Skip to main content

New Google+ Communities

What are Google+ Communities?

Early this month, Google+ rolled out Google communities, to allow people to join discussion groups about their personal interests. Google + communities can be created as private or public, depending on who you want to join, and they work in a similar way to Facebook groups. Google +, however, offers the facility to virtually 'hang out' with people in your community. This means that you can have a video conference with them on your screen.  For example, if you love Greenday and join the Greenday Community, you can Google 'hangout' with other members of the community to discuss their new releases!

Three key ways to use Google+ Communities

1. Gather people together -  It could be for for your family, your local club or people around the world who share your interests.  Google+ communities allows you together people together in an online group. 
2. Have rich and focussed conversations - You can post photos and videos to the community to share with other members. You can also plan events and have face-to-face discussions in a Google 'hangout'.
3. Research and Explore your interests
By joining a Google + community you can find out the latest news and new ideas from others in your community. Whether you are a food junkie, a football fanatic or a volunteer for a particular charity, you will be constantly updated.  You might even meet some new people with similar interests!




Ideas for using Google+ Communities for Business
  1. Create a community for your fans to discuss your business. This will work better for some businesses than others, for example if you have a band or a label that people want to talk about.
  2. Join communities related to your product or sevice and join in discussions. For example, if you work in social media, you might want to join the Social Media Marketing Community. Don't be too pushy, simply give positive and educated opinion to enhance your profile, and people will find your brand through you. Basically, become a thought leader in your business area.
  3. Use Google+ communities for market research. What does your target market want?  What are they interested in?
  4. Social Media Listening - listen to what people are saying about your brand or product, and act on feedback. Consider people's opinions when developing a new product or service. Listen to what people are saying about your competitors.
  5. Refer traffic to your website - but only when appropriate! Don't overdo it or SPAM.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Twitter Marketing

Advantages of Twitter Marketing Using Twitter is like sending a text message to the world! It offers the facility to ‘tweet’ a generic message to everyone following, @mention – send a direct tweet to someone, and to send a direct message. Twitter can be great for sharing links and asking people’s opinion on topics and products. You can make your tweet more searchable by using the #hashtag as a social bookmark. For example, using #socialmedia would mean that anyone searching for #socialmedia would be likely to stumble upon this tweet. Twitter marketing is also great for research and finding new connections. If you use the search bar, you can find people interested in similar things to you by searching for tweets on a particular topic. You can get a pretty good reach if you have a lot of followers who retweet you. Don't be afraid to ask for the RT (retweet), but don't ask too often - this might be seen as cheeky!  By sharing useful, unique and relevant content, you will find ...

Webinars - What is a Webinar and how can I set one up?

What is a webinar? Short for   Web-based Seminar , a webinar is a presentation, lecture, workshop or seminar that is transmitted over the Web. A key feature of a webinar is its interactive elements — the ability to give, receive and discuss information. This is significantly different to Webcasts, which are one way and do not allow interaction between the presenter and the audience. ( Webopedia ) How does a webinar work? You can try running a webinar yourself, and if you’re brave, you’ll line up this equipment: ·          A computer with access to the Internet ·          A set of speakers (or a headset) to hear questions and talk to the attendees. ·          An inexpensive microphone to give your presentation. You will also want to make sure your software allows you to: ·          Share Video...

Learn how to use Facebook: The Basics

Now that you have a Facebook profile, lets start using it to connect with people and share information! 1. Log In to your Facebook Account Login into your account by going to www.facebook.com and entering your email address that you signed up with, and your password.   2. Add friends In the top left of the screen, you will see 3 blue icons - the people (friends symbol), the letter (messages) and the world (notifications). If you click the first symbol, the friends symbol, it will tell you if anyone would like to be your Facebook friend. If you have a red number one, as is shown in this image, congratulations, someone wants to be your friend! You can then accept or decline the friend invitation. To accept the friend, click the blue 'confirm' image. Generally, only accept people as friends who you know outside Facebook. If you click on the friends icon, and then click 'find friends', Facebook gives you a range of ways to find people that you know.  ...