How to Effectively Use Google Plus

First, I want to say CONGRATS to Meghan M. for entering and winning the drawing on my Instagram post last week – and for your helpful tips!

Second, I want to say thanks for all the great input on what I can/should do to improve my Instagram engagement. It was very helpful and I am implementing some of the great tips. I will definitely write a follow up post in a few weeks to let you know how my Instagram engagement has improved – or not.

I’m hoping it’s improved.

So today I thought I would talk about another one of my social media platforms that is a bit of a struggle for me.

Google +

I’ve been using Google + for a couple years but didn’t seriously try and figure it out until this past fall. In looking at my Google analytics I could see I was getting decent traffic from Google + even though I wasn’t really working it. So I realized it was something I needed to do more with.

Just what?

I read something somewhere at some point (I know, I wish I remembered where too) that Google + was a cross between Facebook’s frivolity and Linked In’s professionalism. That was very helpful for me to figure out the tone to take on this platform.

I also knew that Google+ was important because it’s tied to Google and Google’s search engines and that the more your posts on Google + gets Likes and shares the higher up your content will rank. 

But how to get more juice for your site besides the plain ole posting your blog daily?

Make sure your post titles are catchy (which you should be doing on your site anyway) but maybe even change it up a little for Google +.
Join communities that reflect your interests and niche. Just like any other social media platform it’s not a one way street. You want to interact with people and get them to interact with you. Not just jam your posts down their throat.
Use images. Google loves images and so does everyone else. Hence Pinterest and Instagram.
 Don’t just re-post your posts but post thoughts, comments, and the occasional frivolous thing. I guess I mean show people who you are. Not just what you write.
Be consistent. Spending 5 minutes a day is better than 30 minutes 1 day a week – in my opinion. If you get one every day to post, like, and share you not only will get to know the platform better but you’ll also get to make friends. And THAT is the most fun part of social media.

What have you found that works on Google +?

The post How to Effectively Use Google Plus appeared first on Laina Turner.