You’ve decided your local business needs to venture into the world of Google+. Now, you’re just trying to determine how to get online as quickly as possible. Follow the registration steps below and start sharing with the world.
You need a Google account in order to sign up for Google+. If you already have one for your local business, then you are ready to get started with setting up your Google+ account. Note, if you are setting up a new account because you do not have one, ensure the account you create is general so that you can allow others in your business to access the Google+ account if needed.
Next, select your organization’s classification. Google+ has a category “local business or place,” which is mostly likely the most appropriate one for you. Then fill in several key pieces of information such as your local business name, your website URL, and your industry category.
Once those steps are completed, continue signing up for your Google+ page by inputting your branding information. Fortunately, this process is very simple as it includes inputting information you already have readily available – your tagline and photo.
With these steps done, you’re ready to begin populating your page with some information and posts. Instead of re-creating information about your local business for this page, re-purpose some of your most successful content from Facebook and Twitter accounts. It’s also a great idea to add at least five pictures that show something about your local business. People tend to connect visually, so go over to your webpage and select a few images which have been most popular with your page viewers. Further, if you’re able to tell a story about your product visually, that would be a great introduction for folks who find your business on Google+. Get creative and have fun. Show your businesses’ personality.
Once you’ve completed these steps, you’re ready to start connecting with your customers. Let them know that you are now on Google+ and want to connect with them. Currently, they need to add your page to their circle before you can add them to your page and place them in the appropriate circle on your local business Google+ account. Therefore, to encourage interaction and get the process moving as quickly as possible, you may want to provide a small discount or giveaway to encourage your customers to take action.
While you’re building up your customer base on Google+ remember to continue posting regular quality content. Although in the beginning, you will likely share the same content across your social media platforms, it may be important for your local business to provide some variety in content to keep customers involved if you find a large number of them are “following you” on several platforms.
I hope you enjoy the process of building up your presence on this new platform and want to thank Hubspot.com for providing the resource, How to Use Google+ for Business, to help support local businesses.
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I agree. Google plus is such an important asset to the small business owner. Customers can find you on their mobiles so much easier and it really provides detailed location information, something that out paces everything else out there. Surely getting yourself on Google plus is as valuable, if not more valuable then putting an ad in the local paper?
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I hope this works good for our community!
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If utilized correctly, Google+ Pages has great potential for your community!
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Thank you for supplying this information. I also wanted to add that Gmail has now incorporated a Google+ Circles section into their lefthand toolbar. So it will be easier to send a call to action to perspective clients, since many of them use email. Your business will also automatically list as a contact within their email and keep them aware of your updates and services.