what's up with G+?

With all the fear and uncertainties surrounding the new Facebook "promote" feature, the reduced amount of fans seeing your posts, and the worry of decreases in sales and exposure for your handmade business, we wanted to help you gain some security in knowing there are other sites you can successful market on. 

That's why we approached social media consultant Shasta Farrar to shed some light on this subject. Shasta has been blogging and working with social media for years, and operates the uber successful site LinkyHere.com. She recently wrote a very popular web series about Google+ features to help new users understand the site, and has been so gracious as to offer some insight on how to properly use G+ to market your handmade business.
Hi, I'm Shasta, blogger at In The Old Road and administrator of LinkyHere.com

By following these simple steps, you will be able to successfully grow your handmade business!

 1.  If you don't have a business page on Google+, get one!  You'll have to have a personal G+ profile first but once you do, it's easy.  Everything that you need to know is explained here

 2.  Learn how to utilize all of the features and tools that G+ offers.  For example:
  • Customize your G+ profile picture and cover photo to reflect your business. Choose your business logo as your profile picture and a photo (or photos) of your product as the cover photo.  Read more about that here.
  • Hold G+ Hangout sessions to show or demonstrate your product to potential customers. You can read more about Hangouts here.
  • Send out G+ Event invitations to inform potential customers of upcoming sales and promotions.  You can read about Events here.
  • Take advantage of the ability to use hashtags (#) in front of your product's name to enhance it's search status.  For example, let's say your product is cupcakes.  Every time you mention the word cupcake on your G+ page, type a hashtag (#) in front of it. The next time someone searches the word "cupcake" on G+, your page post will appear!
  • Connect your website to your Google+ page.  Why?  Two important words:  Google search!  Read about it here and here.  Also, put a Google+ badge on your business' website and get your business verified.  Learn how here
  • Search for and be searched in shared circles.  Honestly, I just learned about this trick but it is an amazing way to meet other people who have the same interests that you do.  By using shared circles, you can meet other people in the same business as you are, make connections, network and spread the word about your product.  To do this, all you have to do is type what your product/interest is followed by "shared circle" (ex. cupcake shared circle).  You can read more about shared circles here.
    3.  Probably the most important thing to know about Google+ (and other social networks) is to use them daily!  If you just create a G+ business page and put a few people in your circles, you're basically doing nothing for your business.  Just like anything else, you have to work at making it grow.  Share your product, post about it, share lots of photos....anything, just make your page active and engaging.
      For further reference, I will list the links to the hit G+ series that I wrote.  I wrote it and started the G+ Blog Hop simply because I'm passionate about this social media network.  I truly believe it is the future of small business growth in social networking!

      In The Old Road's Google+ Series

      Link up your Google+ accounts here! Feel free to link personal and business pages, and scope out others who have linked up to grow your circles!

      8 comments:

      1. Thanks for this. I really need to start using G+ more!

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      2. This was a great article. Gave me the boost I need to start using G+.

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      3. I'm using my G+ loads more! The only reason I did not link my blog, is there have been problems with having a no reply comment profile afterwards. Waiting for that bug to be worked out!

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      4. Oh boo! The Lu & Ed link isn't working for me

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      5. Thank you for this! i really do need to start using G+ more often. Have been a little but it's something I should use more...

        Kim
        {Sweetsie's}

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      6. As FB slowly dies for me, I'm trying to use G+ more, and get more people switched over. This is a great list for getting my Page moving, and for introducing FB'ers to the extended social media universe. Thanks!
        ~Sunfire / Breath of the Dragon

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