Creative ideas to invite G +1 button clicks

[BobGW]

Hello,

What's some creative white hat ways to get people to click our G +1 button?

A competitor is offering a coupon in return but isn't that black hat?

What are some 100% white hat ways?

[crackingmedia]

Hi Bob

Is it black hat to encourage +1s in return for a voucher? These are Google's thoughts on what a +1 is for:

+1 is how you signal your appreciation for anything that grabs your attention on Google+ or on your favorite websites. When you read a post that makes you want to cheer, +1 is your applause; when you watch a video that has you in stitches, +1 is your laughter; when you see a photo that perfectly captures that special moment, +1 is your 5-star review.

I guess on that basis that technique is not exactly white hat but perhaps more grey hat!

To answer your question re white hat tips, it is producing anything that fits Google's definition of a +1. I remember 10 years or so now Seth Godin wrote a book called The Purple Cow. The story is that when you see a field of cows you might mention it as you drive past the cows are soon forgotten. But as you drove by if you saw in the middle there was stood a purple cow, you would stop your car, jump out take a photo or a video to tell your friends and the world about it (also via likes, tweets and +1s) because a purple cow is remark-able!

So I'm not sure there are any tips other than that. It's finding the purple cow in your business, in the products or services you sell, in the way you treat your customers or the great information you provide on your blog. If you do then people will want to "remark" about it and tell their friends and the world!

So I don't think there is any secret sauce. Just be remarkable!

I hope that helps,

Peter

[ITC.firm]

Bob,

My first question would be what are you trying to get +1's for? Is it for your domain, specific link or something else? We wanted to have more +1's for our site, so we added a +1 button on our homepage so people could +1 it on the fly. It worked out and we now have 41 +1's more than before.

Also, what we have found is that an incentive doesn't always work. It's a bell-shape-curve and after a while it will actually have a negative affect. I agree with Peter, sometimes all you need is great content but what I do strongly believe in is reminding people to do it. You could be on Yelp but if you don't tell people you are there and the fact that you appreciate their feedback, you won't get as many reviews. Same thing with +1's. Let people know you would appreciate the love, if they enjoy reading your content and they can decide if they want to +1 your link or not. If it is good content, it will work every time.

Add that button to the target, it works like a charm. If people see it, they will remember to do it.

I hope this helps.

Best,
Ashkan Sobhe