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How Brands are Using Google+ By Erica Swallow Tech Journalist & Director of Community, Contently

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About Google+ • Launched to public in September 2011 • Google’s latest foray into social networking • Google Friend Connect, Google Buzz, Orkut • 170 million users • Tech enthusiasts, male students • Largely inactive user base #googleplus | @ericaswallow

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Why Google+ Matters • Largest search engine in the world • Momentum towards social-driven search • Google products continue to merge • Google Places, Google Reader, Google Search • Massive brand page growth • 1,400% increase in users following top 100 brand pages from December 2011 to January 2012 #googleplus | @ericaswallow

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The Downside #googleplus | @ericaswallow

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More Negatives • Administration is difficult • You need a personal account to create a business page • Social dashboards don’t integrate Google+ yet • Apply for HootSuite beta • Google side projects are unreliable • Buzz, Wave, Hotpot #googleplus | @ericaswallow

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The Google+ Profile #googleplus | @ericaswallow

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Create Custom Circles • Based on your email contacts • Circles enable easy grouping and sharing #googleplus | @ericaswallow

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Follow Sparks • Google+’s algorithmic content recommendation system • Based on Google Search, Google+ and +1 button #googleplus | @ericaswallow

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Google+ Business Pages #googleplus | @ericaswallow

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Top Brand Pages on Google+ Source: Simply Measured #googleplus | @ericaswallow

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Top Industries on Google+Source: Simply Measured #googleplus | @ericaswallow

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Engagement RatesSource: Simply Measured #googleplus | @ericaswallow

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Most Engaging ContentSource: Simply Measured #googleplus | @ericaswallow

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1. Target With Circles #googleplus | @ericaswallow

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2. Make a Big Announce #googleplus | @ericaswallow

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3. Host Hangouts • Business meetings, industry chats, meetups, tech support • Hangout with Extras: named hangouts, shared notes and sketchpad, Google docs integration, screensharing • Hangout On Air enables streaming to unlimited users • Records to private video on YouTube #googleplus | @ericaswallow

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Hangouts – Interviews #googleplus | @ericaswallow

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Hangouts – Industry Chat #googleplus | @ericaswallow

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Hangouts – Help Desk #googleplus | @ericaswallow

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Hangout Tips From the Muppets Click here to watch an awesome video. #googleplus | @ericaswallow

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4. Expand Content Distribution • Share photos, articles, videos, and commentary • Segmentation: Customers, VIPs, Team members #googleplus | @ericaswallow

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Photos, Photos, Photos #googleplus | @ericaswallow

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5. Promote a Contest • Cannot run contests on Google+ • But you can link off to the contest #googleplus | @ericaswallow

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Photo + Contest = Not Too Shabby #googleplus | @ericaswallow

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6. Rock Hashtags & Mentions topics, events, random things people, brand pages #googleplus | @ericaswallow

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Hashtags: Conferences #googleplus | @ericaswallow

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Hashtags: Get In On a Meme #googleplus | @ericaswallow

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Hashtags: Promote Hangouts #googleplus | @ericaswallow

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Hashtags: Run a Campaign #googleplus | @ericaswallow

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Mentions: Give Shout Outs #googleplus | @ericaswallow

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Mentions: Cross-promote Pages #googleplus | @ericaswallow

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Other Reasons To Get Started… • Connect with early adopters • Network with journalists and potential clients • Explore #googleplus | @ericaswallow

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Pro Tip #1: Shorten Your URL • Google+ doesn’t support vanity URLs • Use gplus.to to create a short URL for sharing #googleplus | @ericaswallow

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Pro Tip #2: Google+ Ripples #googleplus | @ericaswallow

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Questions?Erica Swallow | @ericaswallow | ericaswallow.com