When we first started the 3 ways to interact series, there were no brand pages on Google+. But on November 7, Google launched brand pages on their newest social network. Almost two months later, many brands have set up pages but are having trouble building a following on the network and interacting.

The main benefit most brands see in a Google+ brand page is the implications for search, especially as pages begin to show in Google search results. But for your page to accomplish anything, as always, you need to interact. Here are some tips:

1. Use Hangouts. – If you aren’t familiar, Hangouts is the Google+ video conferencing feature where you can “hang out” with up to 10 others. Hangouts also have text chat windows, YouTube integration, and “Hangouts with Extras” (which includes screen sharing and Google Docs collaboration). Try starting Hangouts and joining sessions hosted by others. Use Hangouts to:

• Hold a “Town Hall” where fans and customers are introduced to the people of your brand/company. This personalizes your brand and lets those in the Hangout learn from your company’s expertise.
• Provide personalized customer service or use the opportunity to explain things your fans may frequently have problems with.
• Provide tutorials and demonstrations about things relevant to your company’s industry.
• Just hang out. You need to know a lot about your audience, and what better way to find out than to ask them? Invite people into a Hangout just to hang out. You can learn about your customers and learn from them, and will make them feel like they really know your brand on a personal level.

2. Connect your brand page. – If you are having trouble building an audience, make sure your page is visible. Make sure you connect the brand page to your company’s website and use the Google+ badge that allows users to add you to their circles right from your website. You can also add links to the “Custom Links” area of the “About” section of your brand page. You can add as many links as you want, so make your other social profiles available that way. Lastly, utilize the +1 button to integrate search with social.

3. Explore and connect. – One downside of Google+ brand pages is that pages cannot add a user to its’ circles unless the user has the brand page in his or her circles. But there are other ways to drive users to your brand page. You can still use your individual profile to connect with people, and this may actually be better than the alternative. Reaching out to someone personally will build more meaningful connections and if you are talking about your brand, they will likely go to the page on their own at some point.

Add eZanga to your circles on Google+

Other posts in this series:

• 3 Ways to Interact on Facebook
• 3 Ways to Interact on Twitter
• 3 Ways to Interact on YouTube
• 3 Ways to Interact on LinkedIn
• 3 Ways to Interact on Tumblr

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Tags: 3 ways to interact, google plus, how to, social media marketing

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 29th, 2011 at 2:37 pm and is filed under Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.