Since its launch in 2009, a long time perception of Foursquare is that it is a fun mobile app to use when checking in to a physical location. The ability to unlock badges as check ins occur and the potential to become Mayor of a venue all formed part of the fun, and still does, but there is much more to this location-based social network. Find out what you need to know to start using Foursquare for business.

Foursquare though, especially in the last year, has quietly been streamlining its focus towards proactively recommending where people can go in a given location rather than detailing the experience after the fact. This shift in focus has become a valuable reason for businesses to establish a presence as potential customers seek a real time reason to check in and check out what’s on offer.

The business case for using Foursquare

• They have a community of over 30 million people worldwide.
• Over 3 billion check-ins, with millions more every day
• Over a million businesses currently using Foursquare

Getting started with Foursquare for business

Business use on Foursquare is divided into two categories; Companies with a physical location and a Company, Brand or Organisation without a physical location.

Option 1: Companies with a physical location

To get started on Foursquare as a business, you will be asked to sign up as a personal user and then to connect your business listing to your account. Once you have entered your business name and address, Foursquare will search to see if this place is already on their site. If it is not they will ask you for address and verification details so your business can be placed.

To enhance business opportunities and ease of access in finding the business location, Foursquare also ask for:

• Location verification on a physical map
• The business Twitter account name
• The business telephone number
• Category selection which is then drilled down to the exact physical type of location your business is at.

Once all the data has been input the verification process is then activated.

Foursquare require you to input your telephone number and take a call where they ask for you to state:

• Your name
• The business name
• Your relationship to the business.

They also ask you to repeat a code number that they present to you on screen.

Once this has been done, your business can be verified in one of two ways:

1. Payment of a one off fee of $20 by credit card to expedite verification
2. Verification via email that can take up to 3 -4 weeks.

Verification received!

Once you are verified as a business on Foursquare then the marketing fun begins!

Add your business information

Check your original information for accuracy and add links to your Twitter and Facebook page. You can also provide details of the opening hours of your business.

Avail of free in-store branding

The great news is that Foursquare supply a page of graphical resource to enable you to advertise your Foursquare location. They also provide a PDF of branding guidelines to ensure that the logo is used correctly.

A business can apply for a window cling which is a sign that can be displayed at your premises to alert customers to the fact they can check in to your business.

Option 2: No physical location? create a business brand page

If your business does not have a physical store/office premises you can still create a brand page and share updates, offers and events with Foursquare users through this. A brand page is also used when a business has multiple locations. Each location may have their own local account but can use the brand page to bind these accounts to the higher brand.

To create a page you need to sign in and connect Foursquare with your Twitter account.

• Your foursquare page will be foursquare.com/TwitterName
• When the page has been created you can then add content using visual images and text to optimise your business.
• Foursquare users can choose to follow a brand page and their updates.
• The brand page can leave tips at any location with facts relating to their particular industry /market.

Foursquare Explore

The re-design and focus on Foursquare Explore is the main reason for building a business presence on Foursquare. When a user accesses the Foursquare app they have the option to check in to a place or use the Explore function to find one.

Users can search for a venue via category and then define the venue by:

• Specials
• Friends
• Haven’t been
• Price
• Open Now
• Saved

A list of venues in the area then appears. They detail the friends who have visited and also any comments that have been made about the venue. This is a fantastic way of peer recommendation for your business with no cost involved.

Foursquare Lists

Foursquare users can create lists of venues that they wish to bookmark. The lists can cover anything from ‘The best coffee in Dublin’ to ‘Jazz venues in London’.

• Lists can be added to via the mobile app whilst exploring the location or alternatively it is a great way to plan a trip in advance.
• The user can also allow their Foursquare friends to add to the lists thereby, again, allowing peer recommendations to prevail.

How to use Foursquare to optimize your business

We have looked at the ways Foursquare can be used by potential business customers with regards to the Explore and List functions; now we can look at ways of optimizing your business presence in conjunction with the user experience.

Updates

You can use updates for your account to generate news about your business. Updates could include:

• A sale or discount
• Upcoming event
• Charity drive
• Change of opening hours

It is recommended that you add an image to your updates to enhance user appeal.

Specials

A foursquare user can use the app to search for special offers that are nearby. This is a great way to attract nearby footfall into your location for free.

A special could be:

• A free refill of coffee
• A 10% discount when a user spends a certain amount
• A two for the price of one offer on goods or products

Foursquare also recommend specials such as:

• Offer a small gift – “free hot chocolate on your third check-in”
• Provide a discount – “save 25% on comedy tickets when you check in”
• Give VIP treatment – “check in to get a free upgrade to the front row”
• Run a contest – “tweet your check-in to be entered into an iPod raffle”

Once a special has been created by a business it can be easily found by the user as it stands out as an orange pin on the map. To avail of a special offer a customer must check in to your location. The special will then show up on their phone and they can use it by showing it as they redeem the offer.

The performance for special offers can be monitored via analytics for Foursquare and can also be turned on or off via the Foursquare for business app which means that the business has full control in managing their offers. Interaction and check in numbers appear to be a significant factor to enable your special offer to appear at the top of the list when a user wishes to explore. Foursquare explains:

“Like all results in Explore, the specials that appear here will differ for each user. When performing an explore search, the venues that populate are the ones nearby with a high “venue rank”. A venue’s rank is based on how many times a user has checked in there, and how popular it is relative to other venues in the area. This list of venues is not indicative of all venues in the nearby area. If users do not see your venue, they will have to search for it off this page via the check-in screen. You should be able to find your venue through search.”

Events

The addition of events to Foursquare is fantastic for business venues in the fact that they have a free advertising channel to promote an event. Events can include concerts, recitals, book signings, one day sale or an upcoming workshop, amongst others.

• They will be visible to users as they check in to your location; which means their friends see it too.
• They can also comment and share their thoughts on the event creating peer recommendations that are shared for free.

How the IOC (International Olympics Committee) used Foursquare to celebrate the Olympics

The International Olympics Committee used their Foursquare brand page to celebrate the Summer Olympics 2012 in London. They ran a competition to celebrate Olympic Day where the user had to follow the IOC page and check in to two different sports related places before a certain date. By doing this the user unlocked a new Olympic badge and then the winner was presented with a trip to London for the Olympics.

The IOC also left tips and facts based around the Olympics at venues around the world where the Olympics had taken place or were yet to take place and also the training venues that were used in the build-up to the main event.

The benefits for the IOC were:

• Increased number of followers
• An extended reach as the brand was viewed by followers Foursquare friends
• Raised global awareness of both Olympic day and the London games

Foursquare ROI

Once you have claimed your page you will gain access to the analytics for your business. The analytics are based upon your customer statistics as they check in to your business and include:

• Who is visiting your business for the first time and how often they are returning.
• An update of how many check-ins your business is getting each week.
• How many check-ins are being shared on Facebook and Twitter.
• Who your best customer is (the Mayor) and who your other frequent customers are.

Foursquare will send this information via a weekly email that, as well as including metrics, will also detail any recent tips or photos that have been added about your business.

Are you using Foursquare for business? Tell us how it works for you.

Understanding the Digital Economy

Contact us

If you would like to talk to The Ahain Group about Foursquare please feel free to contact us.

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Find out how to best use Facebook local search for your business through optimization of your page and the generation of user interaction.

• The recent introduction of new Facebook features such as Graph Search and Facebook Home show how fast the user social experience is moving.
• With over 751 million mobile users to Facebook it is imperative that businesses are fully prepared to optimize their online digital presence to enhance the ROI potential that exists there.
• Facebook Local Search is a great way to start, as making the best of this app for a business page will also serve to establish a presence that can instantly be incorporated into these new features.

[Image: InsideFacebook.com]

The Business Case for using Facebook Local Search

According to Facebook 2013 Q1 Financials on Facebook there are currently:

• Over 1.1 billion active monthly users
• 665 million users daily
• 751 million mobile users
• Over a 150 million people visit Facebook Pages daily.
• 17 billion location tagged Facebook posts
• 2 billion connections between local businesses and users
• 645 million weekly local business page views
• 13 million weekly comments on local business pages.

In a survey Facebook Local Search was one of the top apps used, second only to Google Maps.

How to get your Business on Facebook Local Search

Well firstly a business needs to have a page! The benefits for having a business page are numerous. If a page has not been set up it is more than likely that users have already used the Facebook location tagging feature to check in and there could be numerous unofficial pages already on Facebook relating to your business.

TIP: Unclaimed Facebook pages show a list of your nearby competitors putting your business at an instant disadvantage.

Remedy this:

Claim your Page

• Report the unofficial page to Facebook and request to claim it.
• Click on the settings icon on the page
• Select Is this your business?
• Verify your business with address and web information
• Use email or documentation to verify your connection to the business with Facebook

It can take up to a week for Facebook to accept the claim request and once they have you can begin to manage the page.

You now have the opportunity to merge the duplicate pages that have already been set up as long as the business details and address match yours.

Add Location to your existing Facebook Page

If you haven’t already, it is vital that you add your location to your Facebook Page. Facebook users are going to check into a venue or location whether they can find your official page or not. This means that you will consistently have unofficial pages created on Facebook which will ultimately dilute the impact of your official page.

What to do

• Make sure to select the Local Business or Place for your category
• Click Edit Page at the top of your page.
• Click on Select Public Info
• Input the exact address of your business in the Address Field or drag the pin on the map to pinpoint your exact location.
• Click on Save Changes and check the tick box to show the map on your page.

TIP: It is advised that businesses with multi – locations create a separate page for each one in order to enable user check-ins to the specific location.

What can Facebook Local Search do for a Business?

For a business it is all about the return on investment to be gained by being proactive online. Facebook Local Search is an ideal way to incorporate user gratification with raising brand awareness and increasing footfall to your business.

Until recently Facebook Local Search was termed as Facebook Nearby which Facebook described as making “it easy to discover what your friends like”.

Peer recommendation can have a massive impact with the current generation of digital natives and the opportunity for a business to capitalize on this is huge.

To understand the opportunity for a business it is best to also understand what can be gained from the user experience.

The user can access the Facebook app through their smartphone and will be shown local business and places in their area.

A map will detail ‘suggested places’ based on your own activity and your friends. The activity is based on a number of variables including

• Likes
• Recommendations
• Visits or Check Ins
• Ratings

Users can search via specific categories and sub categories such as arts, shopping, nightlife and restaurants which means it is vital that a business has carefully selected the best category in order to be easily found.

Once a place has been selected, the user can then navigate to access the business page, read the about section displaying details such as opening hours or use a map app to obtain further directions to the location. They also have the option to contact the business directly.

Users can check into a business and share that check in with their friends online. Once a user checks into a business they can like, recommend and rate the business through a star rating.

Once the activity appears on the users news feed it can then be shared, liked and commented on by their friends. This in turn shows up on their friends’ newsfeed which means that the potential reach for a business is huge.

Five ways to optimise Facebook Local Search for your business.

# 1. Use your in store marketing material to invite customers to check in to the business

A business can ask a customer to check in and provide feedback on their experience using Facebook Local Search. This can be displayed on counters, posters and business cards.

# 2. Offer an incentive to check-in to your place of business

This could be in the form of a discount or upgrade on the service/product provided. Decide what suits your business in the form of promotion and again use your in store marketing material to promote this offer. Users can then access the Facebook app on the spot and share their experience on their news feed. This is a win-win situation as the user gains the offer and the business placement reach is extended online.

# 3. Make sure your business page is fully updated with the correct information

As a business you want to be found easily. If a user prevails of the Facebook Graph Search facility, with the use of clever keywords and the correct information integrated with a strong user interaction, it is more likely that your business will feature prominently.

# 4. Businesses with multi- locations go local!

It’s all about the combination of local with social. It makes sense to increase local user interaction by using individual pages for each business even if you have a number of locations on a national or even global scale.

# 5. Optimise in preparation for the recently introduced Facebook Graph Search

Graph Search was released in January 2013. Whilst it has been rolled out to a minimum amount of users at this time it will no doubt become accessible to all. We will explain Graph Search in more detail in a future post but for now it is beneficial for a business to be aware of the new feature and take steps to fully optimise themselves in preparation.

The four main areas of Graph Search are:

1. Places
2. People
3. Photos
4. Interests

We have explained how to maximise the online impact of your business through places, people and categories (interests). The focus here is on Photos. In the new graph search when you hover over a locally searched business there are two buttons that can be accessed; Photos In and Visitors.

When you click on the Photos In button it brings you to a page which displays all the photos that the business has been tagged in by Facebook users. Experts are not entirely sure if this currently affects the search rankings for business in Facebook’s search algorithm but suspect that it does.

With this in mind, encourage visitors to take and post photos when they visit and check in using the methods above. As well as maybe affecting the search ranking’s it gives potential visitors a visual of what to expect from your business and visuals are good!

Focus on metrics to impact search

We have consistently mentioned the metrics that add impact to Facebook Local Search results in the post. The core message is that interaction with your business through Facebook is key to gaining traction within a search. Types of interaction include:

• Likes
• Check Ins
• Recommendations and Comments
• Visuals such as tagged photos
• Ratings

The sharing capacity allows for extended reach which can only be of benefit to increasing your business profile online.

Are you utilising Facebook Local Search for your business? Tell us what has worked best for you.

Understanding the Digital Economy

Contact us

If you would like to talk to The Ahain Group about Facebook Local Search please feel free to contact us.

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Find out how to best use Infographics for business through the creative preparation, layout definition and post creation sharing strategy.

[Image: Hubspot}

What is an Infographic?

An Infographic is a way of taking complex and detailed information and presenting it in a visually pleasing way that is easy to assimilate and, most importantly, share online.

• They are creative, colourful and fun and capture the salient points of a topic in a clear and concise manner.
• Infographic creation is not a new phenomenon; in fact traditional media has been using creative pictorial diagrams for years, just look at the weather graphics in newspapers and television.
• In the digital space though, they have emerged as a new trend with many brands utilising their viral nature and visually compelling layout to maximise their business message and drive traffic to their core products and services.

The Business Case for using Infographics

The integration of visual information into a content creative strategy is an enhanced benefit to a business.

As the Infographic from Customermagnetism.com shows, there are many benefits to sharing a graphic visualization.

• High quality Infographics are 30 times more likely to be read than text.
• 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual.
• 40% of people respond better to visual information then text.
• Publishers that use Infographics grow in traffic on average 12% more than those that do not use Infographics.

The SEO Benefit of Infographics

Google algorithms do not recognise images as an SEO value. The actual value of the infographic is in its propensity to be shared:

• The viral nature of infographics allows for what is known as link baiting.
• Link baiting is creative web content that is quickly shared and drives traffic to your website via an inbound link.
• Google recognises the volume of inbound links as an SEO value, hence a good quality; engaging visual has the ability to enhance website traffic as well as adding SEO value.

Infographic: The Creative Process

An Infographic can be used to display information in relation to any topic. The secret is to choose the salient and most interesting facts within a topic in order to attract attention.

8 Types of Infographic

Statistics are the most popular choice when creating an Infographic, however there are many variations. The most common types can be divided into eight categories:

1. Statistical: Uses a lot of numbers and data in chart and pictorial format.
2. Comparative: A format to review one thing against another. Comparable data is required and the subject of review must be good enough to attract the user.
3. Flowchart: A flowchart works well online and also gives the user a choice of path to take.
4. Photograph: As most infographics use cartoon or vector style visuals, a quality photograph can stand out online.
5. Timeline: A pictorial version of milestones in a journey. The timeline content should flow so the user can follow the timeline steps with ease.
6. Visual Data: This is a creative use of the elements to display statistics that would normally appear as numbers in charts.
7. Useful Bait: A reference tool for information that can be used again and again.
8. Article: A way to transform textual data with imagery.

Top Tips:

• Highlight the most relevant and interesting statistical information.
• Make sure your brand logo is displayed prominently.
• Choose a topic that will attract your target audience to maximise the potential ROI.
• Sketch the layout on paper so you have an idea of how the different segments will piece together.
• Make good use of all spaces within the framework so that all the information is displayed to the best.
• Focus on SEO to optimise the search results – apply a key word search and choose your terminology carefully when introducing the infographic on your site.

Once a type has been decided upon, the next step is to create the story.

Create a Story

Once you have the content, you have to decide how much information you want to display in the Infographic. It is recommended that you have no more than 15 components within a visual so that the presentation is succinct. As with blog creation, the most eye catching and relevant information is usually displayed first. This is the initial attraction to the reader and increases the chance of them reading the rest of the content.

[Infographic : http://visual.ly/storytelling-not-just-campfires]

The content has to flow so that:

• It reads like a story
• It makes sense
• The middle information enforces the introductory information
• The closing content summarises the topic and displays a call to action.

Visual Choice

The visual choice for an Infographic is personal; however it must take into account:

The audience

Would they look at symbolic visuals that are fun or would they prefer to read information that is displayed in a statistical way? As a brand you will be able to decide whether a graph or a smiley face better suits the information you wish to impart.

The Company brand

Are you a brand that has a serious corporate image or are you a more informal brand? Again this relates to the type of audience you wish to attract in whether to display austere graphics or more casual symbolic graphics.

The message

Are you portraying a serious message that requires a certain sensitivity in its presentation or are you defining your message with a humorous theme? Most certainly an Infographic displaying statistics of injuries within the workplace in Ireland would be presented with a modicum of sobriety.

Colour

The choice again is personal, two options could be:

• To use colours that tie into your branding to enhance the Company profile and image.
• Colours that are relevant to the information: A green, white and gold theme to portray an Irish themed topic or corporate colours that enhance a serious topic.

Create your Infographic

Up to now you have decided on the:

• Topic
• Content
• Segmentation
• Visuals

There are a huge range of sites online that provide a creative platform in which to make your Infographic. Here are three examples of comprehensive sites which show the steps involved in the Infographic creation process. They also offer free templates so are ideal for beginners.

Piktochart

Piktochart provides six free easy designs for the beginner. The site shows you how to drag and drop objects into place and applies text and charts. The Infographic can then be saved and exported in jpg or png format.

Infogr.am

Infogr.am is a free, web-based tool that provides graphical themes and a simple creation process. Once the infographic is created it can then be embedded on your website.

Visual.ly

Visual.ly has some great free tools that allow you to integrate with Social Networks.

It is not so much a free creation tool than an inspirational tool for designs and a contact network that can put you in touch with infographic designers to discuss professional and high end visualisations.

Share and Engage!

Infographics can easily be implemented into your existing online strategy. You have applied SEO to the content and once hosted on your website platform this can drive traffic to your site.

• Social Media share buttons, embedded where the Infographic is hosted, are vital.
• Take relevant key words within the infographic and plan a sharing strategy that drip feeds each piece of information over time.
• Search for the key phrases on Twitter and engage with Tweeters who are talking about the topic online. Refer them to your Infographic.
• Cut a segment of your Infographic that shows one piece of information. Share this on your Facebook page with a link back to the full Infographic on your website.
• Engage with people who show an interest in your Infographic, highlight the page to relevant, online influencers with huge traffic sites that can showcase your work and tie it back to your site.
• Infographics are popular on visual social media platforms such as Pinterest. Use this platform to showcase your work and enhance brand presence.

[Infographic: Mashable.com]

Remember: Infographics have a huge potential to go viral. It is a combination of planning the topic, key search terms, visualisation, layout and sharing strategy that optimises the virility of the information.

Infographic: The ROI Metrics

Using tracking platforms such as Google Analytics and Webmaster Tools a business can measure the ROI metrics of an infographic through:

• Page visits
• Inbound links
• Keyword searches
• Search Ranking

Conversation around the brand can also be measured through social sharing statistics and interaction with the infographic through comments on the site and on social media platforms.

Have you used infographics for your business? Tell us what type has worked best for you.

Understanding the Digital Economy

The Ahain Group has carried out an extensive analysis of on-line activity within the food and Drink sector. We considered the impacts of Social Business on primary food producers, food companies and local artisan food producers, with a focus on the US, UK and Ireland.

Websites, email and use of Social Media are all playing evermore important roles within the Food and Drink sector. The majority of brands and producers realise that there are huge revenue advantages to entering the on-line space, with excellent potential returns on investment.

A survey of 103 top level executives in the Food and Drink Industry showed that 63% agreed that Social Media was impacting the Food and Drink sector and that a significant number were using email or mobile marketing.

Beverage companies Red Bull and Coca Cola lead the table in the number of overall views of their YouTube channels as the creative content in their advertising is fresh, exciting and engaging.

It includes:

• A detailed analysis on use of Social Media by both global and Irish food and drink sector brands
• Crisis management case studies of how food and drink brands have dealt with positive and negative online communications
• Examples of how food and drink brands have combined food with tourism

Eileen McCabe, Associate at The Ahain Group and report co-author, said “There is huge diversity in the implementation of a strategic, social online presence within the Food and drink Industry. Those who facilitate long term planning and embrace the digital spectrum have achieved outstanding results whilst those with an online presence but without the benefit of a strategic plan, have yet to achieve the results that await them online.”

The business case for using Google+

• Since Google+ launched on 28^th June 2011 it has grown to over 500 million registered members
• It currently has over 135 million active users on a monthly basis
• 50% of users sign on daily
• One million brand and business pages were created in the first six months
• Google+ content integrates with Google Search to increase brand presence and boost SEO opportunities
• Linking an Adwords Campaign to a business page can increase the click through rate by 5-10 per cent.

Setting up

To set up a Google+ business page, you must first set up a personal account to act as an owner for the business page. The personal account owner will be anonymous to the page and business page managers can be added once the business page is set up.

Google provide easy to follow steps to create a Google+ profile here.

TIP: Make sure to use your real name when creating a personal account as Google+ may suspend this account if a business name is entered.

Once the personal profile has been created:

• Click on the ‘Pages’ icon at the left hand side of the personal profile account; you may have to hover over the ‘More’ icon to access the page site.
• Click on ‘Create New Page’ in the top right hand corner of the screen.
• Select a category that best describes your business
• Enter a tag line that best describes your business
• Add a photo that represents your business brand
• Invite your personal followers to join your business page by sending a personal message.

TIP: If your business has a storefront or it’s location is important, select ‘Local Business or Place’ as when you then enter a telephone number the location will be displayed on ‘Google Maps’ which will enable the business to be easily found.

 

About Page

As Google plays a huge role in SEO it is important to ensure that your About Page optimises this.

• Provide an overview of your business that includes relevant SEO keywords
• Use bullet points to make your business opportunities reader friendly
• You can include links to specific pages and a contact form on your website

Linking to your website

The advantage of linking Google+ to your website is threefold:-

1. It extends the reach of connection for your customers and followers
2. It helps Google determine the relevancy of your site to a particular search query on Google Search.
3. Your site becomes eligible for Direct Connect on Google which allows you to add a page to your circles from the Google Search page.

Engagement through Circles

Currently your business page cannot circle somebody until they circle you. This is where the importance of your personal page comes into account.

Continual engagement and interaction on your personal page strengthens relationships enabling you to periodically share links from your business page to your personal stream.

From building these relationships you can send requests to followers to access and share your business page and therefore increase your business following.

Once you have a following you can segment these followers through your circles and tailor posts and messages to benefit these groups.

You might want to categorize by customer/buyer/potential customer etc.

Posting tailor-made content to these groups ensures that they see rich content that is relevant to their requirements and eliminates the potential to spam.

Posting Content

Sharing content on Google+ is simple whether it be text, links, photo or video:

• Click on Posts at the top of your page.
• A box will appear inviting you to Share what’s new ….
• To the right of this box are icons that invite you to add rich media to your page.
• Click on the relevant icon and upload.

Although a business page cannot circle someone until they circle you, Google+ recently (Dec 2012) changed the ability of a page to re-share posts, comment on and +1 posts of personal profiles of people who have not circled them. This is a significant move forward for brand interaction and the expansion of reach.

Tip: Check out the Search Function on Google+. Your key words can be filtered down to the geographical location of your Search Terms making it easy to source local news and events

Interactive Engagement

Google+ have incorporated many features to facilitate interaction through the Social Sharing platform. The main features are:

• +1 recommendation
• Hangouts
• Events
• Communities

+1 Recommendation

Recommending content on Google+ by clicking +1 is a great way to ensure that the reach of the content is extensive. Once someone has +1′ed your content they then have the option to share this with their network. If someone in their circles then +1’s that content and again shares it then this undoubtedly increases the visibility of your brand.

Another way to enhance your business profile is to +1 key contacts and influencer’s content, there-by creating brand association with their network and building relationships with key influencers.

+1 also appears in Google Search queries where the user can see which sites their network has recommended. This increases the probability of that site being visited over those without a recommendation.

Add the +1 button to your website so that visitors can easily recommend and share your brand content.

Google Hangouts

One of the most popular features of Google+ is undoubtedly the Google Hangout live video conferencing tool. It allows up to ten people at a time to communicate through video online and of course, it is completely free of charge!

Live conferencing brings both employees and customers closer with Hangouts providing an accessible platform to create content and share and discuss it easily.

The Ahain Group weekly Hangout

Getting Started

Once the Hangout plug in has been downloaded to your Google+ page you then join a Hangout or start one of your own.

Click on the Start a Hangout button on the top right hand corner of your page.

 

You will be invited to add friends, circles or email addresses and begin the conference.

There are many ways that the Hangouts can be utilised in a business capacity and whether it is with business colleagues or customers, the Hangout has many features to enable information sharing.

Chat: You can communicate through chat which means you can write and talk simultaneously.

Screenshare: Information can be viewed from the screen by all participants. This means business information can be referred to throughout the meeting.

Google Effects: A light hearted ‘dress up’ effect with which you can change your appearance whilst talking. The Ahain Group use this constantly in our internal meetings!

Google Drive: The integration of Google Drive means that documents can be viewed during the meeting allowing full access of information to all participants whilst conversing.

There are many more apps that can be utilised during a Hangout. These include the use of Slideshare presentations, whiteboard facilities to capture notes and the ability to upload the Hangout to YouTube where the content can then be perused at leisure. Click on the ‘view more apps’ tab to choose the most suitable app for your particular Hangout.

Hangouts on Air

• This feature allows you to invite people to a Hangout and simultaneously broadcast it live to the world online.
• The live broadcast will appear on both your Home page and YouTube channel
• You currently cannot see the viewing figures on Google+ however you can check the number of views on your YouTube channel
• Once finished the Hangout will remain on your Google+ homepage
• You have the ability to edit and share the recording and the edited version will automatically be updated to your page.

This is a valuable platform for businesses to create and share content in real time.

Events

The Google+ Events feature allows a business to invite people to join an event whether it is a Google hangout, a product demonstration or a meeting.

• Click on ‘Create Event’ button in the top right hand corner
• Add the basic details of the event – location, date etc.
• In ‘Event Options’ the default is that guests can invite other people and add photos to the Event page.
• Under Advanced Options you can create a Google Hangout event and choose to either hold it with invited guests or make it public.
• The Additional Fields tab allows information such as website and YouTube URLs to be added to the event.
• Once the invites have been sent an Event Page is automatically created for guests to respond, interact and post photos.
• The Event Page also has a link to the event in your Google Calendar. All events that are created or RSVP’d to by you are automatically integrated into your Google Calendar.

Communities

This new feature in Google+ is a great opportunity for businesses to increase their brand visibility and interact with users. The Communities are similar to forums where anyone can post and comment dependant on the settings of the particular Community group.

• A business page can set up its own brand community.
• The community can be open to the public or have privacy settings engaged.
• The community can remain open or use moderators to manage the content.
• The content can be grouped into sub topics making it easier to find relevant threads.

It can post and comment in other Community groups there - by interacting with other communities relevant to your business.

Managed well, your business community can be instrumental in increasing brand awareness, trust and visibility and it also creates an opportunity to establish the brand as a knowledge leader within your Industry.

Ripples

Google+ Ripples create an interactive visual of the reach of shares on content that has been publicly posted in a stream. The analogy is to showcase how the post has ‘rippled’ through the network. It also enables a poster to see who is sharing there-by creating an opportunity to interact with people and increase reach.

To view the ripple of a post, click on the ‘options menu’ button at the top right of the post

• Ripples will only show public shares. Private shares are not included.
• The circles also detail the number of shares the original sharer has received.
• Ripples identify key influencers associated with the post creating an opportunity to build relationships.
• Ripples depict the metrics of how the post has been shared.
• Ripples also show the different languages that the post has been shared with.

Other Google+ Business Enhancements

Brand Verification by Google

A great way to promote brand trust and have legitimate recognition by Google is to have the brand verified by them on your business page. This currently does not appear to affect Search rankings but is a good idea to have in place for future Google developments. The criteria are ambiguous in that Google states that the business must have a ‘meaningful’ number of followers.

Google+ Local

Previously known as Google Places, the, now known as Google+ Local has been heavily integrated into the Google+ platform.

If you have set up your business page in the ‘local’ category you can link your Google+ Local listing to your Google+ account. This enables reviewers to add you to their circles; you can then follow back and engage with a wider customer base.

Linking to a Google Adwords Account or Campaign

If you have a Google+ business page and an Adwords account these can be linked together so that your Google+ social extensions appear in the ad.

The +1 button appears by default and if the +1 is activated on the ad it will appear as an endorsement +1 on your page. This builds your brand’s online presence and following.

Google indicate that an ad with social extensions averages a click through rate upsurge of 8-12 per cent across all industries.

Authorship – Author Rank

Content can be easily duplicated and distributed online which is why Authorship is becoming so important as it identifies the creator of content and how authentic and influential they are when it comes to valuable content creation. Taking this a step further, by linking to your Google+ page you can signify to Google your credibility and relevance as a content creator and in the future this could lead to higher rankings in search; hence the term – Author Rank.

Google+ ROI

• Referrals: Through the use of Google+ features and tools including hangouts; Mashable have grown Google+ into one of their top ten sources of referral traffic
• Search: Cadbury has seen a 17% uplift in CTR on linking its Google+ page to its Adwords campaigns
• Growth: Leading fashion retailer H & M has used its Google+ page to engage and grow its following to over 2.3 million by releasing exclusive preview footage of latest fashion launches.
• Innovation: Cadbury’s again increased engagement on Google+ dramatically by creating its brand page out of chocolate to celebrate reaching a milestone number of followers. Yum!

Understanding the Digital Economy