“It’s a moving target.” Martin Brossman (in regards to Google)
What is Google+?
Google+ is an efficient forum for people with like-minded interests to connect with each other. Your Google+ profile (located on your Google+ Page) shares details about who you are as well as explaining how others can do business with you. For example, besides telling about yourself, background, interests and current business involvement it’s helpful to include links, opportunities and alternative places where other contacts can communicate with you NOW.
I say NOW, because we live in a world where ease, convenience and access are essential. Make it easy for someone to respond to their impulse to connect with you, NOW!
When filling out your Google+ Profile:
** include your current employer, what you are doing & anything else relevant to your business/ interests.
To find prospects, connections and contacts:
** ‘Cruise’ through Google+ (as if you were ‘channel surfing’ through your TV) to find others with similar interests, businesses and activities.
What is a Google+ Business Page?
The Google+ Business page and Personal Page are different in that the Business page is like a brochure mixed with a business card and the Personal Page includes more about your personal activities. However, if your profession takes up the majority of your personal activities then you will, likely, experience tremendous ‘business bonding’ through your personal page.
Google+ Business is a local business listing center, introduced by Google, to replace Google Place pages. When consumers search for local products and services, these show up in the search results; making it easy for businesses to socialize with customers and prospects and for consumers to find local businesses.
Google+ Local pages integrates with Google Search, Google Maps and Google Mobile Maps.
What is Google+ Authorship?
Google Authorship, as shown on my associate's page, is the next level to the world of Google. Through Google Authorship you can link content you publish on a specific domain to your Google+ profile. Sign up for Google+ and create a Google+ profile.
When you set up your personal page, make sure you have the following:
*a profile photo with a recognizable headshot.
*a byline containing your name that appears on every page of your content.
*a matching byline name to the name on Google + profile so that Google will be able to pick it up. Google is a machine so everything has to match exactly or it won’t work.
The few lines of text that appear under every search result (‘rich snippets’)—are designed to give users a sense for what’s on the page and why it’s relevant to their query. These rich snippets shows up in the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) along with a lot of other information.
Tips to remember:
**Make sure that your face is recognizable.
**Use your real name.
**Use this name across all your web properties.
**Add the Google + icon to your website.
**Keep the same image on your Google + profile face photo.
**Use your real name on YouTube. YouTube & Google + are connected. This gives you another authorship page.
Follow these principles across all of your web properties that you are an actual author on. Adding Google+ website on all your posts, will increase rankings for you. Google+ Personal, Business and post pages will rank in the same way or better in searches than regular web pages. Also, Google+ posts can keep their ranking without time limitations.
What does Google+ have to do with Branding?
Branding, in today’s culture, is most known for a name, logo, slogan, and/or design scheme associated with a product or service. Brand management is the application of marketing techniques to a specific product, product line, or brand. Personal branding includes people and their careers marketed as brands. Take advantage of this opportunity to link your Google+ profile (through Personal & Business Pages) to the content that you create. It’s a very efficient way to maximize on ‘branding‘ and get yourself more visible on the internet!
Call me at 919-604-0104 or email olgamaria3@aol.com for your own, customized Social Media and Online Marketing Evaluation.
(Footnotes-ideas for this article came from Chris Brogan & Mark Traphagen)
