You’ve probably heard the same stories I have: Google+ is a ghost town, the brainchild of Plus has left Google, so it’s being shut down, etc. It’s true, Google+ is no Facebook. But do we really need another place for viewing everyone’s perfect life, with their perfect children and perfect job? As a B2B marketer, that’s not the main place I’m looking when it comes to promoting brands and cultivating thought leadership.
But hold on. What if you could help your company’s SEO cause, build overall social media credibility, learn about your customers and do it on a platform that is Ad-free? Would you do it?
We would, too.
The good news: it’s not hard to get started on Google+. Like other Google products, they’ve made it quite simple, with step-by-step instructions that help you set up your account and start to build your circles.
Like all social media, Google+ takes work—and a solid strategy. And—surprise, surprise—that strategy is as much a content strategy as it is a social media strategy. For example, a plan should include answers to questions such as:
- What types of topics are you going to post on?
- Within those topics, what voice do you want to assume?
- How often are you going to post?
- How will you mix Google+ into what you’re already posting on other social media sites, both from a content perspective and a timing perspective?
- And of course: What’s my primary goal in putting the effort into Google+?
As soon as you have your strategy in place, here are four things you should start doing immediately:
1) Start following people that can impact your business. That means everyone from journalists and analysts that cover your space to IT managers at companies you want to do business with. Comment on their posts, +1 them (the equivalent of liking them), share them to help boost their content, etc. Many of them will begin to follow you back, so….
2) Start contributing immediately. Don’t rely on what you’re already using on your other social media sites – your plan should involve some unique content specifically written for Google+. That does not mean, however, that you can’t repurpose content from your other sites, but look for ways to make it unique. No one wants to read the same thing on three different sites, and many “cut and paste” efforts can backfire on you. Your end goal is to get your followers engaged across social media platforms, so throwing the same thing at them, but on different sites, is not a good strategy. Mix up not only content, but also timing. Use Communities and Hangouts to further boost your presence.
3) Make some of your content rich media. Sharing videos, podcasts, infographics and more is a great way to mix up the content you’re posting, and it has the potential to attract far more attention and interaction than plain text.
4) Make it easy for people to follow you. Every platform you use—website, blog, Twitter, LinkedIn, SlideShare, etc.— should have all of your social media handles easy available. Some people may follow you everywhere, some only on their favorite platform. Giving them multiple options on how to find your content is key.
Google+ is an easy way to continue to capitalize more on the buzz you’re generating with other social sites. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t need more buzz?
How are you using Google+ as part of your social strategy?