By: Rebecca Wardlow, Social Biz Diva

How To Connect With Your Customers Using

Google+

http://gplus.to/rwardlow7

Key Topics Today:

• Why Google+?• Setting up a Google+ Page for your business• Best practices and great example cases for

using Google+• Promoting your Google+ Page• Improving the performance of your online

marketing with +1

Google+ and GoogleWhy It Matters

“Google+ is Google itself. We’re extending it across all that we do – search, ads, Chrome, Android, Maps, YouTube – so that each of those services contributes to our understanding of who YOU are.”

Bradley Horowitz, VP products for Google+

» 70% of people start the search for your business on Google

» 400 million members

» Attracts 100 million active monthly users

» Google+ Is Indexed by Google

» Visibility of Posts any follower as well as the public. (Facebook Edgerank determines which friends or fans see posts)

Why Google+

Google Stats: http://ow.ly/fyGee

» Google owns the playground!

» Search results are affected by the people you are friends with on Google+

» Social connections hold more value than links

» Sites on Google+ are indexed quickly

» +1 links rank higher in search results

» Google+ & Search Integration

Google

What Are We Covering?

1Setting UpGoogle+

2BestPractices

3PromotingYour Page

Build A Presence onGoogle+

Personal and Business Page

1

Setting Up A Google+ Profile

Get Started!

1. Go here http://ow.ly/fAaRM

2. Fill in the blanks and Click Next Step

Add A Photo

Check Out Your New Account

Add People

Basic Profile Information

Google+ Feed

Complete Your Profile

Setting Up A Google+ Business Page

Goog

le+

Busi

ness

Pag

esEnhance Your BrandStart using Google+ to educate followers, handle customer service, build a community & share media.

Goog

le+

Busi

ness

Pag

esPick A CategorySelect the ”local business/place" category so you can also get listed in Google+ Local

Goog

le+

Busi

ness

Pag

esEnter Your Phone Number

Google+ is going to search for your business listings via your phone number

Select Existing or Create New

Add Your Business To Google

Create Google+ Page

Your Google+ Page – Add Content

Use Keywords in Tagline & Introduction

Circle Organization

• Find Interesting people and Organize them into Circles

• Use Circles in 2 ways– Share posts with specific

groups– Read posts from specific

groups

“Circles”

• Circles are flexible• You can completely delete

circles or redo them.• The people in your circle

do not see the name of the circle you put them in

• Click the “X” in upper right corner of person’s photo to remove them

• NOTE: Circling is unilateral. You do not need to ask for or receive permission to circle someone.

• Circles enable YOU to control who can read your posts.

• Circles can be shared with others.

Increase the Quality of Your Stream

• “What’s hot” – click on Explore in the left side bar.

• Hashtags “#” symbol. Use search box.

Google+ Local

• Google+ Local– Previously Google Places

• By creating a Google+ page and optimizing local listings, businesses can have greater control over how they appear in local search results.

2 Best Practices and Examples

Step 1 – Build A Presence

• Get a Gmail account, create your Google+ personal & business page

• Complete your profile• Post regularly

A Brand That’s Doing It Well

Example Content Shared by H&M

• Teasers of upcoming products or lines

• Photos, or groups of photos, around a certain theme, linking to its website

• Videos from its YouTube channel

• Promotions about Facebook events or giveaways

STEP 2 – DEVELOP A COMMUNITY

• Create your Circles• Make use of Hangouts• Engage

Hangouts & Circles – A Brand Doing It Right

3 Promoting Your Page

STEP 3 – PROMOTE YOUR CONTENT

• Post links to your original content

• Identify authors using Google’s rel=author links

• On your website and in blog posts, add +1 buttons

Top 12 Ways to Grow on Google+

1. Complete Your Profile2. Upload a Striking Cover Photo and Profile

Photo3. Assign Multiple Managers4. Add Users to Your Circles5. Add a Google+ Badge to Your Website6. Post (Relevant) Content Regularly

Top 12 Ways to Grow on Google+

7. Ensure Rich Snippets Are Rendering Correctly8. Utilize #Hashtags in Your Posts9. Create Events10. Host a Hangout11. Submit a Page Verification Request12. Set a Vanity URL (http://gplus.to/rwardlow7)

Use Ripples to identify influencers

• Click on the top right of any public post you make and then click on “View Ripples”

• Ripples is an interactive graph that provides an 'at-a-glance' insight into any public shares made on public posts within Google Plus.

More Google+ Tips

• Use Google+ Circles to to follow who you want to follow (customers, suppliers, industry leaders and influencers).

• Share information to entertain and interest your audience.

• Aim for a on-topic/off-topic ratio of 80/20• See how other businesses are using it

Track Engagement

• Use All My+ to track your brand’s engagement on Google+

Get it all done in 60 minutes or less.

15 minutes – Look for information outside Google+ that your circles would enjoy.

15 minutes – Engage in conversation on a post10 minutes – Read posts by others and comment10 minutes – Comment on your own posts5 minutes – Share a new post

Be Active Without Wasting Time

? But wait… There’s More!

Google+ Tools

How To Find People on Google+

• http://findpeopleonplus.com • http://www.womenofgplus.com/ • http://www.recommendedusers.com/

Google+ Chrome Extension

• Do Share - makes sharing and scheduling content fast and easy http://ow.ly/fyFkd

• CircleCount – see follower history and the average number of shares and comments

Other Tools

• URL Shortener (http://gplus.to)• Search Google+ public content

(http://gplussearch.com)• Google+ Website buttons, links, badges,

snippets (https://developers.google.com/+/plugins/share/ )