Businesses are surging to get their Google Plus Page (+Page) set up for their product or service. This recent flood of activity is not a surprise after Google’s release of “Search plus Your World” or Search+, which is the combining of Google’s search engine result page (SERP) and Google+ social media stream. Specifically, the “People and Pages” feature of Search+, “which helps you find people profiles and Google+ pages related to a specific topic or area of interest, and enables you to follow them with just a few clicks. Because behind most every query is a community,” according to Google. As the image above illustrates, the idea that Google is going to feature people and pages even more prominently than even advertisements on SERPs has made businesses more aware of their social media brand.

These businesses trying to figure out how to attract users to their page are also struggling with how to use Google+ altogether, while maintaining activity on Facebook and Twitter as well. It can seem overwhelming to add another social media platform to marketing campaigns. How much effort will it take to succeed with Google+ and bottom line, is it worth it? The answer may be surprising: the cost is probably less than you think, and the return on investment could be valuable. Just like when you started using Facebook and Twitter, there are certain steps you need to take to get your +Page ready to attract customers and get recognized by Google to be featured in the “People and Pages” section.

Understand the tools and features.

The Google+ team is rolling out new features daily. This makes finding the right person or people to manage a +Page intimidating for businesses. Since the release of Google+, we have had our staff dive into the new social media platform to be able to understand how it works today and keep up to date on all the changes that Google releases.

Here is a brief presentation that I put together that walks through some of the current features and functionality that Google+ offers to people and business pages.

Set up your +Page and website properly.

Designers might not like the challenges they face when trying to design an attractive +Page, but there are a few brands that are getting it right. Use high resolution imagery on your +Page and be sure to have a photo gallery set up. Videos in your stream can be invaluable to attracting users to your business page.

The most important step to getting recognized as a business page on Search+ is making sure that you have embedded the +1 social media badges into your website.

From Google’s perspective, it’s easy to start showing up in Search+.

But all SEO and business marketing professionals know that a strategy is key to getting Google to see them as a valuable resource.

Are you having trouble with your +Page? Use the comment box below to ask us questions. We can help!

Third-party credibility: the keystone of any good PR effort. Your potential customers are always more interested to hear what their peers have to say about you than what you have to say about yourself. As an old colleague of mine used to say, every mother is going to call her son handsome, regardless of the facts of the matter. As such, PR departments for years have anchored much of their work around customer testimonials. Written case studies are often the most reliable tool PR people have at their disposal.

AND YET, the written word can still be viewed with a skeptical eye: If it appears in a company’s newsletter, surely the message has been massaged and sanitized! While good PR folks adhere to the strictest of journalistic standards, there is still room for doubt when you see a glowing quote from a customer in writing.

That’s why, about two years ago, I started taking a video camera with me to every customer jobsite I visited. We were already spending the time and resources to travel and interview customers, why wouldn’t we also videotape the interviews and capture jobsite footage at the same time? Since then, every case study we produce for that client has a video element to it, shot in an interview/documentary style, that reinforces the main themes in the written case study and shows without a shadow of a doubt the authenticity of the comments: ultimate third-party credibility.

That just scratches the surface of the possibilities that video provides. With the absolute explosion of social media and advanced Web channels, there is now more opportunity than ever to spread the good word about your company or product. PR departments should act as mobile newsrooms. An HD video camera, a high-res DSLR still camera (or a camera that features BOTH) and a good microphone fit easily into a shoulder-mounted bag. Anything that’s worth capturing in writing is worth capturing on video. The possibilities are endless: Read more »

Many people use the terms “stress” or “overworked” when asked about their job. I’ll admit I’ve been one of those people from time to time. The last few years, though, I’ve tried to make a conscious effort to see the positive in everything at work — from coworker confrontations and generational gap issues to challenging client requests and policy changes. Sometimes these can be scary, and fear typically leads people to tell themselves a story that bad things are about to happen. They immediately assume the worst. My awareness of this thought process has led me to stop telling myself that story, and before assuming the worst, slow down to consider the positives.

Below are a few philosophies I’ve implemented throughout my career to help me stay positive and make my career a better life experience:

1. Work hard when it’s time to work — play hard when it’s time to play. I don’t know where this saying originated, but for me, it was the motto of my college advertising professor. I remember him telling our impressionable freshman class this advice as if it were the single most important thing we would take away. He said it was the philosophy that got him through his many years as an advertising executive, and from that moment on I’ve tried my best to live by it. I’m lucky because at work I not only get to consult and propose marketing solutions to my clients, but I’m privileged to be able to train and mentor others along the way. That balance is very satisfying for me, and that’s the work part. When it’s time to play, I try to go big, typically taking a trip someplace new (far off, when I can) to explore and get away. Hiking and snow skiing are my typical escapes, with the mountains, deserts, and forests as my playgrounds. Extreme sports like bungy jumping, rafting, and mountain biking are always welcome considerations in my travel itineraries. If I can’t go big, I try to find time to hike the elaborate cornfields of Iowa. Okay, that’s not true (mainly because I fear snakes and moving combines), but I do try to find excursions around the region to experience new things.
2. Don’t nibble. Again, I’m not privy to the exact origins of the Nibble Theory, but I know it dates Read more »