Are You Making the Most out of Your Presence on Google+?

1.6K

Key takeaways

• Treat Google+ posts as “mini blogs”: use strong headlines and long-form or list-style content to improve visibility and SEO.
• Write a clear, properly crafted headline, like an email subject line, to set expectations and help search ranking.
• Format posts with lists, bullet points and long-form text, tease longer pieces in your newsletter to build interest.
• Select and research relevant hashtags on Google+. They surface related tags and influence SEO, exposing new audiences.
• Keep a tight, regular posting schedule based on audience insight and use a scheduler to maintain consistency.
• Engage genuinely: ‘plus’ comments, join groups, share expertise and avoid spamming links without interaction.

Introduction

To truly leverage the power of your email marketing operations, it’s vital to have a strong presence within the world of social media. Otherwise, you could find that your brand is leaving something on the table in terms of reach and visibility from these outreach initiatives.

While Facebook and Twitter often dominate this conversation, the reality of the situation is that you have plenty to gain by also promoting and sharing your email content to Google’s favorite social network. To ensure that you’re making the most out of your branded presence on Google+ and building the biggest possible audience of potential contact list member converts, let’s take a moment to talk about the finer points of tapping into the power of this social media platform.

Build a “Mini Blog”

Unlike Facebook and Twitter, Google+ posts often function more like miniature blogs, so Cyrus Shepard of the Moz Blog points out that you need to tackle these offerings with a different mindset. Failing to do so could end up decreasing the visibility of these posts among your target audience significantly.

For starters, each post needs to have a properly crafted headline. Much like the subject line of a marketed message, this leading statement lets the reader know what to expect. Additionally, strong headlines also tap into the search engine optimization (SEO) benefits of Google+ by ranking higher on relevant search result pages.

From here, Shepard goes on to explain that formatting also plays a key role in this social blogging approach. Incorporating lists, bullet points, and long format content can do wonders for the impact generated by these offerings. If you’re feeling especially adventurous on this front, you can build excitement for these longer selections by teasing upcoming subject matter in your weekly newsletter or other periodic emails.

Research Your Hashtags

Talking about hashtags in relation to your presence on Google+ seems redundant initially, especially because Twitter and Facebook also utilize these assets on their respective social channels. However, digging a little deeper reveals that Google’s network puts these tagging tools to use in an entirely different manner.

On Facebook and Twitter, hashtags serve to sort and segment conversations. Google+ offers up similar hashtag functionality, but goes well beyond this segmenting by also referencing other related tags and topics, in addition to utilizing these choices for SEO ranking purposes. By choosing relevant tags for your posts and exploring their connections with other selections, you can expose entirely new audiences to your content and foster relationships that would otherwise never have had a chance to lead to an email contact list sign-up.

Keep a Tight Posting Schedule

In her look at how best to maximize your time on this network, Cindy King of Social Media Examiner explains that the people who make up your Google+ circle – much like your inbox audience – prefer consistent and regular postings over sporadic or loosely scheduled content. This means that you need to run a tight posting schedule if you truly want to maximize your reach on Google+.

Naturally, the preferred timing of your scheduled posts relies entirely upon your consumer insight and the preferences of this audience. Once you’ve figured out the best times to post, you can use a plug-in like Do Share to keep the content flowing and on schedule even when you’re away from the computer.

Mix Things Up with Your Google+ Audience

As far as your actual time spent on this network goes, King goes on to note that adopting a willingness to mix things up with your audience and interact with this community on a regular basis is vital to the success of your social outreach program. From “plussing” user comments and relevant content, to sharing your expertise within Google+ groups and conversations, being active on this social media channel guarantees that your brand has a strong forward-facing presence. The alternative – spamming links and content without any sort of genuine interaction – simply can’t hold a candle to this natural and engaging approach.

The truth of the matter is that creating reach on Google+ and raising awareness for your endeavors in the inbox requires a healthy amount of digital elbow grease from your brand – there’s no point in denying this reality. From developing a habit of regularly posting quality content, to spending time rubbing elbows with members of this community, it’s safe to say that there’s a lot that goes into this process. However, with everything you’ve learned here on your side, there’s no reason why you can’t begin building a winning presence on this network today.

FAQ