Google Plus - Social Media That Makes Sense

If you haven't heard about Google's new social media system, Google Plus, then you can expect that your email inbox will fill up with offers on how you can make the most of your Google Plus account over the next few months. 

Google Plus is going to be big - very big.

Will Google Plus Beat Facebook

Perhaps not Facebook enormous because Facebook is so well entrenched with a generation but to me, Google Plus makes a lot more sense.

I tried with Facebook but I never really got it and with hindsight, I think I was badly advised. Twitter is fun and LinkedIn is very useful for maintaining professional relationships and joining in discussions in business communities.

Google Plus offers a bit of everything.

That's the big attraction because, just like the others you friend or follow people and they may reciprocate, just as other people seek you out to follow because they see you as an expert or thought leader.

What Makes Google Plus Different?

What makes Google Plus different is the idea of circles - customisable circles at that.

Google Plus gives you a few categories - family, friends, aquaintances and you can add on extra categories as you want.

So you can keep your family totally seperate from your work colleagues. Your clients seperate from the people you admire.

I think it's a great idea although I did find a few people to follow, allocated them to categories and then found myself reallocating them because of the different relationships. It's well worth taking a few minutes to think about the different circles you have relationships with and how much they have in common with you do too much.

Grab Your Google Plus Nickname

You should grab yourself your nickname quickly.

You may have had it happen with Facebook and Twitter where others had your name and you had to be ChrisJones7. My advice is to get in early.

You need a gmail account to set up Google Plus but it only takes moments to create and when you have your Gmail account, Google Plus is a doddle.

Then go to http://gplus.to/

and get your nickname  - no surprise because mine is http://gplus.to/PaulSimister which will upset the other Paul Simister's again.

It's a bit confusing what you need to type in - it's just the unique number which is in your Google Plus url - it's about 24 characters long so it's best to copy and paste.

Then start finding your friends and do please add me - I'd like to think I'm thought leader on how to differentiate a business. At least I am in my little world.

Shama's Guide To Google Plus

For more formal guidance on Google Plus, I can recommend the short guide from Shama Kabani, one of the social media experts I pay most attention to at

http://bit.ly/qFaSp3

It doesn't take long to read and it gives you an explanation of Google Plus and how you should set up your profile. I know I need to get myself a better photo loaded. I'm all in favour of soft focus but not so keen on blurred.

Google Plus & The Impact On Search Results

As well as another way to build relationships, you can expect Google Plus to have an impact on the Google search results. Matt Cutts has admitted that they want to include social media and inevitably Google Plus will be their most trusted source.

On my Differentiate Your Business blog, which runs on Wordpress, I've added two plugins.

Google-plus-1-google1 which helps readers to promote your blog article on Google Plus.

Googlecards which encourages you to follow me on Google Plus - something you should do because my 11 people looks a feeble, although i only started to play with Google Plus last Friday.

What Do You Think Of Google Plus?

These are very early days in the life of Google Plus but if you've had a little play, I'd love to know what you think?

Or are you sceptical and with facebook, twitter, linkedin and all the others, you can't see  any need for another social media platform?

Comments

[kyinwan]

I've been using it for a few days and it seems pretty good overall. Mind you it still has a long way to go. Basically it has a very similar feel to Facebook.

[Mildred]

Another interesting feature inside of Google Plus is Sparks. This basically allows you to receive information related to your personal interests.

[Topher]

I've been hesitant to join because I already enjoy my Facebook and Twitter accounts, as well as LinkedIn, and I feel that if I join Google Plus I'll either have stretched myself too far or I'll have to drop one. I think I'll let a few more of my friends get on first before I join, just something else to distract me from my work . . .