3Multimedia.com



Google Plus is Open for Everyone – No Invitation Required

By

While some people have been seemingly hesitant to get involved with Google Plus because they did not receive an invitation yet, it is not necessary to wait. Google Plus is free and open to everyone now. Any individual who wants to create a profile is able. You do not have to wait to receive an invitation from someone else. As soon as you get started you can start sending invitations to friends, families, and work colleagues, letting them know that starting a profile with Google Plus is free, fun, fast, and easy.

You do not need to wait for an invitation to Google Plus. You can start a free profile today. All you need to do is register. With the announcement of Google Plus people everywhere are beginning to notice the advantages associated with hanging out on the web without the privacy concerns of Facebook. With Google Plus you can create circles, select which circles see your posted thoughts, and no longer have to worry about your boss reading about your facebook status and calling you into his office the next day. When you create groups of friends via Google Plus you can broadcast thoughts to a preferred circle. This means that you no longer face the same privacy risks. Instead you can select which circles see what information. Privacy is given the highest level of care and support with Google Plus. In order to take advantage of Google Plus features you can start with creating your circles.

Once you sign up for Google Plus you should begin to create your circles and organize your contacts. Once you have a new person you can drag their photo into the circles you create. There is no limit to the number of new circles you can create. You can even place a single contact in multiple circles. There are four buttons on the right near the logo, and the one furthest to the right is meant for the creation of circles. When you select it you can then see all of your contacts in the panel—all contacts, not only Gmail contacts—and you can place them into the circle you create.

When you invite people to Google Plus you must add them to your circle. You can click on the circles icon and then add a person using their email address. You pre-determine under which circle said person will fall and then send them an invitation message once you click on their icon. Of course it is important to know how to get rid of someone from your circles, whether you are moving them to another circle or removing them all together. In either case you simple select the circle in which the person is currently, highlight their icon, click on them, and drag them out of the circle.

If you want to make your stream on Google Plus appear in italics or bold fonts you can apply these changes, unlike other updates. You can bold your text by putting a star as the prefix and the suffix for the text. If you want to make it in italics you can use an underscore as the prefix and suffix. To cross out text on your steam you can place a hyphen as the prefix and the suffix.

Upon uploading a photo to Google Plus you will be asked to create an album. When you create your album you will then be prompted to select which circles can see the album and which cannot. You can select enhanced privacy features for your photos unlike Facebook which has a default setting to all of your friends. You can literally drag and drop photos from your desktop which are then automatically uploaded like in Gmail.

Google Plus For Business Pages

By

With the new launch of Google Plus, many businesses are eager to continue their social network media expansion by creating business pages. However, creating these business pages must wait. There will soon be a large opening for Google Plus for Business Pages, unfortunately that opening is not yet.

The announcement of Google+ Brand Pages or sometimes named Google+ for Business Pages was announced on November 7th, 2011.

We found a cool tutorial on how to setup your Google+ Business Page.

In terms of Google Plus business profile pages, Google Plus asks that businesses hold off for now. For now, Google Plus lacks the hangout features for websites, brands and businesses and if any businesses create profiles they will be removed. The policy team is actively working to shut down non-user profiles for now until Google Plus is ready to accommodate businesses.

Google Plus is a new social network which has opened a large wave of new invitations, making it more open to contacts and friends. For businesses, Google Plus Business is still being designed to match all of your needs, but is getting closer each day. For businesses which have created Google Plus accounts, the features are currently aimed at consumers, but will soon meet all of your business needs. Google Plus has taken dramatic form over the last week, with great companies getting involved. The product still lacks all of the sensibility and usefulness that is necessary to create a complete business-consumer relationship. Businesses and individuals interact in different manners which is why there are still initial bumps along the business-oriented path for Google Plus.

Google Plus for Business will reinvent the social media and business connection bringing rich organic Google search to social media pages for businesses.

Businesses are currently encouraged to wait before they begin on Google Plus. The features that Google Plus will offer businesses in the future will meet the new dynamics between users, but until then, business users run the risk of having their Google Plus pages shut down until the tests for businesses is complete. Until then, tests are being conducted with businesses who apply. Even those businesses who do not wish to be considered as part of the testing group can benefit from receiving the first updates for the availability of the Google Plus for business pages. In the meantime you are still able to conduct business matters through the use of Google Plus pages. You are able to have your employees set up individual pages through Google Plus so that every member of your company can better communicate during the work day with one another. Businesses are able to find each other through Hangouts or send stream updates which are work-related to those employees and co-workers which are on a need-to-know basis.

Google Plus is meant to challenge aspects of the continually-redeveloped Facebook network but in doing so much continue to work on meeting the challenges and demands of small and large businesses. While still young and developing, Google Plus is adapting to the social networking needs of companies little by little.

On Facebook, the things you post are then visible to all of your friends, unless you specifically place certain people on a limited list and then alter your privacy settings to not allow those people to ever see your status or updates. Most of the time, the posts you put are not meant for everyone to see. You might only want a select few people to take notice of them, but not your entire friend list. With Google Plus you can organize friends into as many “circles” as you want, creating different groups. You can create circles for your friends, work colleagues, associates, and friends. You can select which circle you want to see your updates. You are then able to see the posts within your circle all at once instead of visiting the profiles of each person to view their updates.

As updates continue and business pages become a reality, having familiarized yourself with the features of an individual profile will make establishing a business profile much faster and more lucrative.

Google+ has Officially Hit the Streets

By

Today was the official launch of Google+ and as it seems the large advertising company is “ALL IN” and is pushing today’s public launch. There is no doubt that the Google engineers are serious in bringing this out today as the social network wars are officially in full swing.  Google also announced a variety of newly added features, including a new hangouts(read below) API for developers. With today’s public launch, Google has kicked off a superior marketing strategy along with this launch. With Facebook heading upwards to 1 billion users, this push is undoubtedly an “ALL HANDS ON DECK” effort to increase their user base…AS IF they don’t have a large enough one already!

Don’t fret though, Google will have ZERO problems converting loyal Facebook users with their new marketing strategy.  Obviously the idea is to pump up the user base so they can show more ads to you. Remember, just like Facebook, Google is an advertising sales company and not a social media company. One good piece of news that Google Google announced on June 27th was, Google+ for business that will be available later this year(2011) 

The announcement of Google+ Brand Pages or sometimes named Google+ for Business Pages was announced on November 7th, 2011.

We found a cool tutorial on how to setup your Google+ Business Page.

Also, keep your eyes peeled for my newest website www.GooglePlusBusinessMarketing.com that will help you and your business to get online with Google+.  One thing that I noticed today was the obvious change right on the search giant’s landing home page as shown here with a huge animated blue arrow showing you the little + sign with your name(you will have to be logged into your Google account).

 One new exciting feature on Google+ is called Hangouts.

Google+ Hangouts are the best way for you to say, “I’m online and want to hangout!” Hangouts lets you:

  • Chill with friends that are scrolling through the web, just like you!
  • Use live video chat that puts you in the same room together!
  • Coordinate plans, whether it’s working on a project or meeting up for coffee.
  • Maybe you’re bored. Start a hangout, invite your circles, see who’s around!


Apparently Will.i.am will be hosting a hangout session tonight for new members to Google+ at 9pm ET so keep your eyes peeled!

As we can see that the WAR HAS BEGUN! Can’t wait to see the flame wars and the back and forth between the two online GIANTS, Facebook and Google+

Let me do a call to action, will you gravitate towards Google + or stay with the old trusty Facebook?

Backlinks, Good vs. Evil – The True Breakdown

By

Backlinks are an effective subsidiary of search engine optimization techniques which should be integrated into your complete SEO plan. By increasing our quality of backlinks, it should increase the traffic to your site through an increase in your search engine results. It is true that ninety nine percent of internet users will only scroll through the first page of search engine results which means that only the top ten sites will benefit from SEO. There are now many popular SEO techniques used to increase a company’s rank and better reach customers. One of those is backlinks.

Backlinks are considered incoming links to your website. When a visitor clicks on a link which takes them back to your website that is considered a backlink.

These can be very useful because they primarily provide easy access to your site. If a backlink is located on a non-competitive website such as a directory site, then it can easily increase your web traffic. Search engine algorithms utilize the number of backlinks to your website as part of your website’s relevancy. Backlinks are like a vote of approval from other sites. The more backlinks you have the more relevant your site and the

content therein. The higher your relevance the better your search engine page rank, primarily Google page rank. If the link is placed with content it is better. If the link is placed on its own without other links present, that is a quality backlink and it is better for search engine page ranks.

Because backlinks provide an easy and effective manner for directing traffic to a site, people have discovered ways to cheat or “game” the system and get higher ranks for their pages. These algorithms can be distinguished and when caught, the website content providers are punished. This can mean your site is removed from the search engines entirely, thus limiting your revenue. This will happen in Google, if you try to “game” Google.

If you try to “game” Google, they would most likely remove your site from the SERPS.

The key to benefiting from backlinks is to differentiate between the good and bad kinds. You always want to incorporate good backlinks. There are times when having bad reviews still help because at least they are reviews, but that rule does not apply to bad backlinks. Bad backlinks can result in your site being removed from search engines. Bad backlinks are the result of cheating the SEO system to increase your rank faster. One way to define “bad backlinks” it so describe it as buying massive amounts of backlinks or by posting too many links which are not relevant, or using linking software which then marks your website as spam.

Good backlinks will provide links on other websites which point to yours. In order to utilize good backlinks you should link on a site which already has a high page rank. You should also link on a page which lacks other links. If there are too many other links it can be marked as spam and will not catch the attention of internet users. As an example, if site A has a backlink to site B and site A is in the same marketing affliation(Site A sells car parts and site B sells spark plugs), then that is a quality backlink. You also want to link within the content of the page instead of on the sidebars or on the footer. If you can integrate the website into the content on the other website it is best. You also want to link from a relevant website.

The Small Business Guide to Social Media Success

By

In order for your small business to be successful with social media, you need to ensure that your effective social media presence is not hindered by obstacles. The first step to social media success for your small business is utilizing your time wisely. Social marketing is often pushed to the bottom of the list for small business owners.

When you begin working on your social marketing you should integrate it into a daily routine. You do not need to participate in every single social network in order to have a strong presence in social media networks. It does mean, however, that you select the mediums which best appeal to your target audience. If you have a retail store which needs to show photos, then Facebook would be the ideal social network, rather than a professional referral company which would use LinkedIn.

The second step to social media success for your small business is to converse, not sell. You want your followers, friends, etc… to be engaged. Social media is not meant to be one-way advertising. Pushy sales messages are not meant for social media. Here is where you begin conversations and build relationships, especially as a small business owner. Once you have your niche, you should raise awareness to your company brand by offering insightful content which stimulates customers.

The third step to social media success for your small business is to consider your budget. There are many costs associated with social media use, time being the biggest. If you hire help it can be costly but it might be worth the investment to outsource social media duties to a freelancer rather than hiring a full time employee.

There are many costs associated with social media use, time being the biggest.

The fourth step to social media success for your small business is to be more than a brand. While branding your company is important, you want to be more than a corporate brand. As a small business you need to be a person too. The audience which supports your social media wants to know the people behind the company name. You need to show audiences what makes your company unique and why and how they are able to identify with your products or services.

As a small business owner, it is important to cultivate your business through social media. Here you can better learn what customers think, what they like, don’t like, and with that knowledge you can offer services and products which better appeal to customers. By doing this you can earn higher levels of loyal customers while also improving your SEO strategy. In order to keep your ranks high and your customers loyal you need to maintain authenticity, consistency, and responsiveness.

Your access to potential customers is greatly increased by the use of social media. No longer are you limited to in-store promotions, paid advertising, and word-of-mouth referrals. You can link customers who might be interested directly to your keywords, active discussions, profiles and interests. By placing links to your website on your social media profile, links to your articles, and links to your YouTube videos or blogs, you can increase the number of the backlinks to your site and enhance your search engine rank.

3MultiMedia – Tony Eden

A digital agency on a mission to help small and medium businesses with their online presence. I work from my California Office to take your ideas and turn them into a digital online design for you.
Contact me

Social Media

RSS
Facebook
Twitter
LINKEDIN
INSTAGRAM