Google+ for Business Part 3

Interview with Darren Rowse, Problogger.

Darren and I have been friends for a few years, even though he lives on nearly the exact opposite side of the planet from me. We connect on most every social network that exists, and we cofounded a members.h.i.+p site, Third Tribe Marketing, with Brian Clark (Copyblogger) and Sonia Simone (Remarkable Blogging) in 2010.

I saw the first published photo of his newest son on Google+, and I've subsequently had several conversations with Darren that I never had with him in person, nor on any other social network, including our own private network. Why? Because the platform opened Darren up to being a more rounded individual and not just a professional blogger and digital photographer.

Time Used per Day: 2060 minutes a day Primary Goals of Usage: Engagement with readers, testing ideas, building brand, and driving traffic Number of Original Posts per Day: 34 Number of Shared Posts per Day: 34 Number of Comments per Day: 2030.

Links to My Blog or Projects per Day: 12.

Number of Off-Topic Posts per Day: 34.

Typical Strategy: At this stage I'm experimenting with a variety of types of posts to see what is resonating with readers and to explore what kind of posts work in this new medium. So far I'm trying to mix in a few types of posts each weekday (weekends I tend to go off topic a little more) including the following: * Original long-form content: These posts are either posts from my blog archives from a couple of years back (which I'm refres.h.i.+ng) or they are new posts on things that I'm pondering (which I then often turn into new posts for my blog).

* Questions: Asking questions of followers around the topics that I write about either just to generate some discussion or to help me research posts I'm then going to write about.

* Personal updates: What I'm doing. Photos from my day, family updates, and so on.

* Sharing links: Sharing links to what other people are doing or sharing a link to new posts on my blog. (Although to this point, I'm not sharing links to every new post on my blog-just 1 to 2 per day at a maximum.) Darren, through his sharing of photos of his family and what he's doing, has kept a personal tone with his community, some of who connect with his Problogger site and others who are members of his Digital Photography School. And yet, he's testing different engagement methods, refres.h.i.+ng old content for a new audience (which is brilliant), and meeting his business goals. This embodies the best way to use Google+ for your business: Drive some awareness and engagement with your primary business focus while showing a personal, humanistic side to your experience.

Interview with Jacqueline Carly, Fitness Professional.

Jacqueline Carly is a business partner on a Bossfit.net project, an online fitness and nutrition resource for web entrepreneurs. I think her usage of Google+, starting from the early days, is interesting. For one thing, she shares photos of herself before and after heading to yoga. These weren't especially glamorous photos, mind you, and the "after" photo was also marked by her hair being a bit frazzled and her skin coated in a fine glow of her efforts, but what I got from them (as did several commenters) was motivation to do my own fitness efforts each day, and that's why I thought it would be interesting to see her perspective on a day-in-the-life for using Google+.

Time Used per Day: 3060 minutes (done in small spurts throughout the day) Primary Goals of Usage: Convert to community, learning, build audience, and social interaction Number of Original Posts per Day: 35 Number of Shared Posts per Day: 5+ Number of Comments per Day: Varies. 10+/post Links to My Blog or Projects per Day: 12 Number of Off-Topic Posts per Day: 12 (of my own). Usually the posts I share by other people are the off-topic posts.

Typical Strategy: What's different for me on Google+ is that I purposely started off with no strategy and went with more of a "gut instinct" approach. My thinking was, I can write about health, nutrition, and fitness endlessly on Google+, like I do everywhere else, or I can do something different. So, I decided to start posting pictures of myself practicing what I preach. The pictures range from me not wanting to get out of bed in the morning, to being all sweaty after a yoga cla.s.s, to pure silliness. What I've found is that people respond to them. Because I'm (visually) sharing my life, they can relate, they see that I walk the walk, they get inspired and I'm not being preachy by telling anyone what they should or shouldn't be doing. This has led to inquiries for my services and increased viewers.h.i.+p on my show.

Notes: Up until Google+ came out, Twitter was where I spent most of my time. I'm on Facebook as well, but the platform never fully resonated with me, and so I mostly use it to keep in touch with family and friends. What I loved about Google+ right away was that there is so much room to play. I can write more than 140 characters; I can see actual posts and pictures without having to click a link; I can decide whom I want to share my posts with; and because people have the ability to add me to their circles, I am "meeting" tons of new people.

By showing her daily practice, Jacqueline reinforces her commitment to health and yoga. By using photos instead of tweets and blog posts, Jacqueline adds a personal connection element that gives her community a face to the actions, so to speak. This is something you could do for your business, even if you're a desk jockey. Showing your mug every day hard at work, especially if you can find a way to make it fun and varied, can give a connective benefit.

Some Partially Fict.i.tious Day-in-the-Life-of Suggestions.

I came up with some ideas for how other businesses and professionals can use Google+ for business by creating sample day-in-the-life-of experiences for different business professionals. I then went back and asked representatives from these industries what I got right, and what they'd do differently. This section includes what we came up with for you.

These started as fictionalized day-in-the-life-of bits, and then I found a real person, so the use of "I" is to make it easier to personalize. I don't personally represent all these professions.

The Author.

Time Used per Day: 1 hour (broken into two 30-minute blocks).

Primary Goals of Usage: Research ideas, connect with readers Number of Original Posts per Day: 23.

Number of Shared Posts per Day: 45.

Number of Comments per Day: 1020 (a lot of back and forth with readers) Links to My Blog or Projects per Day: 0 (I don't blog.).

Number of Off-Topic Posts per Day: 12 (As an author, everything can be on topic.).

Typical Strategy: I want to connect with my readers and let them feel like they're on the "inside" of my projects. This builds up antic.i.p.ation, plus drums up sharing activities to potentially grow the initial purchase of the book. I also show Amazon and other online book preorder links.

Special Uses: I use Google+ for a lot of research. (And yes, sometimes "research" is a bit sketchy and far-fetched.) Notes: Writing can be lonely. I admit to using Google+ as a water cooler from time to time, a place to get ideas and thoughts from outside sources, and to just feel "seen" during the loneliness of writing.

Takeaway: The more you can build excitement around your project and make people feel like it's theirs as well, the better your interactions.

The Real Estate Agent.

Time Used per Day: 2 hours..

Primary Goals of Usage: Post community news, share listings, and share photos Number of Original Posts per Day: 57.

Number of Shared Posts per Day: 812 (I share a lot of community news.).

Number of Comments per Day: 30+. Connecting is a huge part of selling homes and commercial property, so I'm on here constantly, meeting people who identify themselves as being from (or coming to) my area, and talking with those in the community.

Links to My Blog or Projects per Day: 35. I admit I use this heavily to promote my listings.

Number of Off-Topic Posts per Day: 23 (It's important to show my humanity.).

Typical Strategy: I want to be the connector in my community. For people to feel that, I stay on top of the local news, however big and small, and I share what's valuable.

Special Uses: By curating so much, I get a lot more value than creating my own posts. But because people feel like they "know" me by what I share, they comment a lot on my original posts, too.

Notes: I'm seeing a lot of value in Google+ as a real estate professional. I've created lots of video walkthroughs, and I've even hosted local Hangouts that I use as digital "meet and greets."

Takeaway: Being there between sales is the key to real estate professionals' use of social networks. By giving past customers, current prospects, and potential future customers some interesting "connective tissue" in between transactions, there are many opportunities for connections and referrals, which are two of the four best parts of social networks and social media.

The Reporter.

Time Used per Day: 23 hours (Some days, I'm glued to Google+ and Twitter.).

Primary Goals of Usage: Source gathering, story building, and commenting Number of Original Posts per Day: 13 Number of Shared Posts per Day: 1215 (I share a lot!).

Number of Comments per Day: 1015. Connecting in the comments matters.

Links to My Blog or Projects per Day: 12. I point people to my news articles and my video posts.

Number of Off-Topic Posts per Day: 0 (Is that bad?) Typical Strategy: Be the source of news, or at least one of them. Show my human side, which is important, too.

Special Uses: Video Hangouts with prospective story sources. Team video Hangouts with my crew. I also use Huddle on my Android phone.

Notes: What matters most is to gather up elements for a story, so I do that a lot here. I find that having more sources helps, so I've circled people into categories such as Tech News and Boston, and Best Of (for my top-shelf commentators).

Takeaways: If I were a reporter using this service, I'd throw in a bit of off-topic conversation. Even a nightly newscast has the lighter news or the silly anecdote. I think some reporters and news professionals fear that adding their own voice to their stream impacts their sense of impartiality. Society has grown up. We know our reporters aren't robots. We know they have personalities. It's okay to share that on Google+.

The Sales Executive.

Time Used per Day: 1 hour Primary Goals of Usage: Networking and prospecting Number of Original Posts per Day: 13 Number of Shared Posts per Day: 710 Number of Comments per Day: 50+. Comments are where I spend most of my time. I might not always make new stuff show up, but I search out great profiles and comment on them all the time.

Links to My Blog or Projects per Day: 0. I don't blog. But sometimes I link to things I'm selling or to people who need help. I'm a connector.

Number of Off-Topic Posts per Day: Everything I do is off topic. Or maybe it's more that what I post I consider an important topic. I connect with people.

Typical Strategy: Build relations.h.i.+ps and keep them warm. Comment, comment, connect, comment, and connect....

Special Uses: I don't like Hangouts, but my sales team uses Huddle a lot. I stay active in the comments section, making sure that people know I find them interesting and making sure they connect to people who can help them. I'm at the elbow of every deal I can find on Google+, and as a longer-term effort, I think this pays off. The phone's suddenly ringing more often.

Notes: Not everyone has time to waste online all day. I'm never at my desk. But I do find myself sitting in waiting rooms while on sales calls ALL THE TIME, so when I'm there, I log into Google+ from my iPhone, and I post updates, and I live in the comments section. Sometimes, I share my location data, and other times, there's no way I want someone knowing I'm at their compet.i.tor's office. You must be smart about that.

Takeaway: That the sales professional doesn't like Hangouts makes sense. She has too much to do as it is, and sitting around on live video chats seems wasteful. The Huddle feature enables fast messaging back and forth, and that feels more reasonable for her time management. Remember, just because there are all kinds of features built into Google+, you don't need to use them.

The Educator.

Time Used per Day: 3 hours (or more!) Primary Goals of Usage: I'm running three courses online using Google+ as my collaboration platform.

Number of Original Posts per Day: 57 Number of Shared Posts per Day: 13 (if they relate to the courses) Number of Comments per Day: 30+ (I answer a lot of questions.) Links to My Blog or Projects per Day: 1012 links to other sites and reference materials Number of Off-Topic Posts per Day: 0, but only because I don't want to distract my students.

Typical Strategy: I use Google+ as a kind of digital cla.s.sroom in between my in-person sessions. I use it to post links to homework a.s.signments (everyone has a blog of some kind to post their longer a.s.signments) and use it for the Hangout feature quite a lot. There are more than 10 students in my cla.s.s, though, so that sometimes feels a bit exclusionary by nature. Recently, I decided to do it in s.h.i.+fts to alleviate that problem.

Special Uses: Lots of my students use Google+ to connect with current online leaders in the s.p.a.ces we talk about. When we recently wanted to talk about green automobiles, we found representatives from Nissan, Toyota, and Tesla Motors to talk to us.

Notes: Before this, we used an expensive and frustrating piece of collaboration software. I'm not sure how that industry hopes to compete with FREE, now that Google+ solves a lot of issues for me.

Takeaway: The potential for Google+ is huge for educators. It's not built as specifically as some education software, but what the platform lacks in specific-for-educator tools, it makes up for by creating fast and simple connections between people with no-cost and browser-based tools.

The Photographer.

Time Used per Day: 1 hour (sometimes more when I'm not as busy) Primary Goals of Usage: Share photos, attend photography Hangouts, and meet and talk business bits with others Number of Original Posts per Day: 20+ (if you count photo sharing) Number of Shared Posts per Day: 1015 (I share other great photos that I find.) Number of Comments per Day: 510 (For whatever reason, I don't comment as much as I should, but I press the +1 often.) Links to My Blog or Projects per Day: 35 (I share links to my main site with every grouping of photos I post.) Number of Off-Topic Posts per Day: 35 (That's the nature of the business. We talk about whatever interests us.) Typical Strategy: Nothing major. I just like sharing my best work. The critiques I get back often help me grow or inspire me to try something different. It's changing how I see my craft.

Special Uses: Naturally, I use the photo-sharing feature the most, but friends have shown me ways to make slideshows with music and upload them to YouTube, so I've started doing that, too.

Notes: I could probably get more out of Google+ than what I'm getting, but I think that the more I share, the more it's improving my work, so I'm not going to knock it. I like it more than Twitter and Facebook because I can see something immediately versus clicking a link on Twitter, and because it's a bit more open than Facebook. I don't use Flickr as much any more, except to post my photos. (Meaning, I don't comment as much there.) I feel like photographers are coming over to Google+ for more sharing and presentation.

Takeaway: Photographers are already using the site en ma.s.se. The sharing capabilities are giving people a nice way to present their work. I think where it will pick up is when photographers can set up business pages and invite people to engage and book new business.

The Business Executive.

Time Used per Day: 30 minutes Primary Goals of Usage: Reading, keeping up Number of Original Posts per Day: 1 (if that) Number of Shared Posts per Day: 710 Number of Comments per Day: 12 (I don't comment much.) Links to My Blog or Projects per Day: 0 (I don't blog.) Number of Off-Topic Posts per Day: 0 Typical Strategy: I use Google+ to keep up on interesting news and interesting people. I still use Twitter for this as well, and Google Reader, but I like the interface on Google+, and I'm getting a lot from my half hour of reading various links. I never EVER read the main stream or Incoming. It's too unfiltered. I have a few trusted sources that don't share animated gifs and cat photos, and I prefer their posts.

Special Uses: I'm using Google+ as an information hub and it's suiting my needs quite fine. It hasn't replaced anything (maybe someday, I'll stop using Facebook), but it gives me a different view than what Twitter alone gives me.

Notes: One of my social media managers complained that I don't post original content and that I'm not "joining the conversation." I don't want to join the conversation. I'm using it like a news reader. There is nothing wrong with this usage.