Google+ is the second largest social network on the web, but not everyone understands how they can utilize the social network behemoth for their brands. Not only is Google+ the second largest social network on the web, but it is owned by Google. Google has made it clear that a +1 share from Google+ has more impact on SEO than any other social share. In addition to providing an advantage in SEO, Google+ is also a great place to grow your audience. There are hundreds of millions of people who could potentially read your Google+ posts which means at least a million people on the platform are a part of your target audience.
At this point, you may be wondering how you would reach your target audience and get more Google+ followers so your content can spread, get more Google+ traffic, and reap the SEO benefits. If you want to get more Google+ followers, follow these 10 tips:
#1: Post Often
Posting often is a great way to get more exposure on Google+. Posting often on Google+ creates the possibility of your current followers sharing your content with their audiences and coming back for more of your content. Posting often also makes your account look more attractive because it is active. If your last post was from a month ago, you won’t get as many followers because not posting in over a month shows inactivity. However, if you are posting four times every day, people can expect to see you in their feeds when they follow you.
#2: Post Spreadable Content
When you publish Google+ posts, you must publish spreadable content. This is the type of content that people in your targeted audience would want to share with their followers. Getting more +1’s for your content serves many benefits. The first benefit is SEO. You will get more blog traffic from Google if your followers share your blog posts on Google+. The second benefit is that more people see your content as your followers share your content with their audiences. The third benefit is that your account now looks more attractive to potential followers. If all of your Google+ posts are getting +1’s and comments, that social proof will tell a potential follower that a lot of people like what you have to offer. As a result, more potential followers will follow you.
#3: Schedule Your Posts
Scheduling your posts on Google+ is important because your content gets put in front of an international audience. Of course, any person with a Google+ account is able to follow you, regardless of which continent that person is on. However, someone following you and someone seeing your posts are two different things. Many people only schedule posts to their timezone convenience. Many people schedule their posts in the morning and the afternoon, but few would think to schedule a post at 2 am.
The argument is that everyone would be asleep at that time, but that only applies to the people in your timezone. 2 am in California means 10 am in London. Sure, people in California are sleeping at 2 am, but at that same time, people in London are waking up (and some check their Google+ accounts right when they wake up). You can schedule a Google+ Page’s posts with HootSuite, and DoShare is great for scheduling Google+ on your personal account.
[tweetthis url=”http://bit.ly/1ylaUEE”]Scheduling your #SocialMedia posts in advance allows you to communicate with an international audience in real-time.[/tweetthis]
#4: Follow Other People
One of the easiest ways to get someone to notice you on Google+ is to follow them. Of course, if you follow someone with 1 million followers, you may not get noticed because those people get hundreds of new followers every day. However, if you follow someone who has a few hundred followers, that person will probably notice you. Many of these people still choose to receive an email each time they get a new follower. These are the people who are likely to follow back.
When you follow other people, make sure you are following people who are following other people in your niche. These are the targeted followers—the group of people who would appreciate your content more than any other group of people. A targeted audience is the best type of audience you could possibly have.
#5: Do More Google+ Hangouts
Google+ Hangouts are cool. You get to interview people and then immediately publish the video to YouTube. The transition is easy to make, and when you post the Google+ Hangout to your Google+ account, your followers will take a look at your hangout. You can also broadcast a live Google+ Hangout and respond to questions as people ask them through their comments.
#6: Be Active On YouTube
Google+ has an entire tab dedicated to your YouTube channel. If you go to my Google+ account, you will see a YouTube tab, that when clicked on, will show you some of my videos. The more YouTube videos you publish and add to this tab, the more valuable it becomes. You want to give your followers a variety of options so when they go to that tab, one of your YouTube videos is bound to get their attention. Being active on YouTube also helps you tap into a new audience.
[tweetthis url=”http://bit.ly/1ylaUEE”]Being active on #YouTube adds value to your #Google+ account and allows you to tap into a new audience.[/tweetthis]
#7: Interact With Your Own Audience
Strengthening the connections you have on Google+ is critical to getting people to share your content often. By engaging with the people who engage with your content, people who engaged with your content in the past will be encouraged to engage with your content in the future. Few people take the time to interact with the people in their audience. When you interact with one of your followers, that follower is more likely to remember who you are and what you do. These people will continue following you and let their friends know about you.
#8: Comment On Other People’s Posts
When you leave a comment on another Google+ user’s post, that’s more exposure for you. If you comment on dozens of Google+ posts every day, you could get numerous followers in a given month from this one strategy. If you want to get noticed on a social network, then you have to be social. If you don’t have the audience to interact with yet, you can interact with other people and their audiences.
#9: Have An Effective Bio
Many potential followers read your bio before they decide whether to follow you or not. For many of your potential followers, your bio is the decisive factor. You only have a sentence or two to explain who you are and what you do. The best bios are the ones that list your expertise, hobbies, and awards one after the other. Here is an example of a good bio that I use:
17 Year Old Entrepreneur, Author, Blogger, Digital Marketing Expert, Instructor, Speaker, @HootSuite Ambassador, Runner, Dog Lover
Although I don’t have a period at the end of the sentence and this is a sentence fragment, it is a bio that lets my followers know a lot of things about me in a short amount of time. Effective bios lead to more followers.
#10: Avatar And Background Pictures On Point
Using the default avatar and background pictures won’t get you noticed. You must use a professional picture of yourself as the avatar and use a relevant background picture that showcases one of your products, lets people see what you do, or promote an upcoming event. The most successful people on Google+ are not using the default pictures. They use their own pictures. If you want to easily create a Google+ background for free, then look no further than Canva.
In Conclusion
Google+ is a powerful platform to promote your content on and reach a larger audience. Not only will you get traffic straight from Google+, but all of the traffic you generate from the social network will have a big impact on the amount of search engine traffic your blog generates. Just like any other social network, it takes time to master Google+, but when you master Google+, your content will spread and reach more people.
Are you on Google+? Which tip was your favorite? Do you have any additional tips to get more Google+ followers? Please share your thoughts and advice below.
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