As in real life, so online. You used to link up with colleagues and family, get involved in groups with shared interests and meet up to connect. You can do all those things on Google Plus, plus . . . you can share posts, chat, hangout in video, jump in on hangouts that experts you don’t know are having across the world (permission interrupting), set up events, and go local by connecting with people and businesses around you. Google Plus is a social rolodex, only it also creates the social layer it categorises.

What would you call a place where people you knew were neatly categorised into circles that allowed you to share information with them either discretely or simultaneously through a broad public broadcast? Where you could hang out with an individual or group at a moment’s notice or by clicking on a button from your Google calendar? Where could you drop into a videocast just because of its title, hear experts sharing, or create a place for like-minded communities to share information and talk.

It’s hard to think of a real-life equivalent, but that’s Google Plus. Social rolodex meets augmented reality, except it’s real.

The backstory

Google Plus was added to Google in 2011 to compete with Facebook, which has over a billion users. It currently has 540 million active users, not bad when you consider it’s a little over two years old while Facebook is about to celebrate its tenth birthday.

Google Plus is a social layer rather than a social network because it adds that connectivity to pretty much anything you do in the Google ecosystem. And that’s huge if you think that Google is about:

• Search
• Maps
• YouTube
• Gmail
• Android
• Google Play
• Google Music
• Google Voice
• Google Wallet
• Google Local

. . .  and much more.

Remember, Google aims to organise the world’s information — and you are a part of that world.

Important issues

If producing quality content is part of your personal brand then you need to establish your authority as a writer on Google by setting up Google Authorship. This boosts your status on Google and also increases the likelihood of your content being found through search.

We talked earlier in the book about how people find you on Google. Although the algorithm keeps changing, everything you do on Google Plus is indexed and so counts towards making you more visible.

Case studies

London-based reporter Sean O’Neill recently wrote a great case study of how UK online travel agency Travel Republic attracted over a million followers on Google in a year, helping it to reach its goal of engaging with existing and potential customers beyond the UK (figure 12.1). The brand now has well over two million followers.

The agency posted mainly visual content with great results. Traffic to some hotels went up by as much as 633 per cent following a Google Plus post.

In October 2012, a Travel Republic post on the Ubud Hanging Gardens in Bali received 3231 +1’s and its link to TravelRepublic.com received 7450 clicks. These were some of the Google Plus strategies that were used:

• It was promoted on Google Plus via What’s Hot — that’s random.
• It set up Google Plus communities such as Beach Holidays.
• Travel Republic installed the Google+ badge on its Home page, displaying the number of followers and encouraging others to join its page.
• It added a +1 button to email marketing.

Me 3.0

Google Plus is a bit more technical than other platforms, but for those who are serious about personal branding and influence it can’t be ignored.

As I’ve said, authorship combined with posts that are shared in Google Plus ensure you are visible and authoritative. Google Plus also allows you to see who has shared your content through Google+ Ripples, a good way to identify potential fans and focus your energy on building key relationships.

You can also personalise your search results from Google Plus by switching on personalised search. This shows you who shared your content as well as those to whom they are connected, giving you the chance to build a fan base.

Let’s go — Google Plus

Set up a Google or Gmail account. I won’t guide you through that as it’s something you’ll be familiar with. Once you have a Google account, upgrade it to Google Plus (figure 12.2).

You can reach your Google Plus from the menu in the top right of your screen, which shows your name with a + sign next to it (figure 12.3).

Before you push this button, you’re in your Google or Gmail but in the private world. Once you push this button, you go into the social layer, which is a public network. I can’t stress this enough because the move into Google Plus is so seamless that you can forget you’ve changed locations.

The Google Plus landscape

Figure 12.4 shows what it will look like when you enter the Google Plus environment.

On the right you’ll see that you can go back to your private email at any time by clicking on your photo.

The square icon unlocks the door to the Google ecosystem (figure 12.5).

So many parts of your life are represented here, including your contacts, calendars, groups and mail. If you push the More button, Google shows you other things you can do in its ecosystem (figure 12.6).

Many people don’t know there’s a translation service directly available to you on email. It’s imperfect, but helpful. Likewise, because Google owns YouTube you can go straight to your personal channel from here.

You can set up a blog using Blogger or use other alternatives outside of Google, like WordPress. Click ‘Even more from Google’ and a whole universe opens up (figure 12.7).

Google Keep is a bookmarking platform, like Evernote.

You can set up Alerts for any key words here. As a professional you should set up alerts for your name and business name so you are alerted if something happens online that mentions you. Simply click on the Alert button and fill out the window that pops up (figure 12.8).

All the things you can do on Google Plus are hidden under the Home button on the left (figure 12.9).

Creating a profile

The first thing you need to do is to create your profile. Click on the profile button then select a profile photo (figure 12.10).

Make sure it’s similar to other photos of you on social media networks so you create a recognisable personal brand. If you are a personal brand then add a business identity as well, although you can create a separate Google Plus page for business.

On your profile page, you’ll find a bar with the buttons About, Posts, Photos, YouTube, +1s and Reviews:

• About. Here’s where you introduce yourself and indicate your interests (figure 12.11).
• Posts. To write a post click Home at top left and then ‘Share what’s new …’ (figure 12.12). There’s no word limit and you can add photos, videos or links. You can share it with circles or publicly, or both.
• Photos. All photos added here are public.
• YouTube. You can set up your YouTube channel from within Google Plus. This is vital for many businesses. It’s also important when building a personal platform, but many executives with a full-time role feel it’s a bridge too far. We’re not going to head down that path, although I mention it now because the growth and popularity of video cannot be ignored. If you want to explore simply click on the YouTube button and follow the prompts to set up your channel (figure 12.13).
• +1. If you like a post and want to share it, click the +1 button. Anything you’ve shared in this way will appear in the +1 section of your profile. These contribute to your platform and influence search.

People

You’ll find people to follow under People. No surprises there. In this section you can create Circles, which are your social rolodex. They allow you to categorise under, say, Family, Suppliers, Recruitment Prospects — whatever you want. Only you will know how you’ve identified them. If you are developing country-based networks you might group people by Australia, Bermuda, Canada and so forth.

When you open People, Google will also make suggestions — click anyone you want to add them into a relevant circle (figure 12.14).

Like Twitter, and unlike Facebook, Google Plus allows for one-sided following. When you add someone to your circles, they don’t have to add you back.

Communities

Communities on Google Plus are highly engaged and can be found under the Communities section (figure 12.15).

Google Plus provides active communities who come together around a certain topic, such as leadership. For example, I am part of the #leadwithgiants community (figure 12.16).

The group comes together to share blog posts and discussion, and to connect across our other social media platforms as well. These communities are highly engaged.

Here’s Dan V. Forbes, who founded #Leadwithgiants:

Lead With Giants is a Social Media Community spanning Google Plus, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Our Vision is to create a movement advocating uplifting leadership and changing lives. Our mission is to help leaders become better leaders by providing a forum where members can connect, engage, serve, learn, and lead. These 5 words represent the Essentials of Lead With Giants. Our name is derived from this quote attributed to Sir Isaac Newton in 1676: ‘If I have seen farther than others, it is because I was standing on the shoulder of giants.’ Of the various platforms, Google Plus is the most engaged, followed by Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. I’m proud to say that Lead With Giants has a reputation as a community offering robust engagement. Epictetus said, ‘The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best.’ Global social media networks allow for the creation of meaningful communities that change lives and make a real difference in the world. Lead With Giants is an example of such a community.

I have connected with many wonderful people from around the world in this community and am making plans to connect in person with some members from Scotland and the USA who are coming to Australia soon.

Events

Google Events allows you to plan an event or hangout (figure 12.17).

Hangouts

Hangouts are free group video calls (figure 12.18). You can hang out on video with up to nine other people in a Google Hangout. The on-air version allows you to produce a live show that is directly recorded to YouTube. This is a great way to share information or teach customers about a product.

You can also tune in to live video broadcasts on topics that matter to you. A schedule of upcoming Hangouts On Air is provided through Google.

Pages

Some 97 per cent of consumers search for local businesses online, and a Google Plus Page will ensure they know where you are and can follow a map or click a phone number to reach you (figure 12.19).

Customers can show their appreciation through ratings and reviews, use the +1 button to endorse your content, and re-share your posts across the web. Again this is more a function for marketers but if you’re a small business it’s easy to do. Go to Google Pages and follow the prompts.

Google Local

Remember that Google has already mapped the world and this information is freely available to anyone who wants to use it.

But we also know that people like to shop local. Google Plus allows you to list yourself in their local pages and business reviews. If you’re a local business, localisation has many benefits (figure 12.20).

This chapter will get you up and running on Google Plus, but once you’ve learned the ropes you may want to amp it up with some bootcamp suggestions. These are pro tips. I’ve included sources for these great tips so you can look up authorities and follow their other fabulous suggestions.

Google Plus bootcamp

• IFTTT.com enables you to take a trigger (‘If this [happens]’) and create an action (‘. . . then that [happens]’) by creating recipes: ‘If I get a Gmail from so-and-so, post this page’. You can integrate this with Google+ by creating an RSS feed that can be used within IFTTT. (Martin Shervington)
• Track how widely any post is shared with Google+ Ripples by clicking the small arrow at the top right of a post; selecting it will show you a scalable chart showing how your post has spread. (JR Raphael)
• One amazing thing about Hangouts is interacting with people speaking different languages. Translate them using Google’s ‘Listen’ feature. (Jared S, HostDime)
• Bookmark your favourite posts by using Circles. Create an empty circle called ‘Favourite Posts’ (or whatever you like) from the ‘Find people’ tab, then share everything you find interesting to this circle. You can bring up a post from the circle at any time by choosing it from the top of your stream and sharing its unique URL. (David Nield, Gizmodo)
• Tweak your email notification options to reduce Gmail traffic by going to Google Account options and unchecking all of the ones you don’t want to get. (Patrick Miller, PC World)
• Search for interesting stuff to share about particular topics in the Sparks section on the side menu of the main page. Click Sparks, and search for things that you’re interested in. Pin a search on your sidebar for easy future access by clicking the Add Interest button under the search field. (Patrick Miller, PC World)
• Add a poll to a published post by instructing your readers to +1 to vote, and then quickly add comments containing the choices. Afterwards, select ‘Disable Comments’ from your post menu to encourage voting. (Webdesignerdepot)

Chapter summary

Google Plus is like a social layer across life as you know it, adding connectivity to search, maps, YouTube, email, apps, games and music, to name but a few.

You can share information exclusively or widely, hang out with an individual or group at a moment’s notice or drop into a videocast you like the sound of.

It’s a great way to grow the prominence of your business locally but also to extend its reach globally. Google Plus organises the world’s information, and you are a part of that world.