Editor's Note: This is the second installment in a two-part series of blog posts from social media blogger Shira Lazar about how entrepreneurs can more effectively use Google+ for business. Read the first installment here.
In a recent interview with Brian Solis, a principal analyst at research firm, Altimeter Group and author of The End of Business As Usual, he told me about why Google+ is already a useful tool for businesses, even though a critical mass of Americans hasn't necessarily glommed on yet.
Google+ is the fastest growing social network in history, says Solis. But more to the point, he adds: "It's not just a social network. Google+ will become a platform that connects all Google products, essentially creating a personal or social operating system for each individual."
Sounds like it will be big deal doesn't it? But to figure out how entrepreneurs can use it most effectively now, I reached out to some social media mavens for some tips:
Compartmentalize your content.
Segmenting and organizing brand fans, customers and influencers can be useful for gaining insights and customizing relevant content for your audience. Intel has taken advantage of circles separating their community between "technology enthusiasts," a "newsroom" and under the broad category of "life at Intel."
"Our followers to let us know which of our circles they'd like to join, so that we can provide them with the right type of information," says Jennifer Lashua from Intel's Social Media Center of Excellence. In addition to obviously popular tech content, we're finding that 'behind the scenes' footage seems to be well received, as well as educational material," she says.
Experiment with hangouts.
Facebook has a Skype integration, which only allows for a one-way video conversation. However, Google+ Hangouts is perfect for a business that wants to connect live and interact with a bigger audience. Movies like The Muppets have used hangouts, as have bands like the Black Eyed Peas, who had a hangout and Q&A with fans before going on stage during a concert.
Even the Dalai Lama hosted a hangout with his millions of fans with Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Macy's offered one that asked fashion bloggers to give advice to their followers. But you might be asking yourself: I'm not a rockstar or spiritual icon- how does this apply to me? No matter who you are, hangouts allow you to get personal, creative, interactive and put a face behind your brand.
Harness the power of Google.
The power to connect your brand or business to Google's search engine is undeniable. The +1 button allows you to track who is connecting and sharing your content across the web. According to Christian Oestlian, head of social advertising at Google, it's all about "marrying the power of personal recommendations with the immediacy and power of recommendation on Google search." In other words, say someone is searching for a café in their city. Your brand could pop up if someone in their network had +1'd it.
Google+ ripples has also become a useful tool to see how a post has spread throughout the social network. Ian Schafer, founder of digital agency Deep Focus adds: "Integrating with Google+ is essential right now, because of its impact on Google search results. Experimentation will give businesses (especially small ones) a leg up on their competition."
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Comments:
greetings in Latin America there are few people who use it, in brazil ,google has its own social network and is the most important but different name, I wonder what will they do? I will try to use google to position my brand + eviter
Google is an innovator. Most people don't know what they need or don't need until it is presented to them.
I'll be able to "Harness the power of Google+" a lot better whenever they decide to allow multiple admins for business pages! Madness that they didn't build this feature in for launch - we waited long enough after the initial public beta so what's the hold up. Apparently set for a Q2 2012 launch - that's too long IMHO.
What no one has yet to provide... 1) Who is on Google+ - that isn't already on Facebook? 2) Why do the rules of media not apply to social media - in this case Google+... you own one medium first before proceeding to another. If you don't - you dilute your message. Thus why is it important to have a Google+ presence if you have yet to knock it out of the ball park with FB, Twitter - which most brands have yet to do? Sorry but just not a fan. It's too cumbersome. It like all of the other Google products is hot now but will fizzle with time... like having a gmail account or Google Profiles. Not to mention the 8 million article telling me why we should all be on Google+...if ya have to sell it THAT much...there's clearly a problem.
Shira, this is fascinating. In United Kingdom, Google+ hasn't taken off at all but i believe that in the coming year or so we will start understand how we can use google+ to move forward our services and how we interact with our clients.
I love the power of the new google social network. One gripe is the gaps in user activity.other than that the tools are pretty awesome. I personally prefer Linkedin.
Hello Thanks for the article. Can you please tell me if it is possible to add Ustream or live stream to google+ ???????? to present teaching english programs?? Your help would be appreciated. garychristensenshow@gmail.com Thanks Gary
Well explained about the importance of Google+ for small business. I like this post.
Shira, Exactly what I was looking for! Seeking info for Google+; how can I make my social media mark, and get visitors to my blog who are prepped for my message? I have favorited you article, and will seek others.
How can you do a hangout with more than five people?
I think this is a good idea. One of the challenges with any social network is building up your network. This comes with time. I think that if a company starts early with google+ by the time it starts to really catch on they will have a leg up. The fact that G+ is starting to show up in SERP is significant reason to start using it. The more +1 you get the better chance your profile will show up on SERPs. At Chatmeter.com we help companies maintain online presence by monitoring all the content that is posted about their business and making that their Name, Address, and Phone are accurate for all of their locations.
The dominant issue for small businesses outside of the high tech and social networking arena itself who are considering use of Google+ remains the lack of penetration of the service. If ours is anything close to a typical small business, it is significant to note than none of my business suppliers or customers are on Google + yet and only a very few of my social contacts have an account but don't appear to actively use the service.