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Rebekah Radice

Online, Digital, Social Media Marketing

How to Use Google Plus to Generate Massive Exposure
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How to Use Google Plus to Generate Massive Exposure

By 54 Comments

We live in a hyper-connected world.

From business communication to personal interaction, time spent connecting online continues to grow at a lightning pace.

As an entrepreneur or business owner, the key to success is in knowing how to make the most of that time.

That’s where Google Plus comes in.

Not just a social network, Google+ is a key component within the Google ecosystem.

And a major player in getting your business in front of an audience clamoring for your product or service.

As Martin Shervington of Plus Your Business puts it,

“Google+ is thriving, especially for those who understand it is an eco-system that extends beyond the platform itself.”

With integrated tools such as Google Hangouts, Google+ becomes a powerful social and marketing tool when leveraged correctly.

Having seen the power behind the platform first hand, I am always eager to share the benefits.

When I was recently invited to Keynote on the virtues of Google+ at an event in Los Angeles, I leapt at the opportunity.

Below are my tips and the Slideshare of that presentation.

Use Google Plus to Generate Massive Exposure

Optimize Your Profile

How long has it been since you last visited your Google+ profile? If it hasn’t been updated since you joined the network, now is the time to make a few changes or additions.

With Google+ tied directly to Google search, you don’t want to miss the opportunity to tell your story.

And the exciting news?

There’s a whole lot of real estate to use within your Google+ “About” section.

Take advantage of this space to:
  • Share your special skill set
  • Industry niche
  • Training and certifications
  • Any detail that allows potential clients to make an educated decision
  • Links to other social networks, your website, products and services
You want anyone to instantly:
  • Understand what differentiates you from the competition
  • Identify what you and your business have to offer
  • Determine what services or products you offer
  • Know how you solve their problems
  • See what your tools or systems are that will make their life better or easier

Write Great Content

Great content, written and shared consistently, creates meaningful relationships with your target market.

While it might sound simple to pump out great content day in and day out, it’s one of the biggest challenges faced by most marketers.

Make sharing great content easy with a swipe file!

A swipe file is a virtual notebook, allowing you to capture great ideas as you surf the web.

Include:
  • Answers to FAQ
  • Video explanations of your process
  • How-to’s from affinity partners, vendors and peers

Manage Contacts

Use Google+ Circles to manage the conversations happening within Google+.

Not familiar with Circles? The explanation is simple and they’re even easier to use.

Circles, similar to Facebook and Twitter lists, let you categorize people based on related topic, industry, hobby or skill.

Once categorized, you can use Groups to keep up with posts from your favorite people. It makes commenting and sharing a breeze!

How to Use Circles:
  • Share posts with a select group of people to target your specific message
  • Post to “public” to allow anyone to view and comment on your content
  • Create notification circles to update certain followers e.g. when your latest blog post goes live
  • Add people to specific Circles or lists as you follow them to keep things tidy

Join Niche Specific Communities

Google+ Communities are virtual gold mines for linking and engaging with potential clients, like-minded business professionals and anyone sharing similar passions.

So, what are Communities?

Simply put, they’re a collection of individuals interested in collaborating and discussing common interests.

The benefit to business professionals is in the interaction and engagement.

You can choose to create your own community where you can foster and maintain relationships with people eager to engage with your business or you can join an already established community.

Ready to get started? Begin your search for a perfect Google+ community!

Get Visual

Did you know that posts with images are 87% more likely to get shared than posts without?

That’s a compelling reason to start using images in your Google+ posts.

But not just any images. Create images that brand your business and tell your story.

With each of your visuals, you want to be:
  • Intentional
  • Consistent
  • Valuable

Don’t fancy yourself a designer? Not proficient with Photoshop?

Try the best online design tool for free! With Canva you can choose a template, design your graphic and post to your Google+ profile or page in a matter of minutes.

Use Google+ Hangouts

Google+ Hangouts bring conversations to life through the power of video.

Not only can they position you as the go-to expert, but improve your visibility through search and social.

Use Hangouts to:
  • Conduct interviews
  • Answer questions
  • Share success stories
  • Provide solutions

As Guy Kawasaki, author of What the Plus! says,

“The potential for businesses and professionals is great – don’t ever forget that this is from Google after all. Your activities on Google+ influence search results. I’d rather be a search engine trying to get social [than] a social site trying to get search.”

I couldn’t agree more!

If you’re ready to make the most of this powerful tool, see the full presentation on Google+ for Business here:


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

  3. There is so much spam in google plus which i hate. the content does not seem to be family friendly or even business friendly. Still i am posting on to there just to get browny points from uncle google

    Reply

  6. Hi Rebekha,

    Thanks for sharing these great Tips. I also didn’t login to my profile from 2 Weeks. I am going to check now and improve it with your tips.
    THANKS AGAIN

    Reply

  7. Yes i think everyone will agree with you Google Plus is powerful social and marketing tool. Google+ is a one of the key service provided by Google. Google+ Communities in Google+ provides opportunity to business professionals to interact with each other.

    Reply

  8. Great post, I like how you broke it down into the different areas and uses. Google+ can be a little overwhelming at first, especially if you have more than one GMAIL address, At least it was for me, but I now have a better grip on how to put it all together.
    Your “visual appeal” suggestion is one that I see is catching on, even twitter has images now. Just started using CANVA myself, it is a good tool, out once you get the hang of it.
    The Social Media delima… The constant decision to make a comment or create content. One I’m still trying to figure out.

    Reply

  9. hi

    First of all, i am bookmarking this post for reading tomorrow morning and giving my best quality time on each point mentioned.

    2nd – I am interested in learning more on Google plus, hope you don’t mind answering specific questions that i will have after i read the post in more greater detail.

    3rd – I spent 10 minutes today on this post and want to add my experience on Google +. Will share thru example..
    You are popular in blogging community. I comment on your posts on Google plus 2-3 times over 3-4 days, now that you are popular there are some people who search for your name on Google search. My comment will feature on 1st page of Google search.

    If i comment on Google + on posts of influencers in my niche, then i get advantage on visibility.
    I want to make the most of Google plus for which i will continue reading your posts.

    Reply

  11. Nice post Rebekah.

    Without a doubt there is a lot more use to be had from being actively involved on G+.

    And I’ll be the first to admit, that to date, all I’ve done is barely scratch the surface! Reading your post has definitely convinced me of that! Thanks for sharing your expertise and insights!

    Reply

  12. Hi Rebekah,

    We all know that Google+ is the greatest platform for business.
    As social networking is really important for any business to get success and Google plus is the leading platform among them. It is owned by Google so we will get benefit of it.
    You have shown all the specific points which should be considered about Google+.

    Thanks for sharing.
    Have a good day.:)

    ~Ravi

    Reply

  13. Hello Rebekah, What an Awesome Article My Friend! I have been pluggin into G= since the first of the year yet I have not done anything with communitites, this has really given me some good tips to help with my strategy here on G+ Thanks for the great tips.. Chery :))

    Reply

  14. Hi Rebekah,
    You have explained the power of Google plus very well. Thanks for this awesome post, got to learn many things and I am gonna implement it too .

    Best Regards
    Sheshnath Yadav

    Reply

  15. With all the options, features, not to mention the SEO benefits, I’m still surprised that more people don’t also use G+ – myself included. Part of it is resistance to being ‘forced’ by Google; I think part is that we’re already where we want to be, where our F&F are on FB, w/ colleagues on LI and Twitter. Same people so why share the same old content? Have that issue – have to remind myself to share a few things there, even my own stuff once in a while, just in case anyone is listening.

    Therein lies the rub – and silver lining – for businesses and brands trying to increase awareness, earn exposure. Not as many people use or as active on G+, so you don’t get the impact as others. But then again, b/c of that and the lack of noise (thankfully G+ hasn’t opened the API to automated, feed posting) what you do share and when you do engage, it may actually have a great chance of being seen. Like you wrote, it’s about making the most of your time. FWIW.

    Reply

  16. I agree to what you have said in the comments. Its like we need to have the commitment to do these things on Google+ or else better break it down into steps like post images on one day, dedicate promotion to other day, etc

    I’m following this method and its working well 🙂

    Reply

  17. I love Google+ so I’m glad to see you promoting it because just this time last month there was yet another round of “Google+ is going down!” articles. As far as exposure, I’d just like to add to your list that using the Google widget in your blog is a super winner. I only recently added mine and in the next few days nearly 3 dozen people added me to their circles! I actually thought there was some kind of system problem at first. I’ve had the Google+ follow me link on my blog all along, but the profile card was such an attention grabber that the results were immediate and stunning.

    Reply

    • Hello Marty I was reading your comment and I am super curious to find out about this Google widget your are talking about here, is it a plug in? HUM? Please do share more.. Chery :))

      Reply

  18. Hi Rebekah,

    I had to bookmark this article! It was very informative. I have recently gotten involved in a few facebook communities and have quickly learned that communities are an awesome way to network.

    Eventhough I have a Google+ account, I realize now thta it has so much more to offer. I plan to join some communities there as well. Thank you for your very informative post.

    Reply

  19. Hi Rebekah,

    I love using Google+ especially the Hangouts. There, I can do some chatting to doing a webinar and recording it. To me, there is nothing better than that!

    Communities are a great way to be in the loop. I remember when they first rolled out with it and I jumped on that one like a wild cat lol.

    As for pictures…it is a must! Especially those that we make ourselves. I find more engagement there if I post my own picture of my dog, or something that is congruent to my latest blog post. It keeps the juices flowing.

    -Donna

    Reply

  20. Great article. I liked the idea of creating a swipe file. I also realized that I’m not engaging in the social communities I belong to enough.

    I post, and plus and likes peoples posts, but I rarely leave the comfort of my own page. I need to get out and join communities, and really interact with people. This is something I’m not currently doing.

    Thanks for your great article, and actually putting some of these things in perspective for me.

    Reply

  21. Google+ is full with various industry experts, and they’re not here for fun purpose like Facebook. So you have great opportunity to impress market experts and build brand and exposure for your product or service.

    I have been Google+ communities for last few months and I must admit these communities are superb, as it is full with knowledgeable people who are ready to help you and won’t mind to block any spammer.

    Reply

  22. Some of these Google+ marketing tips are more obvious than others. All are critical to have in sync if we’re to get the results we’re looking for. This piece is a perfect companion to your previous article on 26 + 26 SMM tips you and Peg put together that was as good advice as I’ve read in a long time!

    Reply

    • Sometimes it’s the most obvious that escapes people, isn’t it Neil? It always amazes me how simple some of this can be. But, like anything, we have a tendency to overthink and complicate what shouldn’t be all that complex.

      I always love your feedback!

      Reply

  23. Great post! I use google plus pretty heavily for my clients. I’m curious how you feel about what’s being said about Google Plus dying as a social media network. Do you think it’s still going to thrive? How will these effect the efforts people have already put in the time to build a network!

    Reply

    • I don’t believe it’s going anywhere Danielle. In fact, I spoke with one of Google’s founding members last week and he confirmed the same. They know they have a good thing going!

      Reply

  24. Hi Rebekah,

    Thank you so much for writing this amazing article. All your articles are full of great tips and are very informative, I can see how much passion you put on them. I really enjoy reading your articles.

    Again, thank you for providing this info for all of us.
    Have a great week!

    Reply

  25. We have been using Google+ hangouts business beta since day one. This has allowed us to gather so many people who need support the right way. In my company we provide free support for a lifetime. This is for a person who needs a referral to keep a roof over their heads. To allowing them to get food in their stomach.

    For businesses, there is our professional support services, which is free also. We walk them through how to enhance the areas they find challenging. Most are in their ‘Customer Retention” That is a simple resolution. Then, showing their gratitude for people using their services. More also…

    Thank you for allowing us to share our usage in Google+ hangouts. You have no limitations to the uses. You have to tap into your imaginations once again. Hey, it is wild and fun,

    Reply

    • It’s great to hear how long you’ve been using G+ Hangouts William. It sounds like they’ve been extremely beneficial to your business, especially from a customer service point of view.

      And I agree on tapping into your creativity. It’s always fun!

      Reply

      • We are live!

        I just had to come back and share that most talk shows are going live on Google Hangouts. That is the continued supporters. Now, the average person can be live with their own talk show at no cost.

        This is fairly new to everyone. We have not even reached a huge following using Google+. It is nothing like Facebook or any other social media platform. It is a world of it’s own.

        I love it and wish I could bottle it up and take it with me? Just joking…

        Thanks Rebekah

        Reply

  26. Hey Rebekah, Google Plus has been a great place for me to come and find new relationships with like minded people. Google Plus works if you put yourself among people that work their marketing the right way. If we follow suit, success eventually comes with consistency over time.

    Reply

  27. People seem to either hate or love Google+ right? Maybe it is because Google ‘forced’ it on us. Still, since I am ‘forced’ to have it, maybe it is time to look into using it? Thank you for all the tips.

    Reply

  29. Hey Rebekah,

    I was waiting for this post from yesterday and just now read it.

    You’ve covered all the possible ways to get exposure from Google Plus and I know that am greatly missing to follow some steps in G+ due to my time constraints. But will try to implement all these points to gain maximum exposure with G+.

    I’m practicing to stay active in some of G+ groups and getting new visitors for my blog. Sure, will do modification by adding my skills in my profile too, as you insisted.

    Thanks for sharing this fabulous post for us.

    Reply

  30. Where do you find the time to get all of this done? Any ideas as to when it is time to throw in the towel,?

    Just imagine how many people are reading this and are totally wasting their time?

    Reply

    • It’s definitely a commitment Tony and I can appreciate that not everyone can fit it in to their schedule.

      If you can’t find the time (make the time throughout the day) then your best option is to pass it along to someone that can. Either a VA or assistant that can help in the creation and curation of content.

      Reply

  31. Intentional – I see this word popping up more and more. With good reason, intentional is much better than just hoping something will happen. The key to social media is working a well laid out plan. One more component that will make a huge difference, “what you are offering” It needs to be valuable and compelling. This combined with your authority in the marketplace will determine the altitude of your sales, likes or whatever your goal is.

    I like it! It’s a great post, organized so we can move forward and not just hope we can connect.

    Thanks!

    Reply

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