With the introduction of Google Plus to the social networking mix, how are you managing your social networking?
If you want to maintain a viable presence on a Facebook page, on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and now Google+, where do you spend your energy and how do you decide what to post where?
I've been pondering this question for a few days. Mari Smith asked her G+ followers and I have posed the question to my Online Visibility Boost Group on LinkedIn.
While there are tools to help with posting content (I use Hootsuite), I think the bigger question is WHAT type of content do you post on each site? I've been on Google+ for about a week now and I've noticed lots of videos and pictures along with prolific article sharing and tons of commenting. As expected, a lot of the content is about Google+ and the 10+ million users are tech savvy, early adopters. There's also quite a bit of personal conversation going on. The cool thing about Google+ is how granular you can segment your contacts and choose very specifically who will see what.
If you are new to Google+ and want a good getting started overview, check out this article on Social Media Examiner. If you're already using G+ and would like to connect with me there, please add me to a Circle. If you would like a G+ invite, post your request in the comments and I'll send you one.
Right before Google+ launched, I started a LinkedIn group for entrepreneurs interested in boosting their online visibility. I'd been contemplating this for a while as I've become increasingly frustrated with Facebook and their complex algorithms which make it so difficult to get your content seen by your "likers". I've been pleasantly surprised by how fast the group has grown (315 members in just 2 weeks) and active discussions going on every day. So far the group is not spammy is generally focused on members sharing content and tips about their businesses so we can help each other get more visibility.
The level of interaction is so much more satisfying that it is on my Facebook page. I've worked hard to maintain an active FB page, but it seems that fewer and fewer people see the content and fewer and fewer are participating. Too much stuff flying by on the newsfeed, I think.
Then there's Twitter. It's a great way to broadcast your content, share links and have quick conversations. But how many people really see your content? And do they click through to read it?
Ultimately, you have to know your audience and the type of content they want and respond to. And you need to figure out a strategy for managing your time. I'm rethinking my approach to many of these sites and will be refining my approach over the next few months.
To start, I will be removing all contacts from my personal Facebook profile and limit it to only those I am related to, are a personal friend, client or colleague. Everyone else, you are most welcome to connect with me where you like: my Facebook page, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+ and/or YouTube. My LinkedIn group is probably going to get my most active participation right now since it's focused on helping entrepreneurs boost their visibility. My Twitter stream will continue to get links to the interesting articles I find about technology, online marketing, business and blogging. My sense is that my Facebook page will focus mostly on business blogging since that's the content that gets the best engagement.
How about you? How are you tackling this challenge? Do you have a strategy for where you post your content? Please share your strategies, tips and tactics in the comments.
If you're confused and overwhelmed about how you can integrate social media into your marketing, let's set up a strategy session so you can get clear on how to move forward efficiently and effectively, building your business with less stress.
Hi Denise,
I would like an invite for Google+ please
Kind rgds
Elaine
Great post, Denise. I’m just getting started and doing it all on my own is a full-time job. I’m very curious about Google +, would love an invite. Thanks for sharing your valuable insight!
Boy O Boy, are they ever. Thanks for this, Denise. Susan
I’m finding clients are in overload more than we are in our business. I attribute our lack of overload (at this point, anyway) to having a tech-savvy team and setting up systems instead of trying to do everything by yourself.
If Google+ can simplify life, I think it will do extremely well. If it adds to the social networking clutter… we don’t need ‘one more thing’ to do every day. I agree, each social media platform has unique strategies that need to be implemented, depending on the business. What works well for one business doesn’t necessarily translate to the next business.
I’ve participated in Twitter conversations that were very valuable, and one event had a very active conversation while the event was being held. This can be useful for both attendees as well as those who wished they could be there.
I agree, Denise, streamlining your strategy needs to be done for many businesses, and focusing on the best use of each social media platform is a great place to start.
Not in overload here yet.
Also manage LinkedIn, Twitter, G+, Facebook and YouTube. And Foursquare is my main goto location app.
Neither HootSuite or Tweetdeck has added in G+ yet. So manage it on its own.
It is to early yet to say where G+ is going. You are right a lot of early adopters has signed up there.
And I seen already hot discussions if G+ will kill either Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter. Personally I think Google need to ‘kill’ Google Buzz.
Like you Denise I have learned that LinkedIn Groups has for me been much more effective then my Facebook Fan Page. As Gary Vee would said it – It speaks more to my DNA.
If G+ will change my content strategy? In a way it will. I will repurpose some of my content a bit different then I have done. Though this is not due to G+ it comes from paying attention to your articles and testing my content strategies.
But your question here is very good. I see here people that request invites, and I experienced people jump on G+. We still need a content strategy, else G+ want make much of a difference. It will just add to our Social Media clutter.
Cheers..
Are Morch
Hotel Advisor and Social Media Strategist
Hi Denise, Thank you for this discussion. It is really helpful whilst I am thinking about how to promote a product for the best contact.
It is too early to tell for sure, but Google+ has the potential to replace Facebook, Twitter and probably several other social networking platforms. I am saying this for the exact reason you are mentioning in your post. It is hard to maintain a presence on all these separate networks, despite all the tools. At this point Google+ is the only platform that has all the bells and whistles.
I don’t think that the other networks will completely go away, but a scenario similar to the one for MySpace does come to mind. Maybe Facebook will go back to the platform for college students…
Denise – Thanks for your info mon the ‘social media’ sites- Thus far I have Not gotten involved with any of them – yet. I have more friends inviting me to Linkedin than others, but these are mostly friends with ‘similar’ interest categories. I have questioned others personally and determined that nearly all of them were excited to get on FB or Twit’ but ran out of interest in a few months. I know almost a dozen that have been involved, sent out invites and “spread the word” and then dropped off or just never update. Some because of time, business, and some because the “thrill” evaporated.
I will check out G+ and am following the rest on Linkedon – the others do not seem to fit my directions.
I have some past experience online, closed my web site and pulled my ebook off of Click Bank because of physical conflicts at that time in my life. Now I am looking to get back online and researching topics, categories and picking a pattern to begin.
Again – Thanks for your info and expertise.
God Bless
Mikel
Denise: I just got a guest post accepted at Commpro.biz that will appear sometime this month.
Next week, I am concentrating on redisgning my website into a blog site.
I am going to try and stay active in the groups I joined on Linkedin…so I have reams of emails to reply to. After that, who knows? Perhaps I can actually get some of your special tips implemented or listen to you invent more time for me.
It’s always funny — but the people I try and stay away from are usually the ones who do me the most good. Either way, I’m sure we will be real friends in the future. You’ve got the spirit and the smarts that one can’t help but respond to.
Thanks for your patience,
Myrna
Thanks for your great insights and telling it like it is. I immediately feel less stressed. A business coach stressed out is a horrible thing to experience. 🙂 I am on the waiting list for G+. If there is a way to get an invite from G+, I am yours, Denise. Thanks for all your wisdom. L
I’ve only been involved in social media for two months, and I’ve already found it consuming. Your comments on Facebook, in particular, were right on, particularly the points you made about the results from Facebook being disappointing. I’m going to have to evaluate where I’m at, but first I’m going to get back to working on my book, which is why I’m doing this networking in the first place.
Not totally sure why I want an invitation, I just know I do.
Hey Denise, as I said yesterday–great article as can be seen by all the comments. I’d love an invite when you get a chance. Thanks!
Thanks, Denise–great insight! It’s hard not to feel a little (or a lot) of overwhelm as new platforms pop up. I’m still struggling to catch up with G+ and haven’t scratched the surface yet of its capabilities–yet another thing to stay abreast of for my clients!
I really appreciate your thoughtful posts and willingness to share your expertise–blog on!
Yes even I sometimes have a little ‘confused and I understand that the use of social networking is changing rapidly.At the beginning of social networks, especially those of mass FB and twitter, it tended to establish contacts with many different people, which later turned out to be often not used. Today, especially for those who work there in the web and not just pass the time, I think it is necessary to review the strategies of social networks.On how I’m not sure. I will follow your articles, which are very interesting. Thank you.
Denise, your well thought out social plan of action is brilliant. As a thought leader in this space that I trust, I welcome that you have shared a path that I can follow as to the best way to leverage the social web. Google+ has shaken the social web as we know it and I can sense that there is a big shift going to happen. Watching and listening…. I plan to head over to your LinkedIn group now! Thank you again for your keen insights.
Hey Denise — would love a google + invite 🙂 Well put, the various sites all have strengths/weaknesses and it’s also related to who our “perfect” people are. We have to know that to decide where they are, what they like and how they interact…
Hi! I would like to be on Google+. Could you please send me an invite? Thank you.
Denise, what a nerve point you have hit! When I was invited to start connecting on Google+ a week ago, my heart sank – “oh no, not another site to keep up with!” However the attention it seems to be getting and the responses make me realize quickly that social media will always evolve and we as social marketers and business owners need to keep ahead in order to remain relevant. Thank you for your own way of evolving your presence and I have been contemplating a LI group for a long while since I have a very large network on LI and people seem more responsive there. I would love an invite to Google+ too!
best wishes
Clare
Thanks Janis! Like everything around online marketing, it’s an evolving environment and we have to adapt or … I don’t know what…give up? Become irrelevant?
I liked your article and have read that Google + is better than Facebook. I’d love an invitation to Google+ to try it out.
sent. thanks for stopping by.
Denise, I really like how you’ve gone through your Facebook friend list and made it so it was only comprised of people you have actual relationships with. A few months back I removed 200 friends — it was liberating and I barely noticed the difference! -Sarah
removing acquaintances is an ongoing project. Back in the day I accepted everyone as a friend and hit the 5K mark. Now I have to through one by one to evaluate if they stay on my personal list or get removed. Thanks for commenting.
Business-wise, I find Twitter helps achieve more desired results re: people clicking through to new posts, etc. Facebook seems to have tapered off in the past 6-12 months. LinkedIn works fairly well but it mostly winds up being a list of contacts that I don’t really know. Each serves a purpose, but it can be overwhelming if you try to be everything in each realm. I really find the old email newsletter is still the best at getting visitors to be customers. It all really depends on the purpose of using social media (blog, business, sales, etc).
Great article…thanks for sharing. I’d also be happy to receive a Google+ invite!
Interesting to see how the networks evolve. In 2009 I was getting most of my blog traffic from Twitter, then it slowly switch to Facebook. I haven’t posted my own content on G+ yet so the jury is out there.
I agree email is the most effective for people taking action. All the other stuff helps build awareness, relationship and eventually conversion to one’s list and then client/customer.
Hey Denise – great question on how to manage all the online engaging while running a business and meeting deadlines and commitments. Fishing in all the ponds is important – and I agree re: LinkedIn vs. Facebook for business. The exposure and direct response/involvment on LinkedIn is much higher, targeted and, frankly, I feel it’s a more serious and committed group. Even though FB Pages for business can be effective, LinkedIn has a ‘strictly professional adults’ brand vs. Facebook’s original brand: students/YA/family/friends. Twitter is an important marketing campaign, tremendous exposure, and good for the brain (it’s so fast!) Thanks for pulling together a terrific group via OVBG – I’ve met many wonderful and helpful folks already. BTW: would love a Google+ invite if you have one to share. – Ande Lyons
A Buzzology we struggle with making sure clients are where they need to be, but know they need to feed the monster too. It’s a question that everyone needs to answer, but there is no one answer. So we will advise using Google + believing that there will be more fish to catch there.
Thanks Denise. Can you send me an invite also?
Denise, it is so true that you have to know your audience and the type of content they want and where they are most likely to come and consume it.
My company is focused on teaching businesses how to leverage various technologies inclusive of social media. My audience is typically looking for education. In my case, I get more activity from LinkedIn and Twitter. I have also found my audience still loves the newsletters.
I have plans for how I am going to use Google+ within my business to connect with customers. More about that as Google+ becomes more mature.
Once you know your audience and what they want from you, hen you have a better handle on which social media channel(s) people will be more likely to ‘watch.’
I will keep you posted.
Can’t wait to hear what your plans are for G+!
great article, thanks! i would love a G+ invite please
I need your email address to send you an invite.
Hi Denise, thanks for the article, I would love to get an invite, I will send you a DM
Thanks Candi
Hello Denise I would love an invite for Google+! And to be a part of one of your circles. I think moving Facebook to friends and family would be an ideal way to go and then using other forms of social media for business or more general friendships.
You’ve gotta love Facebook though – look what it started!!
Invite sent.
please send me an invite, thanks!
I need your email address in order to send an invite.
Thanks Denise – I’ve been pondering all these questions and have had similar thoughts as to how to manage my networks as well (I’ve never friended any ‘business-related’ person who was also not a friend, so hopefully I’m ahead of the tide there).
BTW – I’m in your LinkedIn group and love all the headlines I see going by but haven’t had time to really engage – it is my intension though! As an aside – I saw this post on LI, but came to it through a FB post on my wall via Social Media Examiner. After seeing it a few times I finally said enuf! Let me read that!!!
Hey Linda, glad you succombed to the power of multi platform syndication! That’s precisely why I recommend getting your message on all the key sites — your peeps need to see it somewhere when the time is right for THEM in order to respond.
please send me an invite, thanks!
I need your email address, Fernanda, in order to send you an invite. You can DM me on twitter or send a message of Facebook.
Always keeping me informed. YOU make me look tech savvy! I would love a Google + invite, Denise.
Invite sent, Jill!
Great post, Denise. No wonder you’re my go-to-gal when it comes to online visibility. Your perspective on managing social media this way via Facebook, Google +, and LinkedIn is just what I’ve been looking for. Last week, when I received my first Google + invitation, I declined, not really understanding if or how I’d use it. I like to let the dust settle before jumping in. And like Kurt, I could dive in and never come up out of these social media venues if I allowed myself to. Oy vey!
I like your idea of the LinkedIn group, and am heading over there right now to make sure I’m a part of it. To me, it seems forming smaller targeted collaborative groups like you have in LinkedIn is the best way to get the word out because each person has a strong investment in the success of the group. When the group gets too large, like can happen on Facebook or Twitter, the effectiveness dwindles in the numbers. Would love to hear your thoughts on this too. Thank you for this mini-lesson!
Thanks for stopping by Debra! I don’t think I’ve quite figured out how I’ll be using G+ but I’ll let you know as I go.
I agree that smaller groups are getting better engagement. The bigger the group the more difficult it is to keep up. Same with having so many social networks. Your energy gets diluted and I have a feeling people will pick their network of choice and hang on. Problem with that is when your audience moves to a new network, you better move too!
I wrote a blog post on this very topic. Let me know what you think.
Do you have a link for your post, Matthew?
Thanks for checking in, Wil. I like the Circle feature as well, though I’ve noticed that I’ve mostly shared content publicly so far. Probably because my G+ contact base is small right now and I’m still getting my feet wet.
I’m excited about the potential for Google+ and have started some migration of my contacts to the platform. But, as I’m doing this I’m wondering who will find me there. As much as I’m frustrated with the complexity of navigating Facebook profile and business pages, clients are, for the most part, totally confused.
Since I’m so tethered to various Google apps now, it won’t be hard to make the big switch. And if Google+ takes advantage of the complexity of the Facebook experience for businesses, then it will become a big competitor.As you say, each platform has it’s strengths, Google+ seems to working hard to incorporate as many of these as possible in G+.
If I had to drop any platform to make room for a new one, it would be my Facebook page. I’d purge my facebook contacts and move my networking buddies over to G+.
I’m with you. I’ve been a Google gal for a long time and I can see myself moving completely from Facebook to Google. However, as you know, you gotta be where your audience is so that means staying the course with Facebook too. Of course, it’s our job to educate our clients so that will be integrated into my strategy as well. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
It’ll be interesting to see how long it is before we start guiding new clients to G+ as opposed to FB. (shhh, hope Mari’s not listening 😉
When things begin to get complicated I tend to want to oversimplify, get back to basics and make sure I’m asking the right questions. The one image that’s helped me most is thinking of social media platforms as new versions of telephones. This helps me to see the different types of conversations needed for each new type of “telephone” and also makes it easy to see how some people like a certain type to another. AND it makes it real easy for me to see which social media platforms are more aligned with my own personal communication style. I find this helps a lot when things change.
Today, Facebook for personal stuff is just not me. I prefer real conversations with my friends and will never share much personal stuff online. Twitter DMs and Skype are my preferred social communication tools today. LinkedIn can be a bit too “false” for me – too many people pumping themselves up and too much spam and very bad marketing tactics. Despite this it’s fairly easy to find a little space on LinkedIn that feels OK. (But I’m definitely not using it fully). And I’m looking forward to playing around with Google+, it might just be the right communication style for me. Let’s just hope the people I want to connect with on social media also find their way there 🙂
Thanks, Cindy. My sense is that I’ll be eventually migrating more over to Google+ but in the meantime I’ve got to be where my audience is and they are all over the place. I will need to be more disciplined with my social networking as things evolve in social media.
Miklos, I sent you a Google+ invite.
I’m finding it tough to gain traction on FB for my biz page as well, however, I’m not ready to change my personal page to just family & friends. The reason for that is some of my connections aren’t close friends, but they don’t have pages, so there is no other way to connect there. The other problem with just interacting via a page is that it’s mostly a one way conversation unless people write on the wall and for some conversations that’s not appropriate. It would be nice if pages had fuller functionality in my mind.
I just got onto Linked in a month or so ago maybe, and I do agree there’s more stuff posted, but I am concerned about the spam aspect because I already see it in another blogger group I’m in.
I don’t use Twitter as much though, I feel kind of invisible there a lot of times. I will likely keep my profile there though because there are some who prefer to communicate that way.
Haven’t been invited to G+ yet, though they are over capacity from what I can see anyway. I agree that the idea of the circles and further subdividing is attractive.
Thanks for your thoughtful reply, Cheryl. Every site requires a different approach and I find I have to evolve how I interact on this network. There is spam everywhere. I get spam posts on my Facebook profile and pages, I get spam in my twitter stream and so far, not too much on LinkedIn. I focus on connecting with real people, answering their questions and starting conversations and then see where it goes.
I sent you an invite for G+. Let me know when you’re in.
Thanks Denise, I’m in :-). I was surprised actually because when I went over on my own a different way, it said they were over capacity. Your invite came a few minutes later and no problem.
The funniest part is I wanted to let you know that I was on and I thought this conversation was started on LinkdIn. What I think actually happened is I was there, saw the link in your update maybe then got here.
So much for having a handle on managing my social media LOL.
Thanks for your thoughtful reply, Cheryl. Every site requires a different approach and I find I have to evolve how I interact on this network. There is spam everywhere. I get spam posts on my Facebook profile and pages, I get spam in my twitter stream and so far, not too much on LinkedIn. I focus on connecting with real people, answering their questions and starting conversations and then see where it goes.
I sent you an invite for G+. Let me know when you’re in.
I’m finding it tough to gain traction on FB for my biz page as well, however, I’m not ready to change my personal page to just family & friends. The reason for that is some of my connections aren’t close friends, but they don’t have pages, so there is no other way to connect there. The other problem with just interacting via a page is that it’s mostly a one way conversation unless people write on the wall and for some conversations that’s not appropriate. It would be nice if pages had fuller functionality in my mind.
I just got onto Linked in a month or so ago maybe, and I do agree there’s more stuff posted, but I am concerned about the spam aspect because I already see it in another blogger group I’m in.
I don’t use Twitter as much though, I feel kind of invisible there a lot of times. I will likely keep my profile there though because there are some who prefer to communicate that way.
Haven’t been invited to G+ yet, though they are over capacity from what I can see anyway. I agree that the idea of the circles and further subdividing is attractive.
I’m finding it tough to gain traction on FB for my biz page as well, however, I’m not ready to change my personal page to just family & friends. The reason for that is some of my connections aren’t close friends, but they don’t have pages, so there is no other way to connect there. The other problem with just interacting via a page is that it’s mostly a one way conversation unless people write on the wall and for some conversations that’s not appropriate. It would be nice if pages had fuller functionality in my mind.
I just got onto Linked in a month or so ago maybe, and I do agree there’s more stuff posted, but I am concerned about the spam aspect because I already see it in another blogger group I’m in.
I don’t use Twitter as much though, I feel kind of invisible there a lot of times. I will likely keep my profile there though because there are some who prefer to communicate that way.
Haven’t been invited to G+ yet, though they are over capacity from what I can see anyway. I agree that the idea of the circles and further subdividing is attractive.
I’m finding it tough to gain traction on FB for my biz page as well, however, I’m not ready to change my personal page to just family & friends. The reason for that is some of my connections aren’t close friends, but they don’t have pages, so there is no other way to connect there. The other problem with just interacting via a page is that it’s mostly a one way conversation unless people write on the wall and for some conversations that’s not appropriate. It would be nice if pages had fuller functionality in my mind.
I just got onto Linked in a month or so ago maybe, and I do agree there’s more stuff posted, but I am concerned about the spam aspect because I already see it in another blogger group I’m in.
I don’t use Twitter as much though, I feel kind of invisible there a lot of times. I will likely keep my profile there though because there are some who prefer to communicate that way.
Haven’t been invited to G+ yet, though they are over capacity from what I can see anyway. I agree that the idea of the circles and further subdividing is attractive.
I’m finding it tough to gain traction on FB for my biz page as well, however, I’m not ready to change my personal page to just family & friends. The reason for that is some of my connections aren’t close friends, but they don’t have pages, so there is no other way to connect there. The other problem with just interacting via a page is that it’s mostly a one way conversation unless people write on the wall and for some conversations that’s not appropriate. It would be nice if pages had fuller functionality in my mind.
I just got onto Linked in a month or so ago maybe, and I do agree there’s more stuff posted, but I am concerned about the spam aspect because I already see it in another blogger group I’m in.
I don’t use Twitter as much though, I feel kind of invisible there a lot of times. I will likely keep my profile there though because there are some who prefer to communicate that way.
Haven’t been invited to G+ yet, though they are over capacity from what I can see anyway. I agree that the idea of the circles and further subdividing is attractive.
I was kinda thinking the same thing. Some types of social media work better than others for specific things. But I can’t mess with all of them all day or I wouldn’t get anything done! I’d like to do more with LinkedIn and YouTube and now Google+ comes along and I feel compelled to play with it and assess the possibilities. Oy vey!
Oy vey is right. I guess it’s the nature of our business. There will always be something new to evaluate and the key is to find the best solution for our business and those we serve.