by Francois Muscat | Feb 19, 2013 | Google +, Social Media Marketing
This month, NASA will be using social media to share the outer space experience of astronauts with ordinary citizens, PC Mag reported. On February 22 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration will host its first Google+ Hangout.
During the hangout, which will be held from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM, NASA astronauts Kevin Ford and Tom Marshburn as well as Chris Hadfield from the Canadian Space Agency will answer questions.
People have been invited to submit questions prior to the hangout, and the crew members will also be taking real-time questions through social media platforms including Google+, Twitter and Facebook.
NASA has been making an effort to increase its presence and engagement on social media platforms. This Google+ Hangout is sure to drive engagement, following the success of the Curiosity Rover, which drove engagement on Twitter and YouTube.
What can Google+ Hangout do for you?
Google+ Hangout is a great business tool that allows businesses to schedule meetings and collaborate on exciting projects. Using the Google+ hangout platform, you can create meetings with people in your circles, chat via video and also share files and watch YouTube videos together.
Google+ Hangout is also a great learning platform. Many businesses are using the platform for webinars. This is because Google+ Hangout is ideal for small interactive classes. For example, a retail company could use the platform for training sessions across a number of branches when launching new products. In this way, information can be shared with branch managers, who can also pose questions in a group session where everyone can benefit from the feedback.
You can also use Google+ Hangout to engage with your customers. For example, you can host live giveaways using the platform at a fraction of the cost of traditional broadcasting. You can also set up hangouts with groups of clients if you would like to tell them about new offerings.
If you would like to learn more about using social media to grow your online presence, contact WSI today.
by Francois Muscat | Dec 6, 2012 | Social Media Marketing, Google +
Today we have a guest blog from Emily Roberts. Emily is based in the UK and operates within Finance, but is also a tech writer and has written a blog for WSIOMS on Google+ ranking and site promotion – Francois Muscat
Why Google+ ranking is important for your site promotion
In order to get good ranking for your website on search engine result pages, it is important that Google crawls and indexes your website accurately. As Google+ is a part of webmaster Google, which has launched its own social networking site there must me advantages to having your business on Google+.
- Source: Authorship is given to the user for writing content on respective social media sites. A Google profile can be created by the author by adding all the details and a profile picture at the end of the post (Author Bio). Your profile can then be linked to your Google+ account.
- Content the King: If you are writing good content, promote it on Google+ so that other users can see your profile, +1, share and give recommendations. This can also increase your site traffic, which in turn increases the ratings. If your readers like what you write they may add you in their circles.
- Recommendation: If you are recommended, it is because people like and would like to share your content. That will surely help your ranking in search results. When a +1 button is used many times on your site, it increases search results. The latest+1 button from Google is an additional feature. See that the installation is done on your home page and other individual pages, such as on your blog. Google offers the code for various sized buttons.
- Complete profile page: Google prioritises different areas of the user’s profile as it determines the effects of search engine results. See that your profile is at 100% complete.
- Online reviews: Reviews always play a crucial role. Here, the ranking algorithms is important. Encourage clients to rate your business on Google+ or on Google Places if you are registered on Google Places
Google+ thinks about people, the more you use it, the more you are benefitted. Why not get started on Google+?
About the Guest Author:
Emily Roberts is a tech writer from UK. She is into Finance, focusing on ppi claims . Follow her on Twitter @financeport
by Francois Muscat | Nov 12, 2012 | Google +, Social Media Marketing
Despite only being launched last year, as of April this year Google+ boasted over 100 million active users. The social network gives users the ability to share content, stay up to date with industry specific news and also network and interact with users.
Many people were initially sceptical about Google+’s ability to add value as a social network. However, features like Google+ Hangouts, set this network apart from existing platforms.
It is also important to remember that different social networks have different uses. This makes it essential to learn how to use each platform, rather than to try and choose one that will meet all your needs.
Here are some tips you should follow to get the most from your Google+ page.
- Use keywords. Make sure you use keywords on your Google+ about page. This will make your page more likely to come up when users search for a particular phrase.
- Share interesting content. Like with most other social networks, sharing content on Google+ is one of the best ways to increase your followers. However, you need to make sure your content is interesting, so that people want to read it.
- Integrate Google+ with your website. Adding a Google+ widget to your blog makes it easy for people to share content with their Google+ page, giving your content more exposure.
- Tit or tat. Share posts by other people. This will encourage these people to share your content back.
- Engage. You should use Google+ to initiate discussions. Allow people to comment on your posts, and respond to them when they do.
- Hangout. Google+ Hangouts are a great way to hold video conferences with colleagues in different places. However, you can also invite the people in your circles to discussions on Google Hangouts. As long as your discussions are topical and add value, people will continue to engage with you in this way.
Follow these tips, and start using Google+ to share content, stay up to date and network with other users today.
by Francois Muscat | Sep 10, 2012 | Google +, Social Media Marketing
Most people are familiar with Gmail’s chat option by now (and some of you have probably even tried out the video chat feature while scanning your e-mails or chatting on GTalk). Google recently announced that we will soon have an impressive Google+ Hangouts feature in our Gmail inboxes.
Google explains the new feature as follows:
“Unlike the old video chat, which was based on peer-to-peer technology, Hangouts utilize the power of Google’s network to deliver higher reliability and enhanced quality. You’ll be able to chat with all the same people you did before and, in fact, with Hangouts you’ll now be able to reach them not only when they are using Gmail but also if they are on Google+ in the browser or on their Android or iOS devices,” said Google on their blog.
While all Gmail users will benefit from the upgrade, you’ll get even more from the Hangouts experience if you (as well as the person you’re talking to) are on Google+. Besides video chat, you will have mini-user chats where up to 9 users can talk at once and you will also have joint YouTube video watching.
The new features were rolled out on the 30th of July and will be available to all Gmail users within the next few weeks. Check out our Google+ page and we’ll keep you posted about new developments!
by Francois Muscat | Dec 20, 2011 | Google +
While all social media platforms have certain similarities, each one has its own set of benefits and weaknesses. Google+ morphs a lot of the cool features of the various platforms together, but you have to take the time to figure out what works and what doesn’t.
To save you time, here’s a few best practice tips to marketing on Google+:
- Recommend links on your About tab: Don’t leave the About tab on your Google+ Page blank. You’ve got the option to recommend links, so recommend pages on your website that could convert Google+ users into customers. Also recommend your blog, articles and other content on your website.
- Photos are king. On Facebook, people usually upload entire albums that get shared with friends and family. On Google+, however, single photo sharing is huge – a lot of individual pictures get shared between users. This is important to remember because it puts pressure on you to select the visuals that might be appealing to your Circles. Use interesting slides from presentations, charts and pictures of new products – this is much more “sharable” than a large batch of photos that are grouped together. Focus on providing more digestible content in general.
- Promote Google+. A lot of websites now have Facebook and Twitter icons somewhere on their home page to give people quick access to their social media accounts. Add the Google+ icon to your website and link it to your Google+ page – this will also help with your Google+ Direct Connect rankings (link to GooglePlus_Blog3).
- Analyse your traffic. As always, Google takes the guessing out of your digital marketing strategy by giving you analytics that track your traffic and leads. Check out the referral traffic from plus.Google.com on your Google Analytics to see how many users went to visit your website after seeing your Google+ Profile.
Need help with your social media marketing strategy? Contact WSI South Africa.
by Francois Muscat | Dec 15, 2011 | Google +
How do people find information about your business? They either pick up a phonebook, visit your website or they do a quick search for your business on Google. This can be frustrating – especially if there are multiple pages of content about your business and web surfers have to click through page after page to find your home page (or any specific information they’re looking for).
Google is changing the way these algorithms work. If a user types a “+1” in front of your company’s name into Google, your business’ Google+ Page will rank above other URL’s. If you don’t already have a Google+ Page for your business, read my previous post about Google Plus on how to set up a page quickly.
How to install Google+ Direct on your website
Once you’ve got a Google+ Page for your business, go to your page’s “Get Started” section and click on the “connect your website”. Here you will get a small piece of code (much like Google Analytics) that needs to be installed on your website.
Why isn’t it working yet?
Once you’ve installed the code on your website (and basically verified that it’s your website and Google+ Page), you will be eligible to be included in Google Direct Connect. So it’s not an automatic thing that happens once you’ve uploaded the code. Google uses an algorithm to decide which corporate Google+ Pages are included in the new search function. Some things you can do to increase your eligibility:
- Promote your Google+ Page on your blog and website (this is a good idea regardless of whether you want to be part of Google Direct Connect or not – users will recognise the Google+ logo and connect with you, so put up a little logo that links to your Google+ Page).
- Keep updating your Google+ Page. You should also be doing this anyway – your social media accounts will only work well if you actively engage with people, so commit to networking and sharing content on a daily basis.
Need help with your Google+ Page or other social media accounts? Contact WSI for social media marketing in South Africa