How To Get Started With Google+ — For Small Businesses

Are looking to incorporate Google+ into your social media strategy, but don’t know how?  Are you an avid poster to your company’s Facebook Timeline?  Well, then Google+ is right for you because the same thing you do on Facebook, you can also do on Google+!  Also, in general you will see a great benefit from utilizing Google+ because of how it is (sort of) connected to Google’s search results as well as SEO, aka search engine optimization.Many of the ways that you, your company, or your Internet Marketing firm is handling your Facebook or Twitter are the same ways you will also handle your personal and company Google+ account.

If you are doing social media marketing or optimization, the first thing you need to understand is that you have to start acquiring relevant and active people to put into your “circles” which is Google+’s version of adding friends.  The only drawback for now is that with a Google+ page, you cannot add people to your company’s circles; they can only add your company to their circles.  So, the thing that you need to do is first make a personal profile, and it would be best to use the CEO or owner of the business.  If that isn’t an option, it should at least be another employee of the company because just like you essentially need an “Admin” for a Facebook page, you also need an Admin for a Google+ page.

So, you have a personal Google+ profile now, the next step will be to add other people to your circles, and encourage people to also add you to their circles.  After that, you would “promote” your company’s profile (that you also made at the same time as your personal profile) by making posts that pertain to it like:  “Hey, check out my company’s new page, it’s totally rad!”  Something along those lines would be good.  However, the thing that you can start doing is making posts (just like you do on Facebook) on your company’s page, and then using your personal profile to share them on your Google+.  Some posts you could make are blogs, articles, or any relevant information you would like to share in order to engage with your audience.  From then on, if those in your circles like what they see, some of those people in your circles will add your company to theirs!

There, now you’ve started your Google+ social media optimization strategy!  Was that so hard?  If you can do Facebook, you can certainly do Google+!

If the business owner seems non-compliant with how to get started on Google+, maybe it’s time to sit the company or business owner down and really nail down what he, she, or they want to achieve with social media optimization.  Just jumping into it because it is the “new fad” is not a valid reason to start creating a Google+.  A company needs to handle their social media strategy with love!  After all it is all about fan engagement, and making people want to come to you for your products or services!