How Brands are Using Google+

By Erica SwallowTech Journalist & Director of Community, Contently

About Google+• Launched to public in September 2011

• Google’s latest foray into social networking• Google Friend Connect, Google Buzz, Orkut

• 170 million users

• Tech enthusiasts, male students

• Largely inactive user base

#googleplus | @ericaswallow

Why Google+ Matters• Largest search engine in the world

• Momentum towards social-driven search

• Google products continue to merge• Google Places, Google Reader, Google

Search

• Massive brand page growth• 1,400% increase in users following top 100

brand pages from December 2011 to January 2012

#googleplus | @ericaswallow

The Downside

#googleplus | @ericaswallow

More Negatives• Administration is difficult

• You need a personal account to create a business page

• Social dashboards don’t integrate Google+ yet• Apply for HootSuite beta

• Google side projects are unreliable• Buzz, Wave, Hotpot

#googleplus | @ericaswallow

The Google+ Profile

#googleplus | @ericaswallow

Create Custom Circles• Based on your email contacts• Circles enable easy grouping and sharing

#googleplus | @ericaswallow

Follow Sparks• Google+’s algorithmic content recommendation

system• Based on Google Search, Google+ and +1

button

#googleplus | @ericaswallow

Google+ Business Pages

#googleplus | @ericaswallow

Top Brand Pages on Google+

#googleplus | @ericaswallow

Source: Simply Measured

Top Industries on Google+

#googleplus | @ericaswallow

Source: Simply Measured

Engagement Rates

#googleplus | @ericaswallow

Source: Simply Measured

Most Engaging Content

#googleplus | @ericaswallow

Source: Simply Measured

1. Target With Circles

#googleplus | @ericaswallow

2. Make a Big Announce

#googleplus | @ericaswallow

3. Host Hangouts• Business meetings, industry chats, meetups,

tech support

• Hangout with Extras: named hangouts, shared notes and sketchpad, Google docs integration, screensharing

• Hangout On Air enables streaming to unlimited users• Records to private video on YouTube

#googleplus | @ericaswallow

Hangouts – Interviews

#googleplus | @ericaswallow

Hangouts – Industry Chat

#googleplus | @ericaswallow

Hangouts – Help Desk

#googleplus | @ericaswallow

Hangout Tips From the Muppets

#googleplus | @ericaswallow

Click here to watch an awesome video.

4. Expand Content Distribution• Share photos, articles, videos, and commentary

• Segmentation: Customers, VIPs, Team members

#googleplus | @ericaswallow

Photos, Photos, Photos

#googleplus | @ericaswallow

5. Promote a Contest• Cannot run contests on Google+

• But you can link off to the contest

#googleplus | @ericaswallow

#googleplus | @ericaswallow

Photo + Contest = Not Too Shabby

6. Rock Hashtags & Mentions

#googleplus | @ericaswallow

# topics, events, random things

people, brand pages+/@

Hashtags: Conferences

#googleplus | @ericaswallow

Hashtags: Get In On a Meme

#googleplus | @ericaswallow

Hashtags: Promote Hangouts

#googleplus | @ericaswallow

Hashtags: Run a Campaign

#googleplus | @ericaswallow

Mentions: Give Shout Outs

#googleplus | @ericaswallow

Mentions: Cross-promote Pages

#googleplus | @ericaswallow

Other Reasons To Get Started…• Connect with early adopters

• Network with journalists and potential clients

• Explore

#googleplus | @ericaswallow

Pro Tip #1: Shorten Your URL• Google+ doesn’t support vanity URLs

• Use gplus.to to create a short URL for sharing

#googleplus | @ericaswallow

Pro Tip #2: Google+ Ripples

#googleplus | @ericaswallow

Questions?

Erica Swallow | @ericaswallow | ericaswallow.com