• Google+ posts sent to “public” rank fairly well in Google search results. Merging Google properties into Google+ and integrating it with the search engines has a tremendous impact on where your company appears in search engine results pages (SERPs).
• You can manage circles—distribute clients into specific categories and share different posts, news or deals with different circles accordingly. This is a great way to connect with fans and share information with clients.
• “Hangouts” is another great way to engage your customers and colleagues. It’s a high quality video chat that allows you to interact with your fans face to face. This interaction will allow you to get to know them, answer questions as well as get live product/service feedback. Businesses can also use “Hangouts” for video conferencing, to push live events and seminars to customers.
• Use the Google+ badge to promote your site and your Google+ page. Google+ badge links your website with your Google+ page and lets others know you’re here. When a visitor likes your site and clicks the icon they will be taken directly to your Google+ page and will be able to share and follow your posts.
• Google+ Direct allows people to simply enter a ‘+’ before your company name when searching on Google and get directly to your Google+ page.
• The +1 button on Google+ is an ideal way to have customers spread the word about your business and its presence on Google+.  You can also connect your +1’s from your website to your +1’s on your Google+ page. People tend to trust recommendations from people they already know.
• “Ripples” is a Google+ tool that allows you to watch your posts and information as they travel across social networks.  You can easily determine who is sharing your content and who is paying attention to it.
• With “analytics”, you can get information about your page’s followers, visitors, and the general traffic and social activity around your business.

• One key element of Google+ is a focus on targeted sharing within subsets of a social group (or what Google calls ‘Circles’).
• Also within Google+ is a section specifically for viewing, managing and editing multimedia. Google+ includes an image editor, privacy options and sharing features.
• ‘Hangouts’ is Google’s new group chat feature. Instead of directly asking a friend to join a group chat, users instead click ‘start a hangout’ and they’re instantly in a video chat-room alone. At the same time, a message goes out to their social circles, letting them know that their friend is ‘hanging out’ and that they are invited to join.

• Learn how location-based services work. First things first; your company must understand how location-based services work –not the nittygritty technology aspect, but generally how people use location-based apps on their phones to “check in” whenever they go places. Essentially, global positioning satellites (GPS) locate the users and determine where they may be, thus providing options to select a location or create a new listing. Once a person “checks in”, their friends will know where they are at that moment or where they regularly visit. Through these apps, businesses can share promotions or special discounts so that people who “check in” will receive notifications of deals that are physically nearby. Location-based technology work on networks called “social location platforms” or “social location services”.
• Learn about the platforms. There are many different platforms out there. Now that your company is looking at the opportunity of location-based marketing, it’s your job to become familiar with these platforms, learn which ones your target audience is on and decide how best to leverage them for your business. Before launching any sort of campaign, sign up for the networks, download the apps to your phone and learn how a person would use each platform.
• Determine your goals. Playing with the app on your own mobile phone may entice you to get started with location-based services right away. But take a step back and think about the goals you want to achieve.
  • Are you looking to increase foot traffic?
  • Do you have an offer you want to promote?
  • Are you trying to increase sales?
  • Do you want to attract new customers?
• Create a presence on the social location networks. Once you select your networks (by evaluating which ones your customers are actually on), it’s time to create your presence. Ensure your business is listed on all relevant social location networks and remember to validate the address, phone number and other contact details to ensure they are correct and up-to-date. Depending on the platform, you may be able to update your contact details yourself. For some, you may have to contact the network for help if you don’t have access to edit your listing.

• Fun and games –Many “check in” programs are actually games that allow participants to earn virtual points, and people take part in them just for the fun of it.
• Connecting with friends –A lot of “check in” applications allow your friends and connections to see your activity; often times the idea is to facilitate face-to-face encounters with your friends.
• Recommending places they like –People also like to recommend and promote the places they like. Endorsing a good place and sharing opinions is another reason people “check in”.
• Freebies and discounts –If not for the games or the ability to connect with friends and share feedback, people will “check in” to receive free offers and special discounts. This is a sure-fire way to encourage your customers to tell the world where they are.

Mobile Search Marketing Tips

Mobile SEO is a term that’s becoming more and more popular as businesses realize the importance of generating traffic to their mobile websites. Here are 5 mobile search marketing tips to keep in mind.

• Assess Your Online Reputation – Start with simple searches on popular search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing and MSN for your name, company, brand(s), product(s) etc. Tally the results. If you have more negative results, you need to fix the problem fast! Even if you have mostly indifferent results, you need to do something about it. Users need to find something relevant and positive about you to win them over.
• Monitor Your Online Reputation – Monitor what’s being said online. Track negative publicity before it can seriously affect search rankings. Use Internet monitoring systems like Google and Yahoo Alerts to track the news, Feedster and Technorati to monitor blogs and other free online tools to inform you of information about your brand.
• Analyze What’s Being Said About You - Positive and negative feedback are both important! Where did your communication fail? Did you respond positively to consumer feedback? Are you pro-active about the positive steps you took? Are you taking criticism silently or are you making an attempt to improve? You can’t please everyone, but you need to satisfy a whole lot of people who matter.
• Influencing Online Reputation – Influence your online reputation with a combination of marketing, Public Relations and Search Engine Optimization. Enhance your online reputation by building a positive reputation. Prevent any potential reputation problems by responding constructively to negative feedback.

• Consumers, business partners, stock holders, marketers, journalists, prospective employers, co-workers, personal contacts and others care about your online reputation. So should you!
• People from all walks of life use search engines to research and gather information, so that they can make informed decisions. Negative information about your brand can ultimately lead to problems in many areas including sales, investor relations, recruitment, financials, image and reputation. In other words – damage to your brand reputation.
• The online world is inter-linked by search engines, social media networks and blogs. What is said by one can be heard by millions (a good word, or a negative one). Positive buzz carries more weight with consumers. A positive reputation brings trust, confidence and sales.
• Personal reputation matters. Here’s an example: A search for the International Monetary Federation (IMF) on May 15, 2011 showed among the top few search results, “IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn charged with attempted rape of a housekeeper at a Manhattan hotel”. Your personal reputation affects your brand too!
• Managing your online reputation isn’t promotion; it’s a means of defense. If you don’t control your brand online, someone else will. You can’t control perceptions….but you can certainly influence them. Here are some ways to put social media to work to improve your brand loyalty so customers will want to promote your company in a positive way.