Additional menu

Rebekah Radice

Online, Digital, Social Media Marketing

7 Point Checklist to Dominate Your Personal Brand Using Google Plus
You are here: Home / Branding / 7 Point Checklist to Dominate Your Personal Brand Using Google Plus

7 Point Checklist to Dominate Your Personal Brand Using Google Plus

By 83 Comments

Social media has changed the way businesses engage potential clients.

Marketing tactics employed in previous years have been pushed aside to meet the ever-changing needs of consumers.

As buyers look to the Internet for answers, it’s imperative for anyone looking to establish an effective social media presence to create and maintain a diverse online presence.

While Facebook might have been your entry point, expanding into Google+ has clearly shown its worth to potential to businesses and brands willing to test the marketing waters.

So what is the reason behind this rocket-fueled growth?

While it doesn’t hurt to be the social network affiliated with the worlds largest and most powerful search engine, many other factors come into play.

A highly engaged early adopter crowd that continues to evangelize its power, a platform firmly attuned to consumer demand, and features that continue to evolve to exceed user expectations and meet demand.

As you build out your online presence, adding Google+ is a key component to your marketing strategy.

Not only will it assist in improving website and blog traffic flow, but will also allow you to dominate your personal brand using Google Plus as the fuel!

1. Maximize Your Profile Potential

As with any social site, making the most of your Google+ profile is an important first step when getting started.

Every field within your Google+ profile is an opportunity to connect with your target audience. Take the time to complete every bit of it.

A few ways to optimize your profile:

  • Write your summary using information about you and your business that will connect with those looking for your product or service. Make sure this includes your passion and hobbies that fall outside of your “job.” Conversations happen when you share interesting facts and tidbits about yourself.
  • A professional profile image – Your profile image should be considered a key element to your personal brand. For this reason, it is extremely important that you create consistency from one network to the next by using the same high-quality professional headshot.
  • Use relevant keywords – Do you know what search terms people are using when looking for your business? Google is eager to tell your story, but without your keywords you could create a situation where consumers have to hunt and peck to find you.
  • Get local – As you craft your summary, remember to add your industry specific keywords as well as your location based keywords including city and state.

2. Write Great Content

While this should go without saying, great content should always be at the core of your social media and marketing strategy.

Google+ will allow you to share the wealth of information you have gained over the years, and will work to establish you as a thought leader within your field. Great content can make the difference between growing your Google+ presence and completely stagnating it.

3. Manage Your Contacts

Google+ Circles is a special feature that allows you to manage contacts based on interest.

Filtering your circles creates better targeting where you are able to share the right content with the right audience.

By organizing a circle of potential customers, you can ward off a lot of the noise that takes place in social networks.

4. Join Niche Specific Communities

Google+ communities, similar to Facebook groups are a way to connect with like-minded individuals. Whether it is a community specific to your industry or your favorite hobby, communities let you talk about the topics that matter to you most.

Closing the Google+ Gap is a community created by Peg Fitzpatrick as a way for active Google Plussers to share best practices and successful strategies around Google+ implementation and integration into your overall social media marketing strategy.

5. Pay Attention to Your Ripples

Ripples are a Google+ feature that allows you to measure how your content is connecting with your audience.

On each post, click on the drop down menu and choose Ripples to see who is sharing your content and how far the reach on that particular post actually was.

Below are the ripples from one of my recent posts. As you can see, not only are your immediate shares able to be seen, but ones from their sphere of influence as well.

The value here is also in making personal connections with those sharing your content. Seek them out and thank them. Taking the time to reach out and connect shows how much you value those that assist in spreading your message.

6. Create a Visually-Rich Experience

From your cover photo to your post images, sharing visually appealing images is not only necessary to engagement, but a key component to optimization.

Your cover photo is also the first thing that someone will see when landing on your Google+ page, so make it consistent with your brand look and feel.

Remember: Each image you add is yet another opportunity to build upon your brand experience. A ‘wow” image will make your content more compelling and draw people towards your content.

7. Use Google+ Hangouts

If you haven’t been a part of a Google+ hangout, there’s no time like the present! They are fun, engaging and best of all they are FREE.

Similar to Skype, a hangout is an opportunity to get face-to-face with consumers and create transparency within your business. Share a new product, presentation or just chat with someone new in an attempt to better get to know who they are what value you might be able to add to their business.

And just because I can’t stop talking about this topic, I’m offering a BONUS tip!

Display Your Google Plus Badge

Grab the code and easily add the “+1” button to your website or blog.

The Google+ Developers platform where you can create custom code to display your badge within a widget on your WordPress blog or anywhere on your website.

Are you on Google Plus? Join me there!


Full disclosure: Links on this page may be affiliate links which means that if you decide to buy, I will earn a commission. 3 things you need to know: I only recommend products I use within my own business, am extremely happy with, and can confidently promote.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Hi Rebekah, thank you for the powerful post! Great suggestions!

    I have a big doubt though.

    I have the same problem of Leslie Denning: I have a personal profile on G+ and FB but also business pages in both socials.

    The visibility of these pages is almost ridicolous. I didn’t work properly on them – I admit it. I couldn’t due to limited time.

    Instinctively I would eliminate these pages but there are lots of questions:
    > from a SEO point of view pages are “better” (they are public; I can relate my blog to my website as “Publisher”; ecc)
    > pages have statistics
    > fb page has access to advertising functionality
    > pages are created for business purpose (forcing things it’s never a good things)

    What do you think about that?

    Thank you for every suggestions and -again- congratulations for your blog, I’ve bookmarketed it.

    Reply

  4. I like to refer to Google+ as Facebook for professionals. Getting a professional photo is definitely a great idea. It adds a better look to any profile, especially a business profile. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  5. Hi Rebekah. I tried to set up a business page on G+, but I got frustrated and took it down. I’m still using my personal profile. Do you use both? That’s the only thing that has confused me about G+. Great post, as usual 🙂

    All the best,
    Leslie

    Reply

    • Did you finally get one set up Leslie? It really depends on how you’re using Google+. You may or may not need both. The important thing is to make connections and raise awareness. For many, it’s easier just to manage a profile than to take on the management of additional pages.

      Reply

      • Hi Rebekah. I think I’ll just take your advice that work with the profile page. I really don’t need one more social media site to watch over. Thanks for getting back to me.

        Reply

  10. I’ve been on Google + for quite a while now, but I haven’t focused there at all. I do have my profile set up well, but I had no idea about ripples. I’m going to check that out :).

    Reply

  11. I think this is an informative post and it is very useful and knowledgeable. therefore, I would like to thank you for the efforts you have made in writing this article.

    Reply

  12. Great post i must say and thanks for the information. Education is definitely a sticky subject. However, is still among the leading topics of our time. I appreciate your post and look forward to more.

    Reply

  14. This is really great information – I had never even heard about the Ripple tool, so thanks for sharing that great tidbit! I am just a bit overwhelmed right now trying to figure out how to balance all of these platforms and do well in each of them. Thanks for the tips though, this certainly helps! first stop from here – the Google+ widget! 🙂

    Reply

    • You will love looking into your ripples Alexa! They are such a great resource. I completely understand the feeling of overwhelm. My advice is always baby steps. Take it one bite-sized step at a time until you feel comfortable. Then move on.

      Reply

  16. I’m also a Google+ newbie determined to learn more. I really liked the ‘ripples’ explanation and would like to add a Google+ badge to my WordPress website, but couldn’t figure it out.

    Thanks for the checklist, I’ve bookmarked it and will follow to help me learn and navigate G+

    Reply

  17. Thanks for a great article. In MY posts when I click on the edit button it doesn’t show “ripples.” But when I click on other posts, I see it. Have I set something up that won’t allow me to see my “ripples? Thanks, gale

    Reply

  20. Rebekah,
    always a treat to come an dread what you have to share in your blog post… today I chosen this because I like the number 7.. and wow, what I surprise!!!

    I was expecting the usual recommendations but to my enjoyment, you listed very interesting point and explained what all of the are in my language (simple) wow, I sure learened a lot about doing is right on G+.

    I will be heading there now to see how I can improve (I can I can since it is not up to standard) but truly knowing how to improve after reading your tips.. may be a little bit easier even for me who is learning all this staff about social media haha 🙂

    Thanks so much for sharing your professionalism.
    _nickc

    Reply

    • I love to hear that Nick! I know the feeling of bouncing on an article only to find the same old tips you see on so many others.

      It’s nice to know there’s still something fresh out there! 🙂

      Reply

    • Ripples are fascinating Ed! Take a look at several of your posts and see what you find. Who’s sharing your content and are they someone you’d like to connect with? It’s very eye-opening.

      Reply

  22. I love all of the different things that you can do with just one update on G+. Like you mentioned, Ripples is probably my favorite feature. Allowing us to see where the shares are going is pretty cool.

    I predict G+ to overtake Facebook before the end of the year. Go Google! And, I finally found your website 🙂

    Reply

  24. Rebekah, some great tips in there for sure. I love the visual stuff too and really need to rethink my header pic. It is nice, but yours is even better :> Your comments also left some nice ideas and comments – like Ileane with the Circlescrope as we are flying a big blind inside G+. And then the ripples, I must say I have heard about it but not investigated!

    Reply

  25. Thanks Rebekah,

    There is so much to learn in social media. I am reading through your website and learning a lot. I did not know about the “ripple” before reading this post. I plan on using social media more from now on.

    Reply

  26. I have just signed up with google+ and getting to know how it works and how it can help my business. Thanks for the great information that will surely help me get familiarized with google+.

    Reply

  27. Hey Rebekah!

    Wonderful article and tonnes of actionable tips for folks to ramp up their Google + engagement.

    In terms of circle management on Google+ I’m using a couple of extensions to uncircle people who are inactive or if they haven’t circled me back. Have you heard about CircleScope?

    You can see it in action in the post I left in my CommentLuv link.

    Thanks for the post my dear!

    Reply

    • I have not heard of Circlescope, but love the idea around it. One of those tools that makes keeping your circles neat and tidy a much easier task. Thanks so much Ileane! I’m off to check out your post!

      Reply

  28. This is my first time to your site…..you have some very good tips here….I haven’t done anything with Google + yet……but I can see from your article why I should get on the ball…..I am especially intrigued with the Ripples…..I am still pretty new to things but learning everyday…….Thanks Rebekah…..Smokey

    Reply

  30. Great post – I especially like the tip to view the Ripples. Sharing information,engaging with each other, and adding to the collective pool of information though Google+ has been phenomenal. I have met so many tremendous people through Google Hangouts, and continue to be amazed at the wealth of thought leaders there. I definitely use G+ differently than Twitter or Facebook, and my connections are different as well. Thank you for sharing your tips.

    Reply

  31. I have started to use G+ more and more these last few weeks and I’m really starting to like it and “get it.” I will have to add the badge to my site, I never thought of that! I didn’t know about the ripples, I’ll have to check that out. Thanks for the help and advice; I need it!

    Reply

  32. I really like the bonus tip. Displaying the badge along with a great cover pic will definitely draw people. That will then lead them to follow you based on the content. That should help to get plus ones whenever possible.

    Reply

  33. Rebecca, these tips are very good! I am a beginner at Google+, but I must use it better as I am the author of posts and it’s good for SEO. Hearing (reading) you speaking about G+ makes me think G+ is fun!ó

    Reply

  35. That’s a great checklist. I’m a little slow at adopting G+, but I’m working on it. You’ve obviously got the blog > website > social network systems down. I appreciate your guidance!

    Reply

  36. Very handy G+ checklist Rebekah! As important as social connections are becoming and how vital a G+ profile is to ones online visibility, these tips are gold for many Plussers who’s About Tab needs this fine tuning. I like how you use Andy’s CommentLuv system too!

    Reply

  38. I definitely see tip #6 being a game changer. The way Google + looks on the mobile phone makes visually appealing post stand out much more than post that don’t include nice images. We all know that mobile is where it’s at today.

    Reply

  39. This is definitely going to be my “chew-on” article of the week. Man, so much information in there girl. I’m going to have to keep it on my desktop for continual reference. Thank you!

    Reply

Trackbacks

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *