How Have You Got More Likes On Google +?

[Sandicliffe]

Hi All,

My company has done fairly well with regards to achieving followings on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. BUT one that we REALLY struggle to get a following on is Google +.

We have about 25 Google + followers, compared to 1.2k Facebook likes and over 2k Twitter followers. We do relatively similar things on each of these.

What can we do to increase our following specifically on Google +?  As it stands we do pretty similar things, it would just appear that there's not much taste for us on Google +!

What kind of things have you guys done to boost your followings on Google +.? All suggestions are appreciated!

Thanks

Sam

[BruceA]

Google Plus arrived after the party started, but is very important to validate customer engagement.

Post content on Google + and keep it regular, share content from your site to Google Plus too.  Like facebook, it takes time and patience to build the level of likes.

Build your circles too and share content. Be aware of C Blocks in general and also for Google Plus, don't just get your work colleagues to all click google plus, as these start to not count from the same building or location.

Google will rank these posts and share very highly to other Logged in Google users, and they will also carry some rank on generic search too

Just a few thoughts

Bruce

[KempRugeLawGroup]

Well, a lot depends on your target market. For example, potential clients in our service area do not use google + for anything socially related. Most of the users - though certainly not all - are business owners or marketers trying to use it for SEO purposes (right or wrong as that strategy may be). If you are in a similar situation, then your best bet would be to reach out to other business owners that do not compete with you and start spreading their content. At least some will reciprocate, though if that doesn't happen, you can always follow up with them more directly. We've had limited success with this, but if your area has a more google+ friendly crowd or a different demographic, then it might be worth looking into.

Good luck!

Ruben

[CommT]

I was going to say pretty much the same thing: most people on google+ are there because of SEO. They are not there to connect with other people (I say this in the broadest possible sense), they are there to promote their business. The idea of sharing other company's posts is a pretty good one, just be careful not to share something by a direct competitor. And stick to your niche as much as possible - the company I work for is a mortgage broker, so I share stuff from estate agents, conveyancers, housing lawyers etc - never a competing company!

I would also say, use your personal account to share as well. I get far more reshares by using my personal account than when I share via our company page.

Hope this helps,

Amelia

[Sandicliffe]

Thanks for your response, Bruce. It's very interesting to see how Google search results changes for users based on their Google + account behaviour.

We do post (probably not as much as on Facebook and Twitter) regularly, but it always feels as though its falling on deaf ears, probably due to our lack of followers.

Is there no way to kickstart a Google + page? for example, with Facebook you could do some paid advertising to get an initial following or on Twitter you could do a competition (standard retweet this and win this kind of deal), but what can you do on Google +?

Sam

[Sandicliffe]

Hi Ruben,

Thanks for your response.

It would so far appear that our target audience are not particularly heavy Google + users. That being said, with it being the automotive industry that my company works in, this should mean that our customer base are very versatile (as almost everyone owns a car) and should therefore include at least some types of people that are Google + users.

So you're suggesting to reach out to other business owners in attempts to get our content out there? this isn't something that we've tried as such so far, although definitely something I will now look into. I think the trouble will be finding these businesses which have a Google + following that is worth pushing.

Sam

[Sandicliffe]

Hi Amelia,

Thanks for this response.

I definitely agree that it seems to be just us SEO's out there on Google +, which would be great if my business was a digital agency - I just wish more automotive focused clients would get on there!

From this, I think our business needs to look a bit more outside of the box and look for companies that are somewhat relevant to our business although not directly competing in an attempt to get our content out there.

Great idea, I should really start working on my own Google + following so i can use it as a tool to promote my companies ideas too.

Sam

[CommT]

Hi Sam,

It shouldn't take you very long to get your personal account working for you - it took me just a couple of weeks.

Good luck,

Amelia

[KempRugeLawGroup]

Hi Sam,

Sorry for the late response. If I had to guess...I would look into a after-market shops (Fast and Furious type places) and car clubs. I could see those places having a good following...but, you're right, Joe's Automotive Repair...not so much.

• Ruben