Courtesy of digitaltrends.com

#1: Improve Internal Communication

Set a time to host internal meetings via hangout’s excellent video function, and you’ll find that your employees are more eager to attend your meetings. Everyone will always be able to connect and share, so meetings won’t be stalled by absentees or missing management. Swap documents, and use the ‘share screen’ function to collaborate on something together.

#2: Become a Hangouts Training Wiz

Use your Google Hangouts account to record training discussion sessions, live with your employees. That way you can build up a library of easy-to-access training videos that future employees can view and learn from. Savvy businesses might even find a way of monetizing these videos for additional passive income online, or to improve their Youtube traffic.

#3: Client Meetings

Host private client meetings with your clients, and you’ll be able to record them for later viewing. Plus you can connect with up to 10 clients from around the world, to host a webinar or to offer your consulting services over the internet. Share learning materials with them, project details and discuss important points.

#4: Client Testimonials, Case Studies and Demos

Looking for a great way to hook new clients? Use Google+ hangouts to give live demonstrations of your work, or share live case studies with them. These presentations will be more personal, resulting in more clients gained. Plus you’ll have the chance to collect more video testimonials than ever before, directly from your clients.

#5: Twitter Market Research Videos

Invite 10 or so if your most active Twitter users to join you for a market research webinar, and reward them with free stuff. Once they’re live, get them to answer all the questions you can, and gather that all important market research. Then posts the videos online to increase your online traffic, and expand your Youtube feed.

#6: Answer Customer Questions

You probably get sent queries all the time – if they’re knowledge based, host your own Q&A on hangouts to answer these questions. Answer them live on video and your fans will get to know you better. This in turn will improve every aspect of your online profile. Gain more fans, more clients and become a rockstar customer service business.

These 6 great ways to use Google+ hangouts are just the tip of the iceberg. Add casual meetings, interesting ways to enhance your Youtube feed and more, and there are literally dozens of other ways to take advantage of this video feature.

Play around with hangouts and see what works. It’s quick, easy and a great way to support your more challenging social pages.

How do you use Google+ hangouts to improve your business? Leave your answer below!

Courtesy of techland.time.com

#1: Do Something Original That Has Merit

Every social networking site that works, does so because people can’t get enough of it. But why bother on Google+ when the other social sites are more fun? Google+ needs to invent something that will keep people coming back and spending time on the platform – because they are so addicted to it.

#2: Attract The Female Vote

Google+ is 70% male, and stats have already proven that its woman that tend to share more online. Perhaps their growth has been stunted because their site mainly appeals to business orientated men? Either way, we think they need to attract more women. Pinterest did, and they’re the ones doing so well.

#3: Redesign The Redesign

Google+ recently redesigned their site…and made it worse. Props to Google for listening to the world and changing it, but boy did they go horribly wrong. Get some super-designers over from Youtube and do it again. Try to be different. Google+ looks too much like a software dashboard, instead of a fun social network.

#4: Focus on The Hangouts Feature

Google+ made a splash for a while with their innovative ‘Hangouts’ video feature. People enjoyed it, but it wasn’t enough to keep them coming back. Google+ only has about 6 million active users, and these users aren’t there to have fun, they’re there for SEO. Perhaps Google+ needs to focus on what has already worked? Develop Hangouts!

#5: Lose The People Flooding

Circles was a nice idea that never translated into decent user-ship. Controlling your privacy like a paranoid schizophrenic was fun for a few hours, then the people flooding started. Instead of creating streamlined lists with friends, everyone ended up with Circles full of strangers. LinkedIn knew that wouldn’t work!

#6: No Sense of Personality on Google+

Google+ doesn’t allow an individual to create a profile based on their personality. It’s all very limited and controlled. You can have a presence on Google+, but you can’t leave messages for your friends, or create a social environment that will make your friends want to check out how you express yourself online.

#7: Go Back To Basics

Google+ launched with a lot of hype. But they’ve always been too complex, swapping simplicity for cleverness. It’s time to cut
out the parts of Google+ that are clever, and instead make them simple. Google+ needs to go back to the basics of social network creation.

#8: The Last Resort

If Google+ continues to fail, they’ll need a miracle to recover. Luckily, Google has deep pockets. In fact, Google should just buy something that works, and integrate it into Google+. If they do this soon, the platform might be saved.

How do you think Google+ could improve? I want to know!

If you’ve been wondering how to find and friend the right people on Google+, this post has a few great tips to offer.

Courtesy of ecampusnews.com

Whether you’re adding people to your circles or trying to get added yourself, you can use these tips to make it work.

#1: Use The Search Function

You’ll see at the top of your business page, there’s a Google+ search bar. If you’re looking for people in your niche to follow, all you really have to do is type in the keyword. A list of businesses will be suggested, as well as some great authorities in your niche. To add a business to your network, click to their profile page and check them out. If they seem interesting follow them!

Introduce yourself on their latest update, by adding in a piece of insightful information. Then check out the company’s community, by clicking on ‘view all’ underneath their circles. Hover your cursor over each name to get an idea of who they are. Add the people you want to chat with to your circles.

Each person you follow is connected to a new community. You can investigate each of these communities to source new people to add to your circles. Only add the one’s that count – you don’t need 1000 people on Google+.

#2: Check Out Google Suggestions

Google will suggest certain people that you might be interested in following. Check in on this regularly, and add the best people from the list. Like I said before, don’t just add everyone to your circles, they need to be structured and targeted to be USED properly. If you don’t use them to interact with people – you don’t need them on your profile!

#3: Use Sparks and Ripples

With Sparks you can save certain keywords to be updated on news that comes in from chosen niches. Save the searches that you find and you’ll be able to view them in your ‘what’s hot’ section of your homepage. The same rules that apply for Google search, apply here on Google+.

Try new keywords and keyword combinations that you’ve never tried before. It’s tempting to just use a common keyword, but you can get so much more out of it, if you try interesting search terms. ‘Ripples,’ creates a mind map of a person’s main social network. If you click on the little arrow next to their posts, and scroll down to ripples – you’ll be able to see who matters most in certain networks.

#4: Use Outside Search Sites

If the whole prospect of wading through mounds of people on Google+ doesn’t appeal to you, try one of these search sites. They specifically index Google+ users and have sorted them into neat categories for us to use. Sites like findpeopleonplus.com, gpeep.com, recommendedusers.com, circlecount.com and socialstatistics.com are a good place to start.

You’ll get some great suggestions from these sites. All in all, I know what people are looking for most is a simple, quick way to find and meet great people. Unfortunately that doesn’t exist yet.

You have to manually source these people, by wading through multiple networks. On the bright side, if you build your network carefully it will become an instant asset to your business.

Want to add in another way to find people to follow on Google+? Please leave your advice below for our community!

Courtesy of bloggerspath.com

The Social Network Vision

From the beginning Google+ launched a massive campaign, and was described as a threat to Facebook, or a network that will rival Facebook and perhaps even slow its growth. Whether it was bloggers or Google itself that perpetrated this idea, we’ll never know. The point is, that Google+ was NEVER a threat to Facebook.

Those of us who have worked extensively on Facebook, understand that this eternal social network machine has no real rivals. How can it? Facebook is an island. Many have copied it, many have tried to outdo it, and they’ve all failed. So, you should start seeing Google+ not as a weak competitor, but as something on its own.

How Google+ Can Impact Your Business

Slowly but surely, experts are realizing that Google+ has merit in other areas. Areas that are highly beneficial to companies looking for exposure, and business presence on the internet. There are numerous search benefits to having a Google+ social account. Google will index your plus account, and rank it very well. This is page one stuff, and enough to interest any savvy social marketer.

Besides the search benefits, Google+ is proving to be a great place to connect with influencers online. Conversation is far more vibrant on Google+, and industry experts tend to share more commentary there, than on platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn. It’s become something of a ‘niche’ paradise.

Then there are the wonderful project management features that have been built into Google+. With circles that you can transform into mini client bases, and hangouts that you can use for conferencing – Google+ is more like an all-in-one, online based social network – where you can build long term, repeat business from existing clients.

Why Use Google+ At All?

Google+ improves your overall SEO, and allows you to branch out, making connections with influencers that you can later transform into business partnerships or social marketing opportunities. It’s also a unique way to create small company related circles, so that you can build up your connections within a client’s company. This is very advantageous to businesses that want to retain long term clients.

Google+ business pages can be instrumental to a well planned social strategy. Put your business on the map by getting your page started today. With a fresh strategy for 2012, your Google+ page will help you drive traffic and support long term relationships. You want to get in on that action early!

Add Google+ to your social strategy now. Use it to increase your visibility, authority and likeability on the internet.

Do you think Google+ is worth using? What have your experiences been with this new social network, so far? We want to hear from you!

This will change everything.

Courtesy of crazyengineers.com

Your Google+ Business Page

We’ve spoken previously about the precarious nature of Google+, and how the social network seemed to be losing ground. Now with the launch of their business pages, we’re bound to see another boost in signups, and people returning to complete a very advantageous business presence on the platform. Google is indexing each Google+ business page super fast, and this alone could change the tide for Google+.

They’ve included a handy little feature called Direct Connect, which allows Google search users to add a ‘+’ in front of their search term, if they would like to find a company listed on Google+. In other words, if you want to find our presence there, simply type +socialmediamagic into the Google search bar. This is quick, easy, and very appealing for businesses that want to secure prominent keywords.

The Impact of Your Google+ Page

Now your business can take advantage of the other features on Google+, for your company page. The hangouts feature alone could open several new revenue streams for you, as your business delves into livecasting, webinars and live chat with your fans and clients.

Your circles will get an enormous boost from Direct Connect, as fans are able to find you easily, then +1 or add you to their circles, right from a basic Google search. The page layout seems remarkably Facebook-esque, but this isn’t a bad thing. In fact, it will give new users the confidence to create beautiful profiles for their businesses.

Courtesy of launch.is

Should You Get a Google+ Page?

Yes. There are enough benefits now – so you’ll want to establish a community on this network. You’ll be able to use Google+ as a promotional tool, and even a cloud based work tool – as your team members, managers and clients will all be in certain circles. Google+ has only just launched this new feature, so it will be some time until they’ve sorted out the kinks.

One small thing we don’t like, is that fans can’t post on your business page wall. Having said that, we can’t expect Google+ to be exactly like Facebook. Are they rivals yet? No. Facebook is still miles ahead of Google+, and we don’t expect this to change anytime soon. As a platform in its own right however, Google+ is worth including in your next social marketing plan.

All you have to do is sign up for a Google+ profile, and on the homepage click on the Google+ create a page. It will take you to a set up screen, where you can fill in your details and get started. The sooner you do it the better, so get cracking!

Do you like the new Google+ business pages? Please tell us what you like or don’t like about the new features.

Courtesy of businessinsider.com

But Google+ still has a respectful 43 million users, so is it worth using?

The Life and Times of Google+

One of the first things we noticed about Google+ was that it attracted lots of tech-people and business influencers. The kind of people that tend to be progressive and embrace new technology. We also noticed that conversations and comments tended to be a lot longer on the platform, than on Facebook. This may have been due to Facebook’s character limit on their updates.

Now Facebook has upped their character limit from 500 to 5000 – which essentially destroys that unique feature on Google+. It seems at every turn, Facebook has been able to come back with updates and fixes that have blown Google out of the water. But Google+ is still ticking along, with a host of new features coming out soon, like the much anticipated business pages. Perhaps this will attract more online users, and their numbers will start to climb again.

One thing is becoming bracingly clear. Google+ has not been the runaway success that tech-lovers predicted. All the hype, secrecy and beta-phase testing in the world, could not combat the kind of innovations being produced by the Facebook team. So the question remains – should you bother being on Google+?

Facing The Music: The Google+ Dilemma

Honestly at this stage, it’s hard to say. For business-minded people that want to connect with influencers, it’s a nice platform. For the average, everyday user – it may not be as valuable. And that’s why the influencers are there in the first place. Google+ can’t be successful without a mainstream market. It’s behaving more like a really powerful LinkedIn group at the moment.

Bottom line is that it lacks the addictive-ness of Facebook, the marketplace, functionality and connectivity of Facebook – and is living in the shadow of an established giant that will not be supplanted. Google+ does not give users a compelling reason to stay. They check it out, muck around, and then head back to Facebook. It’s been blindsided by the incredible Facebook team.

At the end of the day, it’s up to you to decide whether Google+ will be worth using. Yes, you can establish a business presence there without the business ‘page’ functionality, but even that seems forced. Why not spend more time on your Facebook business page, where you know you can get good returns?

Even business people know that time spent on any social network is money. Either you’re earning it, or you’re losing it. All we can say is, good luck Google+, you’re going to need it in the coming days ahead.

Do you use Google+? What do you like about it? Leave your comment below!

Courtesy of ben1976.wordpress.comn

Riding The Content Stream

Your Google+ wall is also called your content stream – or the place where content from your circles shows up. It’s basically where your shared content is displayed. There are two ways keep the conversation going in your stream. First of all, publish your own content, updates and curated stuff. Or – you could comment on other posts in your stream, posts that your circles have syndicated.

Sharing Your Own Content

You’ll notice that when you choose to share an update on Google+, you have several icons peering at you before you can click the ‘share’ button. There’s a camera icon for photo sharing or album creation, a video icon for video syndication, a link icon and a location icon too. Then you can choose who gets to see your update – which circles in your overall Google+ community.

But What If I Want To Share From a Website?

Can you share on Google+ as easily online as you can on say, Facebook and Twitter? A month or two ago the answer would have been no, but Google has gone to great lengths to solve this little problem. Remember the +1 button, you know the one that originally had nothing to do with the Google+ platform?

Well, Google has realized that the +1 button can be just as powerful as the ‘tweet’ or ‘like’ button. Brand new and gaining in popularity is the ‘share on Google+’ button, which is really just the +1, with a hover over that says ‘click here to publicly +1 this’ – a great update by the Google team. Our advice – get the button on your websites, quickly. Now as you browse you can publish things to your feed, it’s easy.

Sharing To Other Social Networks?

What happens if you want to share content from Twitter or Facebook – on Google+? You could do it the long way of simply syndicating the link separately. But in these mobile times, most sharing is done on the go. Google+ has a great app that integrates with Twitter, and a few social management giants like Seesmic. To share content from one platform to another, or to publish to both platforms, simply click on the two arrows and adjust the content.

Sharing effectively on Google+ shouldn’t be any different than sharing on a platform like Facebook. Until we know more about the rules, just keep sourcing, creating and syndicating content as always. Just be careful who you share it with. If you want it kept private, turn the public sharing option off. Google+ updates are indexed on Google, and they will show up when someone types in your name!

How do you share on Google+? Tell us how you share great information on this new platform, and we’ll share it with our social communities!

Courtesy of gradualmoneyearner.com

Reports are pouring in that Google+ is better than Facebook, and even trumps the business network site LinkedIn. Creating a solid business presence on this site has many instant benefits – as everything is connected to Google, and its dominant search engine power on the internet. It could turn out to be the quickest way to secure niche-related keywords in your field.

The business pages haven’t been launched yet, but you can still get in early and start creating a presence for your business on the platform, with a profile page. Simply fill in the details (much like your Facebook profile) and begin to use the various new functions that Google+ has to offer. As we mentioned earlier, this platform could be highly valuable for generating traffic to your business website.

All you have to do is begin a little cross promotion on your profile. This means adding all of your different networks to your Google+ profile, and promoting them to gain quality inbound links to your other sites. Be careful to write keyword rich descriptions where you can about your business – in the employment section, about, and in the various chat areas, where you can introduce yourself as a business owner.

Once Google+ launches their business profiles, you can focus on building that page. Much like Facebook, you really will want a business profile on this platform. It will make all the difference when you start promoting and marketing your company there.

Google+ makes sharing content easy, which is great news for business that have comprehensive social media and content marketing strategies already in place. Use Circles, Huddle, Hangouts – all the new functions – to share your articles, blog posts, images, videos, podcasts and slideshows. You might even make some great connections with other business owners in your niche.

The world of online marketing is changing once again, and as business owners, we all need to be aware that Google+ could be a mighty force in our internet marketing campaigns in 2012. As always with new social sites, you’ll want to get on this platform early. It will help you build your community faster, and you’ll be able to start earning from Google+ sooner.

Initial expert reports are in, and the world seems to be embracing Google+, despite Google’s long line of dismal failures. Our advice, is to integrate it into your social marketing plan now. Facebook and Twitter will go on – we don’t believe for one minute that Google+ will destroy them, but this doesn’t mean Google+ won’t become an independent social power in its own right.

Have you tried Google+ yet? If so, what do you think? Is it a site you’d return to as often as Facebook? Leave your comment for us!