The Top 10 Google+ Social Selling Tips for 2015!!

With nearly 200 million active users online and around 50% logging in to Google+ on a daily basis, Google+ is rapidly becoming a huge social network that you simply won’t be able to ignore. 

It may not be as popularas Facebook just yet or as powerful as Twitter for driving huge volumes of real time targeted blog traffic, but it can substantially impact your SEO rankings positively.

The simplest things you can leverage from this social network is Relationship Marketing and huge targeted business blog or website traffic. 

Relationship Marketing can be done through Google Hangouts where you can connect with your audiences, and Driving Traffic becomes much easier with Google+ by simply building your profile and sharing news and content regarding your business.

While these terms define all the benefits in much broader terms, they are merely the basics. 

You can expand the idea a great deal since the social network has quite a lot to offer, and the versatile options can really compensate for any business’s marketing needs.

Using Google+ For Effective Digital Marketing

Google+ has more than 2.2 billion user profiles all over the world, out of these, nearly 200 million are active. 

Almost 50% of all Google+ users sign in on a daily basis, and the network has a growth rate of over 33% each year. 

You can see why the network is deemed best for driving traffic; all Gmail users have a Google+ account, and there is certainly no dearth of people using Gmail as their primary email. 

Such statistics only reiterate the fact that Google+ can effectively be the best thing that has happened to your business growth in a very long time.

Branding your business on Google+ allows customers from all over the world to find you on any and all Google platforms. 

Your business becomes accessible for clients through simple searches since the Google network is pretty much everywhere. 

There are numerous ways of sharing content; you can post to your own Google+ profile, you can post to the Google communities and you can send emails to your circles. 

But this doesn't mean a giant revenue boost just yet; the key to making your business work for customers online is utilizing all the apps this extensive social network has to offer in the most productive way.

Utilizing the Google+ Apps:

You can turn your posts into a WEB BANNER AD to make them interactive.

1. This results in up to 50% higher engagement than your normal ads.

2. The ads on Google make up for 64.6% of all clicks.




You can post your content to Google+ Circles to increase traffic.

1.  This will help you drive traffic towards your posts to increase engagement even further.

  The +1 Content

1. The +1 button on Google+ that you come across on many websites receives almost 5 billion hits every day!

2. This allows people from your audience to recommend your posts or site.

3. It increases the Click-Through Rate.

4. The topmost Google results get 36.4% of all these clicks.

5. This function also allows sharing and commenting from networks outside Google, like Pinterest.

 Google Hangouts

1. The Google Hangouts are an essential tool; this service allows group video conferencing and chats of up to ten people in total.

2.You can very easily host webinars through Google Hangouts to generate excitement among your audiences and getting back good leads.

 YouTube Integration

1. YouTube has successfully become the second largest search engine.

2. The network experiences almost 6 billion hours of videos watched on a monthly basis.

   This is why YouTube MUST be Your Core Content Marketing Strategy in 2015!!

    Google Drive  

1. This tool lets you share your information with your entire Google+ audience.

2. There are over 120 million users on Google Drive currently that are a valuable resource for business networks to target.

 Google+ Embedded Posts

1. These embedded posts let you share your content posted on Google on your blogs.

2. It helps in substantially extending the life of your content.

  Powerful SEO Benefits

1. Google owns about 65-75 of the entire search engine market shares and serves more than 25% of all the internet traffic in North America.

2. 18% of all the organic clicks go to the first result that appears, 10% goes to the second and 7% goes to the third.

3. 75% of all users never scroll past the first page, which means the best thing for your business is to be at the first page.

4 Tips to Visitor Interaction on Google+

When you look at a substantial amount of data from over 800,000 posts on Google+, you can find some great tidbits for strategizing your content for this network and increase engagement and interaction.

· Photos lead on comments, re-shares, +1s, and they account for 57% of all the posts on Google+

· The second most common type; Links are the LEAST engaging option for a post and are considered a pitfall.



Text-Only posts work very poorly for re-shares, but they do quite well with comments and +1s.

Posts that are more than a 100 characters long do better than shorter ones on all metrics. 

Think of your self as a blog co-owner when you leaving a comment on someone else's post. Add value to someone's post and they are very likely to add value to your post. 

Posts that are accompanied with photos and over a hundred characters do better than others on the extensive network of Google+.

What are the Best Practices when Using Google+?

Here are some basic benefits of applying the BEST PRACTICES that follow to get you started:

· It can help you improve the visibility of your business in the Google Search results.

· It is the second largest social media platform and has millions of monthly active users, which means it can help you gain a substantial amount of exposure.

· It helps in increasing and enhancing the social signals for your brand, as well as the networking.
· It can be used as a very effective micro-blogging platform.

Google+ BEST PRACTICES

· Always make sure that your profile is optimized; add an appropriate description, a branded profile image, and the URL to your website.

· Always allow the 1+ button on your website so that users can recommend your content.

· Verify Your Business.

· Always keep at regularly posting quality content; the more shareable and relevant your content is, the more Google+ will positively regard your online presence by boosting your Author Rank.

· Always try to use keyword rich title tags, treating all your posts like mini-blogs.

· Using the “rel=publisher” code, link your business page to your website so that Google may include your business in the authorship information in search results.

· Always keep adding connections to make your social circles larger and more versatile in terms of audience.

· Keep your posts visual to drive a higher amount of user engagement.



Applying and incorporating these practices in your social media strategy can help you gain a substantial amount of audience, increases user engagement, enhance the visitor flow and drive a good amount of social referral traffic towards your website.

Tips for Increasing Engagement on Google+

· Perfecting Your Profile: Your hover card and profile is the first impression, make sure every element of it reflects the personality of your brand to your audience.

· Manage and Create Circles: Grow your audiences by creating circles and managing them actively, to create a clear brand image in the minds of your prospects.

· Join Communities: Be an active part of a number of communities and try to play a positive role. Keep your prospects enticed with your brand and form a trusting social relationship by contributing actively.

· Share Vigorously: The more content you share on your Google+ page, the more recognized your brand can potentially become, since Google is the largest platform and can easily make or break a brand’s presence.

Become Part of The Google+ Ecosystem

So what we are really looking at here is an entire eco-system, named “Google”. 

A large portion of our online activities and interactions are conducted through this search engine giant, and the brand name has become more of a term. 

People nowadays look to Google for an answer to all their web related questions. 

If your business has any amount of influence and impact, it's compulsory for it to be related to the network in some way.

It is expected that the social media fabric will be even more intricate and complex in the coming years. What brands desperately need to look for at these times is their best platform. 

Although other social media networks have a substantial amount of impact, it is really the Google effect that can truly get your business established.



The Google+ social network has a much wider and more varying outreach than any other network today, and businesses can take a lot of advantage of this fact. 

The benefits that your brand can enjoy from the added exposure and outreach are boundless and the value of your brand can become recognized globally with much effort.

The Benefits of Using Google+

There are many advantages that your business enjoys by choosing this social media network. 

Since the statistics clearly state how much more outreach and exposure the entire Google platform has, the network is highly beneficial in terms of engagement, interaction, leads, gaining prospects and building and establishing your brand.

Must See G+ Infographic: Google+ vs Facebook and Twitter in 2015?

While other networks carry some competitive features, none can quite level up to the number of users that Google+ has gained over time. 

It has become a booming entrepreneurial and corporate environment where brands can flourish and truly experience success. 

Facebook, Twitter and other social platforms simply do not offer the same amount of consistency and growth that the entire fabric of the Google Ecosystem can propose.  

Some common benefits your business or brand will experience are listed below:

· Visibility: Your overall SERP rank increases substantially and by having your business website linked to your Google Plus account.

· Engagement: The communities and circles you join allow you post to a very large targeted audience that will be more likely to engage with your material.

·  Analytics: You get accurate and up-to-date information and data by linking your Google+ account up with insights.

· Informative: You can use Google+ to display your current client information, which can help in exhibiting this information via Google to raise your chances of interaction with client.

Conclusively, Google+ is a huge platform that features a large number of opportunities for businesses to grow and develop, and gain a good amount of audience. 

If you are looking to succeed in your business’ssocial strategy and have been wondering what you've been doing wrong, now you know. 

Switch to Google+ to enhance the performance of all your social media pages and sites and drive prospects towards your business. 

Your ideal customers: the people looking for your products or services right now, but who can't find you yet on social media - they're waiting for you right now on G+! 

Don't have time to be constantly creating fresh engaging content for your blog or website? Check out our 5 star content marketing service!

 Top image courtesy of:  YuKop

Middle image courtesy of: www.exacttarget.com

Top 10 Linkedin Social Selling Tips for 2015! #infographic

The verdict on social selling through Linkedin can be summarized in 4 words – It Works and it's powerful! 

Now that you have the single most critical digital marketing factor working for you it's time for your join the growing Linkedin digital marketing boom! 


If you haven’t joined the 300 million plus people who are on Linkedin just yet, then you need to connect your business to LinkedIn ASAP.

Start by familiarizing yourself with what other smart entrepreneurs have known for a couple of years now: 

It’s no secret that huge numbers of the hottest B2B social selling connections are happening right now on Linkedin as you read this! 


Savvy social salespeople and digital marketers are increasingly using LinkedIn as a major source of new leads and tangible revenue, - and so should you! 

So, how can you use this social media platform to your business’ advantage? How do you actually generate leads and make sales like the digital marketing pros? 


Well, the following are the top 10 tested and proven strategies for social selling through LinkedIn: -




1. Identify your Target Prospects


The first step in any effective digital marketing campaign is to:  identify your target market or your ideal customers. 


It's a waist of time to embark on a social selling campaign without having a clear grasp of who your target audience is. 

Mapping your target prospects will involve determining the common professional titles and keywords that your ideal customers are use to best describe themselves. 

Once you identify these titles and keywords, you can use two separate methods to find them, i.e. through the LinkedIn Advanced Search and LinkedIn Groups.




2. Send a Connection Request


Once you identify your target prospects, you can proceed and make first contact by sending connection requests. 

When sending connection requests, be sure to send a personalized message explaining two things: One, how you know or heard about them and two, why they should connect with you.





3. Always Send a Thank You Message


There are's a powerful pairs of words that when used usually indicate that a person is highly courteous and approachable “Thank You”. These words shouldn't be used sparingly, especially if one expects to get new prospects, as well as maintain existing customers. 

Once a targeted prospect accepts your connection request, sending a “Thank You” message will certainly add some weight on your side of the courtesy scale.



Make sure to describe the top 1-3 reasons that your thankful for the connection. For example, describe what you love most about your new connection's value proposition. Let them know what you've learned or gained from the content they've shared. 




4.Send Relationship Building Messages


If you thought that it all ends at the point you send a “Thank You” message, then there's still lots to learn about social selling on Linkedin. 

You'll also need to reach out to your new connections even if you aren't sure they'll be of any value to your business. 

There is something known as a “Relationship Building” message, which starts with you providing something of value to your connections without any ulterior motives. 

This could sharing an insight that solves a real business problem or pain point. It could also be a tip or strategy that is likely to translate into direct benefit for your new contact.  




5. Engage with On-Shared Linkedin Groups


 If you haven’t had the privilege of being a part of any LinkedIn groups, it would be wise to find out which groups your prospects are connected in and join them there.

Not every prospect will be active on Linkedin groups but once you find those who are, don’t hesitate to become part of their groups as an active value-adding contributor.


And quality over quantity is the rule here, both in terms of the number of groups you join and the kinds of contributions you make. 

For example, never billboard your preexisting content cut and paste style. Engage in real time. Solve real problems, answer real questions. Treat your linkedin group members as your best paying customers or clients and what's they'll be more likely to become! 





6. Connect and Engage on Your Other Social Media Platforms


Social selling stretches far beyond LinkedIn. The more you expand your fan base, the higher your chances of gaining more customers. Social platforms such as Twitter and GooglePlus should be your “stepping stones” to accomplishing serious digital network growth and brand reach. 

Be sure to add your Linkedin prospects to your other social media sites if they are already using those platforms. If not invite them to join. 

Also, build on and strengthen existing connection and engagement levels by sharing your LinkedIn connections' content and by having real time solution for business-focused conversations that others will see and want to become part of. 




7. Move Your Strongest Relationships Offline


There will come a time when you will need to make the transition from online to offline interaction. That's where the real business connections materialize. 

Before a transaction takes place, your relationship with the customer may have to go beyond online chatting, engaging, friend-requesting and following. 

Your prospects should be open to the idea of interacting with you offline after you demonstrate a high level of expertise and credibility. It may be time to make a sale!




8. Concentrate more on Building Relationships Instead of Adding Connections


LinkedIn is not like Twitter and Facebook. As much as having an inflated number of prospects sounds good, it won’t be profitable for your business if those prospects don’t add any real value to it. 

The basis of a strong relationship ROI is to create a long-term bond between your business and  your prospective new customers. The stronger, more authentic and value-based your relationship with your customers, the more value they will add to your business in return.




9. Tag Your Connections in Posts

It’s highly advisable for you to update your customers about the current trends in your profession or industry. You can do this by writing fresh engaging blog posts from time to time, and then tagging them on LinkedIn. 

This will ensure that your prospects will see your latest posts even if they haven't logged in to LinkedIn for a while. The result? They'll get short emails indicating they've been tagged.



10. Add Rich Visual Content to Your Linkedin Profile

Too much text and no infographics or videos can make your profile disengaging.  Make us of the Professional Portfolio feature to add deep-engagement infographics, videos, photos, screenshots and SlideShare presentations to your profile.

You can use Linkedin as your secret weapon against your competition. This social selling tool has been proven to be highly efficient in turning businesses into a pacesetters in their specific niches. 

What are you waiting for? Get yourself linked-in and have the last word in the title “social selling tycoon wannabe” dropped off for good!


Check out the incredible infographic that inspired this blog post. It's from arguably the world's leading LinkedIn social selling experts at TopDogSocialMedia.com:



                                                                                                                                                                  
Top image courtesy of: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LinkedIn_logo_initials.pn