Taking your Google Plus Page to Critical Mass
For those unfamiliar with critical mass, it is a term commonly referred to when talking about social media networks, although it can be applied to other networks. When a network is said to hit critical mass, it means it has hit the minimum number of users required for it to undergo significant user growth. For a simple example, think of the first telephone. The very first telephone had zero value to anyone because there was no one else to connect to. However, once more and more people installed phones, the value of the telephone increased to non-users. Critical mass is the breaking point in this progression where the amount of inbound users increases exponentially because enough people are using the phone network to make it incredibly valuable.
How can you apply this success to your Google Plus Business Page? Here are some tips on helping achieve that minimum threshold to critical mass.
Double Check your Profile is Complete
Nothing looks worse than a lazily completed profile with missing information. Ensure that your brand page has all the required fields completed to project a clean, professional image.
Upload Professional Images for your Cover and Profile Photos
With the new Google Plus Cover Photo dimensions, your company has no excuse not to properly use this to your advantage by choosing a powerful image that makes an impression. The profile photo is similarly important, as others can see this when you +1 content or comment on posts, so make sure to choose your best photo.
Take Advantage of Google Plus Circles
Google Plus Circles allows you to isolate and segment the people you follow on Google Plus. The big thing is that your followers have no idea which Google Plus Circles you’ve added them to. In a way, it is just your own personal (or corporate) way of arranging your followers into clean-cut categories. Google Plus Members can also choose to post to specific circles, which allows for target market segmentation for businesses.
Keep a Regular Posting Schedule
Keep your page fresh by continuously adding new content for your followers. Blog posts that to your brand, as well as other interesting articles will continue to increase your company’s SEO ranking, as well as bring new followers to your site. It is a good idea to use Google Plus Analytics to gauge the effectiveness of all your posts and determine which topics are big hitters among your followers.
Keep on Top of Content with more Managers
Having multiple managers is an excellent way to keep on top of content (see above), especially if there are many different followers and communities to keep track of. Learn more about adding multiple managers.
Find Creative Ways to use Google Plus Hangouts
Google Plus Hangouts are a video conferencing tool that your business can use to communicate with followers, employees, or customers. Learn more about the practical business applications of Google Plus Hangouts.
#Hashtag your #Topics to Remain Relevant
Like many other social media networks like Tumblr, Instagram, and Twitter, hashtagging (that is, adding a # before keywords) is a great way to attract users who are searching for a particular topic.
Get your Google Plus Business Page Verified!
Getting your page verified can be a huge boon for your Google Plus Business Page, as it gives your brand more authority and credibility. Once a certain number of criteria have been met (such as a minimum number of followers and authorization from your organization’s website), your page can become formally verified.
Apply for a Vanity URL for your Google Plus Business Page
Once your Google Plus Business Page has been verified, it becomes eligible to receive a Vanity URL. These are chosen by Google and there is no way to apply for one as of yet. This underscores the importance of quickly getting your Google Plus Business Page verified to ensure that one day you can receive your own Vanity URL.
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Sources – http://www.business2community.com/google-plus/best-practices-for-achieving-critical-mass-on-your-google-brand-page-0283000