to put a human face on your company, and promote conversation, get feedback, and build loyalty to your brand.

How about you? Are you using Google+? How has it helped your business? Let us know below.