This is our third lesson in a series of five lessons on Social Media for Business.  For the next six weeks, we will explore using Google+ for Business.  But first in case you need to refresh your memory, go here to review Lesson One: Introduction to Social Media for Business and here to look at Lesson Two: Facebook for Business.
In each lesson, there are subsequent posts pertaining to that particular lesson.  Be sure to check those out also.  Now that you are up to speed, let’s begin our lesson on using Google+ for Business.
Google+ vs. Facebook
If you’ve been feeling disappointed with Facebook (i.e. it’s not the right fit for you and your clients) then Google+ may be your answer!
What Google has deliberately done (apart from learning from its mistakes with Buzz) is to seemingly tackle all the common objections to the way Facebook currently allows you to share content — and overcome them.
Highly-Focused AudienceÂÂ
Google+ is the perfect tool for a highly-focused audience that dislikes “wasting time†wading through — as one Google+ Circle member put it — “sentimental†posts that end with “If you love your [Mother, Father, Dog] please repost†or “If you’ve lost someone to [disease of the week], please repost†— along with “Where did you meet me on Facebook? Let’s see who my true friends are.â€Â
Google+ also pleases those who think visually . . . thanks to Google+ Circles.
Learning Styles
Speaking of which, one subject we didn’t touch upon when exploring the psychology of social media users during Lesson One was learning styles.
It has long been accepted there are four basic learning styles:
- Visual — Thinks in images and pictures. Prefers diagrams to descriptions.
- Auditory — Retains things best on hearing them rather than seeing diagrams or reading text. Prefers Mpegs and audio tapes to reading.
- Text-based — Needs to see things in print before being able to retain them. Prefers books or written instructions.
- Tactile (kinesthetic) — Needs to actually do something, hands-on, before it will “stick.†This is the person who has to “just start using the software†— and to whom manuals make no sense.
Fifth Element
However, there’s a fifth group, thanks to the Internet, that is rarely acknowledged: Busy entrepreneurs who have learned that visual “shortcuts†— imagic thinking — save time. This “fifth element,†through experience, has grown capable of grasping abstract concepts or detailed information very quickly with the most basic visual clues. And the simpler, the better!
Google+ has already been embraced by entrepreneurs who fit this description, as well as by tactile and visual learners. In fact, this social network racked up 40 million users in October 2011 — and another 6.8 million U.S. active return visitors were recorded, according to analyst weblog site, Experian Hitwise, making that a jump of 5% in one week alone.
Active Users
The only active users you need to worry about, however, are the ones in your own Circles. This puts us back to knowing your audience’s preferences and psychological profiles.
And, of course, educating your potential audience of how easy it is to connect on Google+. (Many people you’d like to network with will join you because of Google+ being so easy.)
But before we explore the potential advantages and disadvantages for your business purposes, it helps to investigate further into what many feel is Google+’ biggest advantage.
Come back next week when we take a look at Google+ biggest advantage when it comes to using Google+ for Business.
Are you using Google+ for your business?  If so, have you been successful in converting your audience to subscribers or clients?  We would love to hear.  Feel free to leave us your comments below.
If you missed our webinar on Facebook for Business, go here to learn how to access the recording.  See you next week!
RJ’s Internet Marketing Services
No Responses