Google+ guide

We’ve shared this stat before, but it bears repeating. A Moz blog on Google Plus reported that “after Page Authority, a URL’s number of Google +1s is more highly correlated with search rankings than any other factor.” Translation: Your business needs to get social on Google+. Now. As if you needed more numbers and facts to convince you of this social network’s power after that statement, we gathered a few anyway.   A Closer Look at Google+: The Numbers, the Demographics & the Unique Experience   The Power in Numbers As of mid-2013, Business Insider revealed that Google+ had overtaken Twitter as the second most-used social media platform with “359 million active users.” Ignore the naysayers claiming Google+ is defunct. While it can’t quite boast Facebook’s billion, that’s quite a few users, folks.   The Personality & The Action Demographics are always an important factor when deciding which social media platforms to really spend your marketing time on. And yes, as you recall, our advice is overwhelmingly, “Go for it!” when it comes to Google+. But we wanted to offer you a closer look at the type of people who help make up that 359 million-strong active community. Because it is also always important to know your audience, too. Google+ users are: predominantly male, with the menfolk making up 68% of the community interested in more professional or tech-centered industries mature but hip with an average age of ripe old 28 What are their primary social actions? Sharing both longer, text-rich posts and shorter status updates Sharing visually engaging posts like pictures and videos Good news side note: if you’ve been following our advice to create killer content, you and your authoritative, industry-specific posts will fit right in. One more thing, how do Google+ fans describe the experience? In his second installment of his three-post series on Getting Around Google+, JR Raphael, Computer World contributing editor, describes the platform like this, Google+ “is a thriving and active community… who regularly comment on posts, follow links and reshare material — a presence that can be valuable both for personal and professional interaction.” Business Insider caught up with photographer Trey Ratcliff, who has claimed nearly five million followers with his picture-showcasing profile. Similarly, the Google+ pro states, “It’s nice to pop into Google+ to discover new things. Facebook is pretty good, but it’s harder to discover new people or have more in-depth discussions around passions.”   Bottom Line Google+ has a captive audience in the millions Google+ users are educated and ready to discuss niche topics Google+ is great for business because it is less about high school sweethearts and your great aunt’s cats than great content. You don’t have to know everyone in your circles. That’s the beauty. In the end, Google+ is really about meeting people with common interests and having in-depth discussions.    Google+ 101: Important Terms   Ok, you know about the users, their behaviors, and their experience. You have everything you need to know to jump in? Right? Ok. If you’re unsure about how to get started, connect with the right people, and optimize your posts and profiles, we’re here to help with your Google+ success. First things first, let’s define a few terms:   Stream: This is your Google+ homepage. Once you start connecting with folks – this is where you can go to see and interact with all the status updates and posts of the people you follow. Don’t worry, if you’ve used another social platform before, the stream’s functionality should feel pretty intuitive. Just start +1-ing your favorite content.   Location Page: With all the same features as a Google+ company page, the location page option is great for building local business. After you complete the necessary verification of your location via postcard or phone, and you’re ready to reap the benefits of Google+ with the added bonus of location-based marketing. Creating your local Google+ page is a great way to find and network with people in your community. You’ll also have access to the Google+ insights feature. Using this awesome tool, you’ll be able to see how many times your business came up in a local search, as well as how many comments and +1s your posts have received.   Circle: This is where Google+ gets interesting. Circles give you a way to network strategically. How? By allowing you to organize the people you follow and the people who follow you into different groups. This unique arrangement allows you to pick and choose which groups — circles — you want to share certain content with. Let’s break it down with an example, shall we? You’re a computer repair shop owner. Congratulations! When you created a Google+ business page, you also created four default circles: Team Members: You would add all of your repairmen, customer service reps and admin support staff to this circle. If you have any benefit updates, inclement weather announcements, or Christmas party details, you could share it here without cluttering your customer-focused content. VIPs: If you want to listen closely to a tight knit group of top customers and colleagues, this would be the circle. We love how this group should also allow you to respond to any requests or complaints quickly and personally. Customers: Collect customers here and share quality content to build your computer-repair authority. You can tap into the location-based marketing trend by creating separate circles of customers based on their neighborhood, state, or city. Following: This is a general circle where you can group people who you don’t know, but who post interesting, industry-related content. In your case, you may want to rename this circle “Mac Experts” and create other similar circles like “Microsoft Gurus,” “Dell Repair” and more.    Caveat: If you share something with a specific circle, it will not show up in search engine results. You have to share publicly for full search engine benefits.   Extended Circles: Extended Circles are great because they get your content to people you aren’t directly … Read more