Why Use Google+? Chris Brogan And Guy Kawasaki Weigh In
Today, tomorrow and Saturday we are live blogging from the Blog World & New Media Expo in Los Angeles! Today the first session we attended was called “Google+ for Business.” The session was lead by Chris Brogan and Guy Kawasaski. Chris is the co-author of a book called “Trust Agents” and Guy is a the former software evangelist for Apple who now runs several companies including All Top. You can follow them on Twitter, @ChrisBrogan and @GuyKawasaski.
When we first received the speaking schedule for Blog World we knew immediately we had to be in this session. Though Google+ has been on the scene for a few months, many are skeptical about using. We guess that’s because the thought of starting on a new site gives you what we like to call “social media fatigue.” Well, that’s understandable, but after listening to Chris and Guy, we’re completely on board. Why? Read on.
Who Is On Google+?
Chris opened the session by saying, “Guy and I have many things in common, one of those things being a ridiculous passion for Google+.” The word passion continued to come up through out the session, including when Guy said, “Facebook is for connecting with your friends and family; Google+ is for connecting with people who shares your passions, people you don’t know yet.” Guy encouraged the audience to search Google+ by key words that describe your passions. For Guy, that’s hockey and photography.
Guy went on to say that he feels strongly that the level of engagement and the intelligence of comments is superior on Google+ as opposed to Facebook. Guy also feels his posts on Google+ reach more people because on Facebook, Edgerank determines who sees your posts in their newsfeeds and how doesn’t.
Guy also shared that when it comes to social networks, everything he does on Twitter is now automated, whereas everything he is doing on Google+ is manual. He said, “It’s 100 percent me.”
Where To Start?
Then it was Chris’ turn to weigh in. He said, “If I have one piece of advice about Google+ it is – go back to your ‘about me’ page and make it better. Really talk about what you do, what you love and for goodness sake, make sure you have a nice photo.”
Advice For PR Professionals Using Google+
Chris also advised PR professionals, “Google+ is like a free mind reading tool. Go in and learn about the people you are pitching. It’s a no brainer!”
Why Use Google+ For Real Estate?
Towards the end of the session, our very own Director of Public Relations and Social Media, Matt Gentile, asked Chris a question about Google+ and in his reply Chris said, ” Google+ is a killer service for real estate professionals. Everything you post publicly on Google+ goes into Google page rankings and it is super easy to share photos and videos. Give a tour of your listing on Google+!”
Google+ Improves Your Google Page Ranking
Which brings us to the next key take away about Google+, everything posted on Google+ is indexed in Google. This means, content you share affects your page rankings in Google. If that doesn’t convince you, nothing will!
Chris ended the session by saying, “Two or three years from now it will be too hard to be a thought leader on Google+. Get in there now and stake your claim.”
For those looking for more information on Google+, Guy and Chris recommended:
- Google Chrome extension “Replies and More for Google+” – A great way to manage your mentions on Google+
- Women of Google+ – A way for women on the site to find each other
- Find People on Plus – A site for searching who is who on Google+
- Chris’ tips for getting started on Google+
Are you using Google+ for business?
We’ll be live tweeting (@Century21) and live blogging for the next three days! Stay tuned for more!