Google+ has become the second largest social media site in the world, right behind Facebook. Google+ currently has 235 million users that not only take advantage of typical social media characteristics but has also incorporated a few different options that are attracting not only more users, but businesses and marketers as well.
The steps to setting up a Google+ profile are very simple. You just need to create an account through plus.google.com and go through the step-by-step directions on creating a well-designed profile! The benefits of doing this simple act are fivefold. Check out more below!
Circles
Google+ has created a new way in which you can group certain sectors of your friends on social media. These filters – or ‘circles’ – allow you to pick and choose who you share content with. This is of particular use for businesses. Many brands and businesses have employees whose specific job is to engage with their consumer base online. Through Google+, this is made easy – and some argue easier then Facebook. With Facebook your shared content is not actually displayed with every post. However, with Google+ the people within your circle view everything that is shared from your Google+ account. This means businesses are able to engage more, increasing audience engagement, and allows marketers to target a particular audience or network through something called communities.
Communities
With communities created with Google+, users can request to join in on specific topics. These communities can either be public – where anyone can post – or private. This is a huge tool for marketers because they can find communities in relation to their business and share information through the community or track the Google+ user within each community.
Google+ Events
Google+ also has a tool for individuals and brands who want to promote an event towards their designated audience: Google+ events. Here you can set up an event with the date, time, location, as well as details to explain and then share the information with a designated circle of users.
Google+ Hangouts
As Google+ has many options for marketers, it is also a good use for within the business itself. One of the most popular features is Google+ hangouts. There is a range of private hangouts as well as hangouts on air – which include text chat and video chat. The great thing about these hangouts is you can talk up to ten different accounts at once. So as a business you can video conference with your own employees, other businesses, or even customers from the comfort of your own office and not worry that you can only chat with two people.
Google+ Page
A good association Google+ takes advantage of is the direct link with the Google search engine. When anyone uses Google to make a search on your brand or any other relevant information to your company, the right hand column of their results – if your company has created a Google+ page – will show the company’s Google+ page with a link for the user to click for more information. Having the page set up means you have more control about how you are portrayed on the internet.
From a customer point of view, it’s a good idea to encourage visitors to share or endorse your Google+ page. People trust recommendations from people they know and with a +1 button, this makes it easy for visitors to recommend your site and content.