I have been blogging seriously since 2008, however, seriously I am still learning, everyday there is something new. When I started I did not know the first thing about “social media”, I didn’t know about Twitter, Instagram, Facebook,Stumbleupon, Tumbler or any of the others. I just started blogging aimlessly just plunking out words, finding pretty pictures to share, maybe writing a post about something I made, adding a picture, sharing some household tips, you know what I mean, kinda like a diary of sorts. And I have built many blogs trying to get one just the right way, changing things up, banners, colors, topics and trying to figure out my niche. I’m still honing the niche but have decided that Lifestyle is best as I can shares things that are important to me. And with all of that and since 2008 social media has changed, drastically, which brings me to share with you, “Google+ vs Facebook” and what I found between the two.
In my opinion Facebook is a great place to engage with family and friends and for private groups to interact with, however, on Facebook we can post all day long but, we have no control over who is going to see our posts and how Facebook suppresses our posts. More true today than when I first started blogging. How well we will actually engage with those we are trying to reach is iffy at best. So comes along a new animal.
Watch Out Facebook There’s A New Social Media In Town
Now Google+ comes along and changes all the rules, here is what I am finding after experimenting with my Google + accounts.
Setting Up Your Google+
So first that would mean setting up an account, signing up for an email with Google and adding information in the about section, as you would in Facebook. Adding a banner or not, and a logo. If you need to create either PickMonkey offers the proper sizes to work within and is user friendly.
In Your Profile
You create your profile and add as much or as little as you want, just like on your blog. Add your blog link, and if you already have a Google account it will pick up some of your information for you. Be sure to add your other social media accounts like Twitter, Instagram and “Facebook”
Circles: You build your circles, as many as you want, but I suggest just few, as you can only have 5000 friends across all circles, so choose wisely, no jail here, for adding say 50 people you know but I don’t recommend adding groups of people all at once, this sends up red flags to Google. You can also create names for your circles, like I have friends, blogger activities, etc. and you could have the same person in several circles.(Keep in mind that if you do that doubles the amount of friends you follow). And you can choose who you will share content with when posting on G+. More About Google Circles
Join Google Communities:
Join Google Communities with specific shared interests
Pick a specific topic using hashtags.
Meet the people you are trying to reach
Drive traffic to your blog.
Use your personal or business page
Start your own discussions
Take A Look see what Im talking about
Pages: You can create pages for personal use and for your business/blog and add circles to each with new follower/friends. (Again, your limited to 55,000 across all circles and pages.
So Now The Question
Now how you ask, is G+ better for social media marketing? I will try and explain some of the features. Ok, so now you have your page and your have circles with some friends you can start to share links from your blog posts but here’s the neat thing, when you use hashtags (#) in front of keywords, like #cats #flowers, tags that pertain to the link and post you are sharing, your posts on Google+ go directly into the search engines where it is shared with others that are interested in any subject that is searched through “Explore”. Theres one more thing about sharing, once you get your post set up and you are making choices of who to share with you can use the (+) dign to add target friends you know would be happy to reshare your post. Not only can you share with your friends, they can share these posts to their friends and on and on, but wait, there also available for anyone that is searching for, though the use of hashtags or explore at the top of Google+ page. But dont take my word for it, Heres more about Inside Google.
So we have freedom to choose who sees our posts, they’re not suppressed. Google gets a thumbs up, Facebook gets a thumbs down!! Posts can be searched by others that are interested in articles on a subject like #flowers, baking, photography, once they find them, read them, share them, chances are you gain new readers and followers because they want to read more on what you write about. So its a win win situation! Here are 6 Google + Tips For Business
Having Control Over Your Social Media
Hashtags: And theres more, if you have the G+ in your share buttons on your blog, and you or your visitors share a post, just like Twitter, it is automatically sent to main Google stream, but by using the hashtags [#] you guide who sees your posts! Now, how is that for having more control over your social media? Gaining more followers that want to engage with you, brings you better bloggers to work with. I’d say pretty darn good improvements in social media. Im enjoying the benefits of adding the Google comments to my blog, visits are increasing because I am using G+ to post my latest content and it is being shared by more bloggers, therefore, I am having more engagement, more comments on my posts increasing more visits to my blog. Im happy, and its so easy. In the long run it will increase my blogging stats. But Social Media Examiner has More On Hastags
So with a little more about Google + that I have shared, are you using Google+ to share your blog posts?
How do you find Google+ different than other social media platforms?
If you have not really given Google+ a chance do you think you would explore the possibilities?
Do you think Google+ is dead or stirring with activity?
This post is part of the Blogelina Newbie Bloggers Guide
~♥~ Karren Oh My Heartsie Girl ~♥~
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#GooglePlusTips, #SocialMediaMarketing, #GooglePlusTips
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I love twitter, but I haven’t been focusing on any other social media. I haven’t done anything with Google+ yet and I probably won’t in the near future. It all takes time and social media is simply not a priority for me at the moment, but I come back to your post at some point down the track. Hopefully, things will not have changed too much by then:)
Very informative article about Google+. I am still learning how to use it effectively. I didn’t know about using the hashtags on my posts and how it helps with searches. Thanks for the good tips.
This is helpful. I have not taken advantage of Google + in terms of social networking–and on the converse side, I guess I am not using it to inform my life as a consumer. Do you hang out on it the way you do FB? Or is it more targeted towards the goal of sharing/finding specific info?
I use G+ a little bit, but I don’t focus on it because I just don’t find that it’s terribly active. Most of my social media traffic comes from Pinterest and FB. My husband used to work for Google, and even he never used it that much. I like how it works better than FB, but I do a lot more on FB just because that’s where the people are.
Very interesting post! I have not done anything with google + but after reading your post maybe I should. I recently started a blog with a specific niche but do not have it hooked with any form of social media (besides the share buttons on my site). I use FB all day for interactions with friends and family all over the world but after reading this want to try out google +.
Hi Shannon, it does take a bit of time to learn, as with any social media and theres tons of info about it, I only made a mere touch. If you need more info click on the links included, that will help. Thanks again for stopping by I appreciate your visit. Have a great weekend!!
Karren
Hi Kara, the key that I have found is to work with others that are promoting a particular event where you share a post so you all help get your content shared. I have 2 events weekly that I do this with and I am rewarded by visits reshares and pins to Pinterest. So it can be a win win situation.But it takes time to figure what will work.
Have a great weekend, Karren
Hi Sarah, thanks for your visit, and yes I visit G+ daily for reading posts of followers and those that I follow, its quit a bit different than facebook, I hook up with events that help promote each others posts, and pinning to Pinterest by the use of hashtags. Hashtags are the key on G+ for both sharing, researching categories to find to read, support and share.
Did you know you can find topics by using hashtags on Google search, I had not read that, I just discovered it the other day.
Hope you have a great weekend!!!
Hi Kimberly, thanks for your comment, Hashtags are the key on G+ for both sharing, researching categories/topics to find to read, support and share.Even when you re-share, I use hashtags. There is a way to explore which ones to use with the Explore tab, to the far right. Once there you would put in the topic you would like to see for hashtags, the ones that will come up would be the most searched. You would choose some of those. Its all in experimenting to see what works for you.
Hope you have a great weekend!
Thanks Tat for sharing your opinion, all social media is not for everyone, some I use and some I dont. I am just now learning how to use Instagram, only because I do reviews and the companies are asking for follower counts.
Hope you have a great weekend!
I love Facebook and how easy it is to use…but I need to get onto G+ more. I love the simple way you explained how to use G+. I think I am going to head over and explore a little tonight while the kids are asleep. Thank you!
Amanda, I am glad that you are going to give it a try, it took me several months of trial and error to get it figured out. I had to read many tutorials.
Thanks for stopping by!!
As a new blogger, I’m finding there are so many things I need to learn about. Social media is definitely one of those things. I haven’t started social media accounts for my blog yet, but I do have personal accounts with Facebook and Pinterest. Thank you for sharing about Google+, as I didn’t know anything about it prior to reading your blog. Yes, I really do have a lot to learn.
Thank you for the information! I honestly haven’t used Google+ very much but know that it is an area that I need to focus some of my attention.
Thanks for the tips on Google + 🙂 I’m trying to understand it too! This article helped a lot in trying to use Google + for my blog 🙂
I have a google+ account but it remains blank as of now. This has opened my eyes to the features it has. I shall give it a try. 🙂
I have always wanted to get into Google + but I never really did. I recently read that they were getting rid of it. Do you know if that’s the case and if it’s worth building your following on the platform?
Still trying to figure out if Google+ is the way to go. Many say yes and many say no.
I dunno. I guess time will tell.
Say, here is a little experiment- let’s see how many people will read this and add little ol’ me, Troy Swezey, to their circle. 🙂
I have a google+ account. Haven’t done anything with it except hangout with my family. Your post has given me a good reason to get involved. Thanks for the great tips.
thanks for that tip! I need to spend some time over at Google + to discover more..
This is very helpful. I find Google+ takes a lot more time to get used to, and while I like the idea of it, I haven’t really started using it enough to be comfortable with it. This information helps, and really makes a strong case for using it. Do you think Google will keep it up, though?
I’m set up with Google+ but have barely done anything with it. It’s time for me to jump in and starting learning! Thank you for sharing!
I just started using Google+. At first I was a little overwhelmed, but I think I’m getting the hang of it. Thanks for the tips!
Thank you for sharing so much useful info. I have a google + account but spend absolutely no time on it. I will have to give it another shot.
Thank you for the helpful post. I have a Google+ account and I hardly ever use it. Now, I have a reason to give it a try.
I do use G+ and love how it is great for marketing and you can join communities that support and help you with your content. It’s one of the social media networks I plan to use more this year!
Google+ is a challenge and much different than FB but it can be useful after creating your circles of friends. Be sure to learn to use hashtags too.
I agree about the communities to network and share information. I have had some post on Google+ that have gone on and on, others not so much.
Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoy your weekend!
Wow..! Thanks for sharing your idea about google blogging. I use google blogging services, it’s very useful for me. I love one. It is essay to customize themes and many more option about blogging.