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Social Snap: Google+ platform report
1. How to Use Google+ to
Market Your Brand
January 2013
2. Is Google+ a Good Fit for Your Brand?
Google+ is Google’s official social network.
In addition to being a social network, it also adds a
social layer of connection between Google users and
the services they use – like YouTube.
January 2013 How to Use Google+ to Market Your Brand 2
3. Google+ - What You Need to Know
• There are 250 million active users on Google+.
• Of those active users, 50% log on daily.
• Google+ users spend an average of 12 minutes in the
“stream” per day.
• 69.4% of Google+ users are male.
• 54.9% of online marketers worldwide said Google+
was an essential part of their digital marketing
strategy.
• 2/3 of the Interbrand Top 100 have a Google+ brand
page.
January 2013 How to Use Google+ to Market Your Brand 3
4. How to Engage Google+ Users
• Contacts can be grouped into “circles” that help you
categorize them according to interests and the type
of connection.
• Brands can comment on and re-share content from
individual users – as well as join communities.
Takeaway: Develop a circling strategy before your
brand dives into extensive G+ usage. Once your
circles are established, make an effort to post regular
content that connects with those particular users.
January 2013 How to Use Google+ to Market Your Brand 4
5. Emphasize the Visuals on G+
• You can edit photos within Google+ and share animated
GIF images.
• Many photographers consider Google+ to be the best
social network for photos.
• You can brand your business page with a profile image
and header photo, and then share images and videos
directly to the stream.
Takeaway: While text is an essential part of your Google+
sharing strategy, consider how you can use images or
videos to engage your audience and bring them back to
your website.
January 2013 How to Use Google+ to Market Your Brand 5
6. Use Google Authorship to Boost
Search Results
• With the Search Plus Your World update, Google
effectively integrated an individual’s social experience
into their search experience.
• Claim Google authorship for your individual profile, and
encourage team members to do the same,
Takeaway: Connect your personal page with your brand
page, and encourage team members to claim authorship
of content published on your company’s site. It may
increase search engine traffic and clickthroughs.
January 2013 How to Use Google+ to Market Your Brand 6
7. How to Optimize Your Google+ Page
• Using your business name and include a keyword rich
business description.
• Reach out and circle users that represent your ideal
customer profile.
• Link to your other social media profiles.
• Optimize your visual content with keyword terms.
• Tag authors and other users to boost engagement.
• Use hashtags to gather new followers.
January 2013 How to Use Google+ to Market Your Brand 7
8. Use Hangouts to Create Community
• Hangouts allow your brand to host video chats with
several people at once
• You can use them as focus groups, product
introductions, informal chats or brainstorming
sessions with team members.
• The New York Times uses Google+ Hangouts as their
primary social video platform – and hosted chats
with Olympic Athletes.
January 2013 How to Use Google+ to Market Your Brand 8
9. Create and Explore G+ Communities
• Like LinkedIn groups and Facebook groups, Google+
Communities offer an opportunity for people to
connect based on their similarities.
• Google+ groups can be joined by individuals as well
as brands.
• Create a community with a tightly focused topic that
relates to your ideal audience – then invite your
Google contacts.
January 2013 How to Use Google+ to Market Your Brand 9
10. How to Measure Google+ Traffic
• Ripples offers a visualization of which users are
sharing and resharing your posts most frequently. It’s
a good way to look at how your content is being used
within G+ and identify your top influencers.
• Google+ traffic can be monitored through Google
Analytics. Using the social section under the traffic
sources tap, you can get a clear breakdown of shares,
direct posts and comments.
January 2013 How to Use Google+ to Market Your Brand 10
11. Start Leveraging Social Media Today!
• You’ve learned the basics – now get the full story!
• Download our free white paper and learn more
about Pinterest, Tumblr and Google+ marketing
for your brand.
January 2013 How to Use Google+ to Market Your Brand 11
12. Looking for more resources about Google+? Check
out the Social Snap Blog:
www.socialsnap.com/blog
Interested in making social media measurement fast
and easy? Save hours of time each month and get
out of Excel Hell! Schedule a Social Snap demo:
http://www.socialsnap.com/contact-demo.php