Google+blueprint-4

3. Customize Your Public Profile

 

 

The third step involves customizing your public profile. The profile basics include your tagline (think of it as your business' elevator pitch) and an image (your company logo is a great option). Keep it concise, yet descriptive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Promote Your Page

 

 

At this point, you've created the skeleton of your page, and Google+ will now prompt you to promote your page. Our recommendation is to customize your page even further and start sharing a few updates before you begin telling the world about it.

 

 

Promoting a blank page isn't a great way to convince people that your page is valuable enough to add to their Circles. So invest some time into optimizing your page and sharing a few links to valuable content before you start promoting it to the masses.

 

 

 

                   

 

 

 

5. Hangouts and stuff

 

Google have made it clear in their blog announcement that the reason they want brands to be represented on Google+ is for them to interact with their fans, customers or business partners. The most unique way to interact on Google+ is to conduct a 'Hangout', which is essentially a group video chat. This is something that has already been exploited by The Muppets, amongst others:

 

The Muppets have used it to raise awareness of their new film, scheduled for release at the end of this month. Using 'Hangouts' to conduct video chats with people is a great way to raise brand awareness and build a positive brand reputation across the web. 

 

A company could, for example, host a 'Hangout' with their customers where they get to ask questions about products, services and competitions. 

 

A company in a technical niche might choose to hold a weekly 'Hangout' where their followers can ask detailed questions and be confident they are getting an answer from an expert. 

 

Companies could even us their 'Hangouts' to get suggestions from their followers about how they could perhaps improve their services. The point is that 'Hangouts' offer an unparalleled opportunity for brands and businesses to interact in real-time, face-to-face with the people that follow them. This really could be a fantastic opportunity for companies to really strengthen their brand reputation.

 

Again, this is something that online marketers can use as a more direct way of holding seminars etc. (More on this later)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. Add the Google+ Badge to Your Website

                        

 

 

Along with the release of Google+ Business Pages, Google have also launched the Google+ badge that can be added to your website to inform visitors that your company is active on Google+. To add the G+ badge:

 

1.  Copy your profile ID (this will be the number in the URL when on your profile page).

      2.  Head over to the Google+ badge configuration tool and add your profile ID where prompted

      3. Choose one of the badges underneath and a code snippet will show.

4.  Copy and paste the code to a suitable position within your website's source code.

 

Note. The choice of buttons is pretty lousy at the moment, but Google are promising some sexier ones soon.

 

So far the effects of adding the badge is vague, but knowing Google it can only help with SERPS, ranking and traffic.

 

 

 

7. Optimise Further

 

At the most basic level, this is really all you need to do to get your page launched. But as any smart marketer knows, the 'basics' aren't usually enough. Intelligent marketers understand the importance of optimizing their page to make it not only more engaging, but also more valuable and effective for lead generation. In this step, follow Google+'s prompts to create an effective page, and remember -- Google+ is a social network.

 

Although every social network has its specific nuances and behaviors, many of the same best practices will still apply. Regularly share fresh content, react and respond to your fans, be engaging, and optimize for lead generation.

 

Then measure, adapt your strategy, and optimize your presence based on your own individual results and goals.

 

 

 

Don't Forget:

 

 

•      Link your business page to your website – Useful link here

 

•      Google also suggests you use the Google+ business page badge on your   website find it here

 

•  Don't miss this opportunity to add relevant links to all of your other Social Media profiles, like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc. Include any affiliate or partner sites. You can add these in the "About Section" of your profile.

 

• You know the mantra "Content is king", make sure you include your keywords whilst making sure it is clear, legible, accurate and useful. You can also add links to your introduction on your about page, but be careful to make them neat and relevant, you don't want to come across as a link farm.

 

·    Googles' albums look beautiful. Make sure all your images are high quality, post good quality pictures regularly, they will show up in Google image search, give them keyword rich titles, tags and descriptions. this is a good place to share info-graphics about your niche.

 

              All the Best

 

                  M.T