For Google+ to be an effective tool, you need to get noticed.
Eventually, the goal is for Google+ to reach critical mass and become an
integral part of most people’s lives. Right now however it’s only used
by a small percentage of people, and most of those people are business
owners or marketers.
So, you need to do your part to get the word out and help build up the number of people on the site. Luckily, it’s very easy to get people on the site.
Invite someone and they’re likely to sign up.
Now, don’t forget that most people want the people they follow to be interesting and provide value. If you’re constantly posting junk that simply fills up their stream, they’re likely to unfollow you just as fast as they followed you in the first place – don’t be obnoxious.
So, that means two things – first you need to provide useful information to your followers and second you need to develop a persona they will be interested in following.
Circles You Should Have:
To illustrate that, I want to share with you some of the cool things I’ve been able to do with my circles (and some entries taken from other users when I solicited submissions on…you guessed it, Google+):
Draft and Note Circles – I already mentioned this once before, but I want to do it again, because Google+ is a fantastic platform on which to save your notes, drafts and thoughts about nearly anything. I personally use Evernote, and probably will continue to do so, but if there’s an article I want to read or a share I want to develop for later (a really good one), I can simply post it to a special circle that only includes one person – me! This is such a useful tip that I fully expect Google to implement it as a standard feature for new accounts in the not too distant future. For now, though, you need to create a special Circle yourself to get it started. You don’t even need to add yourself to do this – if you simply want a backup circle where stuff is stored (but doesn’t appear on your stream), leave it empty and post things there to save it for later. Just don’t accidentally add someone to that circle later or they’ll be able to see all of your personal notes.
Bonus Tip: Evernote Posting – Want to combine Evernote and Google+? Simply add your Evernote email address to the Draft or Note circle you created and Google+ will email your posts to Evernote whenever you add something to that circle. Gotta love cross-functionality.
Facebook and Twitter – I cover how to do this later on, but you can create custom Circles for both Twitter and Facebook using the “post by email” functions available through Facebook and twittermail.com. By doing this, you can simultaneously post something to Facebook, Twitter and Google+ by using the custom circles.
Sharing Hangouts – Hangouts can be recorded and shared and if you have something special that you want to share only with specific people, this is the way to do it. Imagine having hangouts with your prospects to discuss hot topics in the niche and then saving those Hangouts in a special circle which they can then gain access to. Google+ is practically a content management system with levels of access that you can easily control.
Managing Projects – Create specific circles for projects and place your notes, ideas and comments for specific people in that circle. If you’re collaborating with a JV partner on a new IM project, post comments about the project here or ask for advice from other JVs or contractors directly in Google+. With the notification feature, you can make sure every post is seen by the people in your circle (though I would still save my extremely important posts for email).
Super Loyal Customers – Do you have customers who buy every single eBook you release or who write you personally to thank you for your insights in the niche? Put them in a special circle to show them how special they are to your business. Not only that, but provide some extra special bonus material. Make it something incredibly hard to become a part of your “loyalty” circle and people will want in – it’s a scarcity thing.
Prioritizing Circles – Did you know you can prioritize your circles? Simply add a “*” to the beginning of the name of the circle and it will appear at the top of the list and therefore appear at the top of your Stream when new posts are placed. If there are a handful of people whose updates you absolutely want to receive, this is the way to do it.
Overshares – I don’t like blocking people. It feels mean and sometimes I miss out on posts I do actually care about, but let’s face it, there are some people who post WAY too much. So, create a special circle for anyone that shares too much. This way, you can look at specific circles and avoid getting inundated with updates every day.
Be Creative! – I love circles because I can name them whatever I want. If I want to do something super creative like name each of my circles after one of Snow White’s 7 Dwarves, I can do so. We’ve got “Happy” for loyal customers” “Grumpy” for people who make me grumpy, “Bashful” for friends and family who don’t need to see all of my posts, “Doc” for thought leaders and business owners I want to read content from, etc. Now, I won’t do this, because honestly I’d forget who is who and mess it up. BUT, it’s possible and that’s awesome.
The list of possible circles goes on and on (and I’ll discuss a handful of them in much greater depth in later chapters), but there’s one last thing I want to leave you with before we move on. Some people will fret and worry over trying to break up their friends into socially isolated groups and then worry about who to share what with.
Don’t.
Google+ doesn’t need to become an overkill response to the lack of control you have on Facebook. Keep friends in a single circle, family in another and then split up your business contacts. Trying to break apart your social connections will only give you a headache and probably make you feel like an ass (both things no one wants to do).
Simply login to your accounts – either Gmail or Yahoo! Mail and your other social networking profiles and invite the contacts there.
Since the program is still invite only, you’ll need to gather email addresses manually to add people through this function. If the people on your contact lists are already members of Google+ you can simply add them through the add new people function and you’ll get them into your profile instantly.
Make sure that every Circle receives regular updates with value adding content on a daily basis. Don’t just post to one Circle or the public Circle alone. Specialize messages to individual people or Circles.
So, it’s incredibly important that you fill it out completely, and offer as much information to people as possible.
Keep in mind too that your profile will show up in the search results. So, you want to make sure that whatever you post here you’re happy with showing up in search.
Here’s a quick look at what a profile looks like when it shows up in the search results. The title is the name on your profile. The description comes from the first few lines of your introduction. The photo will be your avatar on Google+ – remember to make sure this is high-quality.
Another thing to keep in mind is that you can actually choose who sees the information you place on your profile. Custom profiles are extremely effective if you want to showcase different information for your friends and family than for your business contacts.
Here are some things you can change on your profile from the editing screen.
Introduction – Your introduction is incredibly important. It needs to be professional, feature rich and interesting to people who might run across your profile in SERPs or while surfing their friends’ networks on Google+. Remember this content is indexed by Google.
Bragging Rights – What are you good at? Go to town here and tell people why you’re an interesting, exciting, follow-worthy person.
Occupation – Creatively describe what you do for a living here.
Employment – Who do you work for? If you own your own business, put it here to get it listed in the rankings. If you have employees or partners, make sure they add it as well.
Education – Schools and colleges go here – pretty straightforward.
Links – This is a very important aspect of your profile. This is where you place links to your personal websites. You can place as many links as you want (a big upgrade over the 1 you get on Twitter) and they show up in a nice little list on your profile. Don’t forget to add your other social media accounts as well – they will show up in a separate list above “Other Profiles”.
To change any of these items simply click on the area and change the text. Make sure you fill in every spot here unless it’s completely unrelated, and add at least two or three links to the links section as these will appear in the search listings.
Here’s what it will look like when you’re done (via ProBlogger, Daren Rowse):
Keep in mind that you can link your social media profiles such as Twitter, Facebook and Flickr to your account.
You will probably have noticed already that if you search for your name it shows up at the top of the search listings in Google. Notice that there links connected to your profile in the Google search results.
Now consider the impact this will have. People can see who you are, what you have to offer, and your face next to every listing. That’s some serious branding and it’s so easy.
Get a new photo or use the full resolution version from your desktop. No more tiny little avatars with blurry pics. Remember, these will show up in Google SERPs too!
Simply telling other people what you think is valuable is in itself a valuable activity. It’s funny to think of yourself in that way – as a trendsetter and dictator of information’s value – but that’s what happens when you become the face of a company and a trusted focal point of any brand.
So, the best route is to focus on branding yourself for now, developing business connections on Google+, and laying the groundwork for your business page when the new Google tools are ready.
So, you need to do your part to get the word out and help build up the number of people on the site. Luckily, it’s very easy to get people on the site.
Invite someone and they’re likely to sign up.
Now, don’t forget that most people want the people they follow to be interesting and provide value. If you’re constantly posting junk that simply fills up their stream, they’re likely to unfollow you just as fast as they followed you in the first place – don’t be obnoxious.
So, that means two things – first you need to provide useful information to your followers and second you need to develop a persona they will be interested in following.
Step 1 – Create Circles
Don’t blindly add people to your account and hope they eventually fall into the right places. Create Circles in advance and place them there accordingly. This will make it much easier to contact people about the things that really matter to them. If someone doesn’t fit into the Circles you have, create a new one.Building Your Circles
One of the most talked about and written about aspects of Google+ is its Circles interface. You can now create multiple pools of users that can see different information. There are a few ways to go about drafting these Circles, but there are two things I recommend everyone reading this does:- Create Circles Immediately!
- Start Filling Them Immediately!
Circles You Should Have:
- Prospects
- Thought Leaders
- Buyers
- Priority List
- Friends and Family
Cool Circle Ideas
I’ll probably say this a dozen more times in this course, but Circles are by far the most important thing Google added to Google+. This just plain makes the entire social networking experience better – and more useful for people like us who need it to be more than a social tool.To illustrate that, I want to share with you some of the cool things I’ve been able to do with my circles (and some entries taken from other users when I solicited submissions on…you guessed it, Google+):
Draft and Note Circles – I already mentioned this once before, but I want to do it again, because Google+ is a fantastic platform on which to save your notes, drafts and thoughts about nearly anything. I personally use Evernote, and probably will continue to do so, but if there’s an article I want to read or a share I want to develop for later (a really good one), I can simply post it to a special circle that only includes one person – me! This is such a useful tip that I fully expect Google to implement it as a standard feature for new accounts in the not too distant future. For now, though, you need to create a special Circle yourself to get it started. You don’t even need to add yourself to do this – if you simply want a backup circle where stuff is stored (but doesn’t appear on your stream), leave it empty and post things there to save it for later. Just don’t accidentally add someone to that circle later or they’ll be able to see all of your personal notes.
Bonus Tip: Evernote Posting – Want to combine Evernote and Google+? Simply add your Evernote email address to the Draft or Note circle you created and Google+ will email your posts to Evernote whenever you add something to that circle. Gotta love cross-functionality.
Facebook and Twitter – I cover how to do this later on, but you can create custom Circles for both Twitter and Facebook using the “post by email” functions available through Facebook and twittermail.com. By doing this, you can simultaneously post something to Facebook, Twitter and Google+ by using the custom circles.
Sharing Hangouts – Hangouts can be recorded and shared and if you have something special that you want to share only with specific people, this is the way to do it. Imagine having hangouts with your prospects to discuss hot topics in the niche and then saving those Hangouts in a special circle which they can then gain access to. Google+ is practically a content management system with levels of access that you can easily control.
Managing Projects – Create specific circles for projects and place your notes, ideas and comments for specific people in that circle. If you’re collaborating with a JV partner on a new IM project, post comments about the project here or ask for advice from other JVs or contractors directly in Google+. With the notification feature, you can make sure every post is seen by the people in your circle (though I would still save my extremely important posts for email).
Super Loyal Customers – Do you have customers who buy every single eBook you release or who write you personally to thank you for your insights in the niche? Put them in a special circle to show them how special they are to your business. Not only that, but provide some extra special bonus material. Make it something incredibly hard to become a part of your “loyalty” circle and people will want in – it’s a scarcity thing.
Prioritizing Circles – Did you know you can prioritize your circles? Simply add a “*” to the beginning of the name of the circle and it will appear at the top of the list and therefore appear at the top of your Stream when new posts are placed. If there are a handful of people whose updates you absolutely want to receive, this is the way to do it.
Overshares – I don’t like blocking people. It feels mean and sometimes I miss out on posts I do actually care about, but let’s face it, there are some people who post WAY too much. So, create a special circle for anyone that shares too much. This way, you can look at specific circles and avoid getting inundated with updates every day.
Be Creative! – I love circles because I can name them whatever I want. If I want to do something super creative like name each of my circles after one of Snow White’s 7 Dwarves, I can do so. We’ve got “Happy” for loyal customers” “Grumpy” for people who make me grumpy, “Bashful” for friends and family who don’t need to see all of my posts, “Doc” for thought leaders and business owners I want to read content from, etc. Now, I won’t do this, because honestly I’d forget who is who and mess it up. BUT, it’s possible and that’s awesome.
The list of possible circles goes on and on (and I’ll discuss a handful of them in much greater depth in later chapters), but there’s one last thing I want to leave you with before we move on. Some people will fret and worry over trying to break up their friends into socially isolated groups and then worry about who to share what with.
Don’t.
Google+ doesn’t need to become an overkill response to the lack of control you have on Facebook. Keep friends in a single circle, family in another and then split up your business contacts. Trying to break apart your social connections will only give you a headache and probably make you feel like an ass (both things no one wants to do).
Step 2 – Invite People
If you’re anything like me, you’ve already done a boat load of work on other social networks or in your email contact list to develop connections. That should make it easy to find new people on Google+.Simply login to your accounts – either Gmail or Yahoo! Mail and your other social networking profiles and invite the contacts there.
Since the program is still invite only, you’ll need to gather email addresses manually to add people through this function. If the people on your contact lists are already members of Google+ you can simply add them through the add new people function and you’ll get them into your profile instantly.
Step 3 – Start Sharing
Know who you are sharing with and how to share with them. By default everything you post is public, but you can change which Circles see the information you post by clicking the options next to the share box.Make sure that every Circle receives regular updates with value adding content on a daily basis. Don’t just post to one Circle or the public Circle alone. Specialize messages to individual people or Circles.
Step 4 – Using the +1 Button
Just as you would with Facebook, make sure you use the +1 button to showcase what you like both on Google+ and off. Not only do all of your +1’s show up on your Google+ account, but they allow you to add value to the conversation. Interact with people in a way that allows you to showcase your interest in their knowledge while adding knowledge to their comments.Step 5 – Optimizing Your Profile Page
Like with any social network, the most important aspect is your profile page. A good profile page shows who you are, what you have to offer, and the value that your presence on the network offers.So, it’s incredibly important that you fill it out completely, and offer as much information to people as possible.
Keep in mind too that your profile will show up in the search results. So, you want to make sure that whatever you post here you’re happy with showing up in search.
Here’s a quick look at what a profile looks like when it shows up in the search results. The title is the name on your profile. The description comes from the first few lines of your introduction. The photo will be your avatar on Google+ – remember to make sure this is high-quality.
Another thing to keep in mind is that you can actually choose who sees the information you place on your profile. Custom profiles are extremely effective if you want to showcase different information for your friends and family than for your business contacts.
Here are some things you can change on your profile from the editing screen.
Introduction – Your introduction is incredibly important. It needs to be professional, feature rich and interesting to people who might run across your profile in SERPs or while surfing their friends’ networks on Google+. Remember this content is indexed by Google.
Bragging Rights – What are you good at? Go to town here and tell people why you’re an interesting, exciting, follow-worthy person.
Occupation – Creatively describe what you do for a living here.
Employment – Who do you work for? If you own your own business, put it here to get it listed in the rankings. If you have employees or partners, make sure they add it as well.
Education – Schools and colleges go here – pretty straightforward.
Links – This is a very important aspect of your profile. This is where you place links to your personal websites. You can place as many links as you want (a big upgrade over the 1 you get on Twitter) and they show up in a nice little list on your profile. Don’t forget to add your other social media accounts as well – they will show up in a separate list above “Other Profiles”.
To change any of these items simply click on the area and change the text. Make sure you fill in every spot here unless it’s completely unrelated, and add at least two or three links to the links section as these will appear in the search listings.
Here’s what it will look like when you’re done (via ProBlogger, Daren Rowse):
Keep in mind that you can link your social media profiles such as Twitter, Facebook and Flickr to your account.
You will probably have noticed already that if you search for your name it shows up at the top of the search listings in Google. Notice that there links connected to your profile in the Google search results.
Now consider the impact this will have. People can see who you are, what you have to offer, and your face next to every listing. That’s some serious branding and it’s so easy.
Your Profile Picture
As I said before, you get a much larger profile picture on Google+ than you would on any other social network (for now). Facebook supports larger pictures, but Google+ requires them. So, you need to pick something that really pops off the screen – in this case it needs to be 200×200.Get a new photo or use the full resolution version from your desktop. No more tiny little avatars with blurry pics. Remember, these will show up in Google SERPs too!
Short Description
Google+ only allows a short 100 character description at the top of your profile and for good reason. That description will go directly into the SERPs alongside your profile. Always fill this out and make sure it is something you’re okay sharing with the public and that it is relevant to your account as a whole.Other Names
Great tool to help people find you if you have nicknames or people call you by different things. Imagine how effective this will be for those who travel internationally and go by a handful of different names or nicknames. Simply add in any alternative spellings or pronunciations of your name and help people find you in Google+.Google Activity
Your Google activity, including anything you +1 or add to your Buzz log will be included in this section of your profile. You can decide whether to make this public or to share it with only select Circles. I recommend using this tool to its full advantage to show certain Circles – such as business prospects – the valuable links you find on a daily basis.Simply telling other people what you think is valuable is in itself a valuable activity. It’s funny to think of yourself in that way – as a trendsetter and dictator of information’s value – but that’s what happens when you become the face of a company and a trusted focal point of any brand.
Going the Business Route
As of writing this, Google has yet to implement their business version. Furthermore, they’ve deleted a lot of people’s profiles that try to create business pages. So, we know they’re going to develop a business version, but it hasn’t been done yet, and they don’t want people using personal profiles for businesses.So, the best route is to focus on branding yourself for now, developing business connections on Google+, and laying the groundwork for your business page when the new Google tools are ready.
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