by Francois Muscat | Jul 25, 2016 | Google +, Social Media Marketing
Does Google+ matter?
The short answer is “Yes!” Here’s the long answer:
- Of the 250 million Google+ users, 150 million are active users; and 50% of Google+ users sign in daily.
- Being frequented by pioneering industry influencers, and boasting a 33% growth rate per year, Google+ is a perfect addition to you B2B social media marketing strategy.
- Google+ is reported to be the second largest active social network in the world, after Facebook.
- Google owns 65-70% of search engine market shares. Naturally, Google+ profiles rank highly in Google searches:
- Both Google and Bing use data about the social signals you emit and receive as a way to determine how high to rank your website. More social signals = higher rankings.
- Interactions with your content such as +1’s, comments and shares let Google know that this specific should be ranked well.
- Whenever you are mentioned on Google a link is created from the person mentioning you back to your profile. When combined with the link section in your Google+ profile, affirming which websites and business pages you contribute to, the result further boosts your SEO.
- With Google hangouts you can live stream to YouTube – the world’s second biggest search engine. Not only does this increase brand awareness, but video ranks extremely well in search engine results
- Google+’s communities are a great way to network with people and share high quality content.
- Your Google+ page makes it easy for your customers to find you on all Google’s platforms from a basic search to maps.
Make it count
Here is Google’s checklist of nine steps to take to maximize your social media marketing with a Google+ presence:
(Note, you need to have a personal profile in Google+ before you can create a business page.)
- Create a Google+ Page
- Verify your Page
- Enable social extensions within AdWords
- Claim your custom URL
- Assign Page managers (you can only comment as a user)
- Add the G+ Badge to your site
- Post exclusive content
- Grow your follower base
- Engage with your community
For further information and guidance on digital marketing, please contact us today.
by Marianna Muscat | Oct 13, 2015 | Content Marketing, Google +, Social Media Marketing
It was 2011, just after Larry Page returned as CEO of Google, that the plan to launch a direct competitor to Facebook was born. Google as a company was riding high on their many successes – mapping most of the world, indexing millions of books and becoming a major player in the smartphone market, but had yet to produce anything on social media.
It wasn’t through lack of trying. Orkut, Reader, Wave and Buzz all failed miserably. In the meantime, Facebook grew bigger and bigger. By 2010, Facebook had almost 500 million users and was valued at $14 billion; they had also begun to poach employees from Google.
Google+, driven primarily by Vic Gundotra, Google’s chief architect at the time, launched Circles. With it came the much criticised announcement that one would need a Google+ account when signing on to YouTube and other Google services. The services’ popular features, Circles (for grouping contacts), Photos (with good photo-editing tools) and Hangouts (for group video chats) were welcomed, but it still seemed slow to gain traction.
It certainly got users –within two weeks of its launch, Google+ had 10 million users, seven months on they had hit 90 million. Facebook took three and a half years to reach 90 million. Yet, a study conducted by Stone Temple Consulting revealed that over 91% of Google+ accounts are empty; owners have yet to post one update.
The slow demise of Google+ shows how a giant in technology tried and failed to innovate when it felt threatened. Despite its ability to quickly attract millions of users, it soon materialised that users weren’t posting, weren’t returning or really using the product. It seemed that Google+ was difficult to use and didn’t seem relevant.
A popular theory at the time was that people didn’t need another Facebook and Google+ was just too similar. Instead of focusing on mobile and messaging, something Facebook wasn’t doing at that point, they tried to steal a market that was quite content to stay where it was.
With Gundotra leaving Google and his replacement, David Besbris, lasting only six months, management in the Google+ camp was shaky. Now headed by Bradley Horowitz, a longtime Google executive, the announcement that users no longer need a Google+ account to use Google products showed a marked shift in strategy. They seem to be investing more in their standalone social products such as Streams, Hangouts and Photos, which have all generated a lot of positive response. Just a few months ago, Google+ introduced Collections, to try and breathe life into the waning platform.
So it looks like Google+ is fading away, shifting away from a Facebook copycat to something more like Pinterest. Retaining their connection to social is their main goal. But don’t write them off just yet. Google, as always, is optimising its products based on feedback and data.
by Francois Muscat | Mar 26, 2015 | Google +, Social Media Marketing
Does your social media marketing campaign include Google+ post ads? Often referred to as +Post ads, this feature from Google+ gives your content major visibility and you can use +Post ads to promote your content to an extremely wide audience. The opportunities to connect with your target audiences and reach out to new audiences are endless and here is how +Post ads help you do exactly that:
- The particular social media marketing channel you’re using defines the tactic you’ll use. For example, your Facebook posts aren’t visible on Twitter, your Instagram photos aren’t accessible on YouTube, etc., but +Post ads allow you to break free of those confines and put your content in front of millions of people.
- +Post ads appear as advertisements on relevant third-party websites. There’s no limit to what your ad can contain – video clips, images, Google hangouts, written content and more. You can create and manage +Post ads through your AdWords account.
- What’s unique about +Post ads is that anyone who sees your ad and is logged into Google can comment, +1, or share the ad without going to Google+. All of the actions can be done within the ad, making it super convenient for the viewer to use the content in the ways they want.
Let our social media marketing team give your company a voice
For more information about how the digital marketing specialists at WSI can help you create a winning social media marketing campaign, or if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us today. Our team of content marketing pros have helped many businesses achieve success and we look forward to hearing from you.
by Francois Muscat | Feb 11, 2015 | Digital Media Marketing, E-mail Marketing, Google +
Do you know how to create an email marketing campaign that works effectively for Gmail users? It is no secret that Google’s Gmail has undergone a number of changes over the past few months and the introduction of their new email app, Inbox by Gmail, has created a stir. Gmail Inbox is not a replacement for the existing email app – it is something entirely new. You can only access this service via Chrome, iOS and Android apps.
Below are a few features and functions of the new app which could help with your marketing campaign:
- Bundles are present for grouping emails according to strategies. Users can also create their own bundles for ease of reference. The existing bundles or categories include: travel, purchases, finance, social, updates, forums and promos.
- Emails and reminders can be easily created and set with the convenience of being able to quickly interact with the people you do the most, from the bottom of the screen.
- Users can pin emails to the top of their list as a priority, to take action later. These emails will be pinned until action has been taken. This is ideal if your client finds your email of interest, but doesn’t have immediate time to respond.
- Snooze option allows users to delay action on emails and reminders without having to cancel them. These emails can be moved down from the top of your list for a certain period of time.
- Visual previews of the emails in the inbox make for a better digital experience for users. The previews show in what is called a highlight, which features information from the email such as images, information, subject line and pre-header text. This can be used to engage with your audience effectively.
Email marketers must be careful to use mobile friendly design elements to ensure that Inbox mobile app users can easily interact with your content. Make sure you have a Google+ page linked to your account so the app can link your official Google+ profile image with your email. Without linking the page, your email will be displayed with the first letter of your name.
Email marketing solutions offered by WSI OMS
At WSI OMS we understand how important it is for you to launch an effective email marketing campaign as part of your digital marketing strategy. We can piece together quality content and ensure your email campaign is geared towards mobile friendly display as well.
To learn more about our email marketing solutions and how you can use the new Gmail Inbox app to your advantage, contact us at WSI OMS today.
by Francois Muscat | Nov 3, 2014 | Google +, Social Media Marketing
So you have included Google+ in your social media marketing strategy and are now looking to reap the benefits. You are creating compelling content and using all the tools necessary to keep your page fresh and engaging – blog posts, infographics, images and videos – and yet you are still struggling with visibility and limitations. This is where Google+ post ads can be your greatest weapon.
It is important to remember that consumers are bombarded with content on a daily basis and this can lead to a complete content overload, causing them to lose interest and completely disengage. Google+ post ads are a terrific way to boost your content marketing as they give your content massive visibility and help you break down the walls put up by social media channels as well as your existing readers.
What are Google+ post ads?
Google+ post ads basically offer you the opportunity to pay to advertise your content on the website of relevant third parties. These ads do not fall within the Google+ stream, instead they are served through Google Display Network and you can manage them through your AdWords account. There is no limit to what you can add, pictures, hangouts, videos and updates are all popular choices.
Google+ post ads are visible to everyone and what makes them special is that anyone who is logged into Google can comment, share or +1 your post without having to physically go to your Google+ page. Including a link to your website is also a good idea as this will offer the user a seamless transition from ad to site.
How to use Google+ post ads
The actual process of creating a Google+ post ad is easy:
- Create an AdWords Campaign
- Create your Ad group
- Create the Ad
- Save your Ad
In order to ensure maximum shareability and interaction from users, remember to use compelling content, images, videos and clear calls to action.
At WSI OMS, digital marketing for businesses is our passion. When you partner with us, you offer your business access to a dedicated team of experts who are clued up on all aspects of the digital marketing world and will work with you every step of the way to ensure your online footprint remains, current, consistent and truly professional.
For more information on our world class services, contact us today.
by Francois Muscat | Aug 4, 2014 | Google +, Social Media Marketing
There are a variety of platforms you can use for your social media marketing plan. Google+, however, seems harder to get into (when compared to how quickly people start using Facebook and Twitter). If you’re using Google+, there are a few things you can do to make sure you’re using it professionally:
Create a vanity URL
With Facebook, you can create a custom URL (www.facebook.com/yourname) instead of sticking to a long URL filled with characters and numbers. Unfortunately, Google+ doesn’t have this functionality yet. While the very capable folks at Google sort that out, there’s something you can use in the meantime: http://www.gplus.to/. Use this to create a customised Google+ URL and it will redirect to your Google+ page.
Make sure people can find you
Like most social networks, people don’t click around looking for brand pages to like and follow (unless you’re Coca-Cola, Harley Davidson or Apple). Make sure your Google+ profile is easy to find by adding the icon to your website, blog and e-mail newsletter. Make sure this icon is clickable and that it takes you to your company’s Google+ page.
Understand paid ads in Google+
The content you post on Google+ will be seen by your existing followers – but how do you get more people to read it? Google+ Post ads let you pay to promote your Google+ valuable posts to more readers and on relevant third-party websites. You can manage these ads through your Google AdWords account and the good news is that they don’t get displayed in the Google+ feeds but rather on Google’s Display Network.
Need help with your digital marketing strategy? Then contact WSI OMS today.
