Admittedly, the search engine giant’s social media site didn’t take off the way we initially thought it would, but with all of the upgrades that were made to the site in 2012, it’s a great time to reconsider creating a content marketing plan for Google+.
The Public Relations Community on Google+
New Rules of Engagement
Brands who were looking to connect with new fans on the site but were frustrated by Google+’s restrictions will be excited to learn Google+ Business Pages can now communicate with users outside of their circles. No longer will brands have to wait for someone to start following their business page in order to +1 that user’s content or comment on posts.
Effortless targeting
While the concept of Circles has been around since Google+ inception, the site doesn’t get enough credit for the brilliance of this functionality. What better way for PR and marketing pros to target their fans and followers properly than by creating circles by topic or industry? Dell has done a great job of targeting small businesses with their Google+ page.
Simple Curation
Struggling to come up with fresh new content to share with your fans and followers on a regular basis? Why not use Google+ to find articles that your audience would be interested in and then share it with relevant circles that you’ve created for your followers?
SEO
Take the + off of Google+ and that still leaves Google. The world’s largest search engine didn’t create this social medium without an agenda. Google is looking for fresh content to share with its users, too. The more your content or the content you curate is shared on Google+, the more you’ll be rewarded in the search results.
Build a community
Last month, Google+ also launched Communities. Communities are a way for like-minded professionals to share relevant content within a designated space on the site. Interested parties can sign up to receive updates, share their own content or engage with other members. One of our favorites for the PR and marketing industry is the Public Relations Community moderated by PR pros Sarah Evans, Jason Kintzler, Amy Vernon and Jeff Livingston.
Has your brand had success on Google+? We’d love to hear your story.
