Google+ is a social medium I would describe as a mix between Facebook and LinkedIn. Whereas it's where people go to interact, meet new people and have a few laughs, but it has a subtle line with business on the other side of that line, where users go to market and promote their services, products and ideas. Google+ combines these two qualities, fun and business, seamlessly.
As a blogger the best network to share and promote blog posts is on Google+. Here are 5 Tips and Tricks that will help you get more followers, more exposure, more traffic and make your profile look more professional:
Keep Community Posts Off Your Profile
Sharing a post to a community is a very common technique used by bloggers and other Google+ users to reach a wider audience. At times you might not desire to share to only one group but ten. When you share the same post to multiple communities, all the posts show up on your profile which looks very unattractive and unprofessional. Which in turn can drive away potential followers. Fortunately Google has added a feature to fix this:
• From A Computer
1. Open Google+.
2. In the top left corner, click the drop-down menu > click Setting.
3. Scroll to the Profile section > uncheck the box next to "Show your Google+ community post on the Posts tab of your Google+ profile". If the box is checked, the posts will show up on your profile.
• From Mobile Browser
1. Open Google+.
2. In the top left corner, touch the menu icon, then Settings.
3. Scroll to "Profile", then touch the toggle switch next to "Show your Google+ community post on the Posts tab of your Google+ profile". If the switch is on the posts will show up on your profile.
• Android/iPhone/iPad app
You can't edit your profile tabs from a mobile app. You have to use a mobile browser or a computer.
Use Hashtags
If you go to a trending topic you will notice that there are a great deal of posts shared by business pages, because this is a prominent strategy that is constantly implemented to gain more exposure.
• When you 'Write Something…' about the post you're sharing, use popular hashtags to join trending topics which will not only get your link more exposure, but will also get you more exposure to potentially gain more followers.
• Go to trending topics and follow the people/pages with the most recent posts. Most of the time they will follow back. Follow people who are interested in the posts that you share, it doesn't matter whether they follow back or not. Once you share your post to 'Public' then add all your other circles too, even the people you are following will receive the share.
Write A Description (Bold, Italicize,
Strike Through)
I remember scrolling through my news feed and stumbling upon a post with a link to a blog. The cover photo and headline looked quite interesting, but before I clicked it, I decided to read the 100 comments to see if it was worth it. As I'm digging through the comments, I realize that everyone else was there to find out the same thing. I read comments like "Did it work?" and "What is it about?".
So I'm laughing and wondering, "why don't they just click it", then I suddenly realize that I'm being a hypocrite because I'm doing the same thing.
Therefore when you post a link to Google+, add an excerpt of what the link is about, don't just depend on the headline, because no one wants to leave the comfort of the site they're already on to go somewhere they are not sure of. Here are a few tricks you can use to make your description stand out:
| • *Bold* = Bold • _Italic_ = Italic • -Strike Through- = • *_Bold and Italic_* = Bold and Italic |
Create Collections
Google+'s Collection feature is a very useful platform to post what you want to be there, mainly your blog posts. You can create collections for photos, videos, whatever. The collection is pinned to the top of your profile which will easily catch the eye of a random visitor to your profile or a return visitor that hasn't seen your latest post.
Share On Holidays
When the holidays come around, bloggers want to relax their fingers and take a break, to sip some hot cocoa and watch the snow shimmer through the air. Au contraire, the best time to share your blog posts is on holidays.
Google+ is a growing social network with over 500 Million users per month. Google+ receives an excess of it's visitors on holiday seasons like Christmas, Easter, Summer etc…. Think about it, no one's gone to school and the majority of workers get the holidays off. The only place they would want to be, in the Christmas season, is inside, away from the frigid judgement of snow, reading your blog posts. Hence why it's logical to share on holidays. Christmas is the time for sharing.
Thanks for reading. Was this article helpful? Let others know by leaving a comment, liking and sharing it. So was it?
You made some excellent points. I always get my website's scenery ready for the holidays. It helps to get readers in the mood.
ReplyDeleteNext month, I will bring back the Halloween background on It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns. Normally, I blog 2-3 days out the week and share my blogs to various communities. Getting feedback is more of a struggle lately from subscribers.
What you can do is, if you're not getting feedback from subscribers, get more social. What I mean by that is instead of using your social profiles to only share blog posts, you can share normal post like for example a photo of a puppy; when people comment and like those posts they will eventually go to your profile to find more and might stumble upon the links you share. This might lead them to send feedback when they access your posts through your social profile.
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