Publishing Insiders Wrap-Up: Special Guest Chris Brogan on Google+

by Penny | Dec 7, 2011 | Book Marketing Basics, Social Media for Authors

Reading Time: ( Word Count: )

We had an informative show with social media expert Chris Brogan, who discussed Google+ and why it matters.

About our guest: Chris Brogan is an author, journalist, marketing consultant, and frequent speaker about social media marketing. He is president of Human Business Works, an online education and community company for small businesses and solo entrepreneurs. His first project there, 501 Mission Place, helps nonprofits and charities learn how to grow their capabilities. Chris is also Entrepreneur in Residence at CrossTech Ventures, where he’s working to develop New Marketing Labs and The Pulse Network, among other projects.

Chris is also the cofounder of the PodCamp new media conference series, exploring the use of new media community tools to extend and build value. Find Chris in Google+ at https://plus.google.com/u/0/118320665823821681206.

Do we need another social network?

While Chris points out we never need anything – like the new iPhone – people buy it.

Although there is pushback on Google+ it’s important to note that Google is the number one search engine in the world and the company has a huge investment in how people use the web.

Chris doesn’t believe Google+ is a replacement for Facebook or Twitter. It’s separate, here to stay, and it’s a matter of getting ahead of the game by joining now or waiting until later.

What’s the difference between Facebook and Google+?

Social media expert Guy Kawasaki says people go to Facebook to connect with friends and family and people they already know. Google+ is where they go to connect with like-minded people.

Chris looks at Google+ as a way to do something more impactful for his business.

Your profile matters

Most people aren’t filling out their profiles, and that’s the most obvious step, Chris says.

People don’t want to connect with you if they don’t know who you are. Build up your profile and figure out what is interesting to people.

Search on Google+ for people who share like interests… such as authors, writers and publishers.

Content is king

Content matters, too. You have to be interesting. Good content is usually something that helps answer a question, Chris says.

He says he just read that on Facebook people are sharing more information but interacting less. They are trying to provide useful information, but they are not talking about it.

It’s really important to not devalue what is good content. There is a wealth of opportunity to build and find content that’s useful.

Google+ strategy

Google+ will be more strategic than Facebook, says Chris. Google has so many applications that it’s built and that it will thread into Google+.

Chris believes Google has made a huge investment in Google+. When you post to your Google+ wall that content gets indexed by Google right away which is a big thing to look at for businesses.

Every author should think of himself/herself as a business, he adds.

Simple ways to get started on Google+ and share content

Once your profile is in place and you want to build relationships, you want people to circle you – the way to get that is to comment intelligently on other people’s posts. Circle them first and join the conversation.

If you hover over your username, what you see in that little bar next to your picture is what people see about you. To add more information, go to the occupation section under your profile and fill that out. Providing more detail makes you more interesting.

Follow brand pages you like and see who is in their circles for you to follow.

Content with pictures get commented on more than just text.

Share information that is useful to other people.

Video is also very important on Google+.

Create conversations, join in conversations and keep it authentic.

How much time should you spend on Google+? Chris thinks an hour a day total allows you to take advantage of Google+. People waste a lot of time on social networks, retweeting or responding to funny things. Instead, spend time prospecting and serving potential customers.

A final word on Google+ circles

Google+ does this so much better than Facebook, Chris says.

The coolest thing is that circles allow you to choose with whom to share information – the public, a subset, or extended circles (friends of your circles).