Google Plus – what makes it a must-have?

Google Plus

The media has been abuzz with news about the recent offering from Google’s think-tank, Google Plus. Some said it could be the instrument that would take social networking to an all new level. Google is not known for half-measures, however, so there apps and its own offering revamped and added on here. There is Google +1 too, which means users can recommend a page to others in their ‘circle’. That’s one more feather is the search engine giant’s cap, for it now allows users to see which pages have been found useful by their friends.Google Plus, which is also written as Google+, is mainly a virtual platform which lets people form ‘circles’ of friends. They can chat with or without the video option – something other networking sites have not offered until now. Some of the basic rules remain common – the user has to be an adult and have a Google account. Like Orkut, Google Plus started on an ‘invite only’ basis.The desktop and mobile versions (suitable for only Android and iOS phones) of Google Plus are ready for immediate use. The frenzy seems to have caught on mainly among iPhone users who use the Google+ iPhone app rampantly. The high demand perhaps can be attributed to the novelty of having Hangouts, Huddles and the option to ‘Spark’ topics of one’s interest. Far-flung users all over the globe can meet in a virtual chat room and see one another in a video chat. They can also share YouTube videos. The Stream is analogous with the ‘newsfeed’ of Facebook, where one can check the updates from their circle of friends.The charm of Google Plus also lies in the design of the page – it’s cool, colorful and extremely interesting to navigate through to discover the delights. Your Picasa album can be linked and shared here with some additional trappings, and you can also check your mail, Google Maps and Google Calendar. So if you are one more person who wants to have Google Plus, hit +1!

Win a Copy of The Facebook Marketing Book!

With Facebook being in everyone’s faces 24 / 7 these days it’s no wonder that every marketer feels like they need to be there. Of course, having the desire to be there and having the knowledge to be there in a way that impacts business are often two very different things.

We had a chance to talk with Dan and Alison Zarrella, the husband and wife authors of the book titled appropriately enough, The Facebook Marketing Book (not an affiliate link). Alison is a social media consultant and Dan is a social media scientist. Considering they were editing this book on their honeymoon it is safe to say that they are dedicated to their craft. Here’s what they had to say about Facebook and marketing.

MP: With the popularity of Facebook (some saying that there are 600 million accounts worldwide) is it a ‘must’ for marketers to be on Facebook?

Alison: In my opinion (and I think Dan agrees), it’s definitely a requirement. Younger generations especially expect brands to be on there, and there’s a huge disconnect when you can’t find them. If your competitors are on Facebook, as they are in most major industries, you’ve got to keep up. If they’re not on there yet, you have a chance to be the first and really set yourself apart as the most “with it” brand in your industry. Either way, it’s another way to connect with fans, try new things and secure another spot for your brand name in search results.

MP: If a business was making a decision for search marketing with Google v Facebook marketing how do they determine which is best for them? Is it necessary to be in both places rather than either or?

Alison: Facebook is indexed for search, so search marketing and social media marketing really go well together. Your Facebook Page doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel. Use what you’ve learned from writing and optimizing content for your website and apply it to Facebook. Turn blog posts or articles into smaller segments for status updates and drive to your site for the full post. Assets designed for your website can also be used on Facebook in an FBML tab. Your Page should have the same look and feel of your site, broken into more manageable bite-size, shareable chunks.

MP: What skills does an effective Facebook marketer need? How is this responsibility being handled by companies? Do you see dedicated staff? Is it another duty of the marketing department? Is it an outsourced responsibility?

Alison: A Facebook marketer needs to really understand the site from a user perspective. They need to know what the Newsfeed looks like when you “like” over 100 Pages, and what makes people click “like” on some Pages and not others. Companies handle this in many different ways, but the smartest plan is to have an in-house person or team who knows the business inside and out. They can answer questions confidently and quickly and make sure that everything stays on brand. Most importantly, they (hopefully) care about the company and what they’re doing on Facebook.

MP: Many businesses don’t have the resources to commit to Internet marketing for a variety of reasons. What do you recommend to companies that say “We would love to but just don’t have the time, money etc”?

Alison: I want to know what they are doing instead. Facebook is free. With the exception of advertising, you can do everything we outline in the book with absolutely no money. Yes, you need time and some skills, but if you start small and build your way up you’ll get the hang of it. People think Facebook has to take all day, but that’s not the case. The more familiar and comfortable you are with the site, the less time you’ll need to spend on it. You’ll learn how to multi-task and check in periodically without letting it takeover your whole day.

MP: In your research were there any surprises that you just didn’t see when you were thinking of writing the book?

Dan: Yes, in fact when you ask any publisher what days not to publish content, they’ll generally say Saturday and Sunday. But when I looked at Facebook sharing, I found that articles that were posted on the weekends tended to be shared more than articles that were posted during the week.
For more info- http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2011/01/win-a-copy-of-the-facebook-marketing-book.html

Google Announces High Replication Datastore for App Engine

It's no secret that Google App Engine has suffered from reliability issues. Google is attempting to address some of its issues by making a new datastore option available: the High Replication Datastore.

"The High Replication Datastore provides the highest level of availability for your reads and writes, at the cost of increased latency for writes and changes in consistency guarantees in the API," writes Kevin Gibbs in the announcement. "API. The High Replication Datastore increases the number of data centers that maintain replicas of your data by using the Paxos algorithm to synchronize that data across datacenters in real time." A detailed comparison of the two datastore options is available in App Engine documentation.

The price for the new datastore is starting out at three times the cost of the Master/Slave option, but the pricing will likely change in the future.

For the time being, the traditional Master/Slave datastore will remain the default configuration option. The datastore cannot be changed after an application is created, so existing applications can't be switched to the High Replication Datastore. However, Google is providing some migration tools.

There's a new option in the admin console that allow users to put their applications in read-only mode so that data can be reliable copied between applications. Google is also providing a migration tool with the Python SDK that allows code to be copied from one application to another.
For more info- http://social-media.alltop.com/

Why You Should Use Social Media In The Endeavors Of Your Online Or Offline Business

Social media websites have seen a real surge in popularity in the last ten years to the extent that millions of people around the world belong to them which does provide businesses with amazing opportunities. If you own your own company or are involved in the marketing of one then you really should be using social media in business and these are a few reasons why.

First of all you are able to kind of build an online fan club for your business and can keep in contact with existing or previous customers as well as being able to market yourself to new people. It can be extremely targeted and this type of advertising is worth its weight in gold as it can really help you to get new customers within your local area or those who are interested in what it is you have to offer.

By running your own page you are able to advertise your business and any special deals that you have to your captive audience. They are notified of changes to your page or status updates so you know that everyone is going to be made aware of your new news. It saves you having to go around everyone individually and hope that they get the message.

It is also a very good place for you to work on building relationships between business and customer. People love good customer service and if you are showing yourself as taking a real interest in your customers then this reflects well on you in trying to gain new ones who are watching how you deal with people.

You are able to post up images of your business as well as short videos which again are good ways to promote yourself online. People who are members of your page are more likely to look at it or keep up to date with special dates and offers giving you a better return on your investment than other forms of business.

The return on investment is very good because it does not cost you any money to do this it only costs you some of your time. You have nothing to lose by even spending just twenty minutes a day expanding your online network but of course if you spend more time on it you are going to get much better results.

By being on these very popular types of websites you are going to give your business and indeed your brand a lot of exposure. What also helps is that current or previous customers can leave comments on your page so it does act as reviews which can encourage others to perhaps use you for whatever it is you do.

The key to being on social media is to get to a point that other people are talking about your business. Their friends see that they are on your page and get interested in what it is you do so you end up building your network without you having to do anything else and again this is absolutely free which can only help you in building your business and of course bring you in more income.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Greg_Scott

Does Social Media Really Work For Business?

Social media has boomed over the past 18 months with many people getting involved in applications such as Twitter and Facebook. Some do it for their own personal use and others do it for their businesses. A question that we get asked a lot is whether social media actually works for a business? There are many businesses that do not currently use social media as they do not see the benefits of it.

Firstly let's look at the best social media applications available to your business.

Twitter

Twitter has become some what of a household name over the past 12 months and many businesses have seen the value it offers. But what is it? Twitter is a micro blogging website that allows users to create short blogs of 140 characters, within this micro blog you can also add a link to direct the reader towards the content you might be mentioning.

Many people think of it as just a place where you tell people what you are up to at every moment of the day, this however just isn't true. Twitter allows you to connect with people that interest you such as piers in your chosen industry; you can also connect with suppliers and most importantly existing and potential customers.

With Twitter you follow people and create a following of your own, it isn't a numbers game though, it is best to follow quality people who regularly use Twitter to interact, this way you will get the most from your experience.

Facebook

Facebook seems to have been around a long time but it actually isn't very old. It is currently the most hit website on the internet which just shows its dominance. Most of Facebook usage is personal with users finding old school friends and sharing their lives with family and friends.

So how does this help a business? Well Facebook has an area called Facebook page, this allows you to add your business profile and interact with others. The difference between a personal profile and a business page is that users do not need to be logged into Facebook to view your page. With a login area between user and page (personal profile) the search engines cannot access that page but with no login area (business page) a search engine can index that page which means that there is more the reason to add your business and start writing content and adding pictures.

You can also advertise your business via Facebook's pay per click scheme; this allows you to target certain users. You can choose the age and interests in which to aim your campaign, this has been very effective for some large companies with some just choosing to launch products and brands this way.

YouTube

YouTube is a video website right? Yes it is but there is also an underlying social medial element to it that many are not exploiting. A YouTube channel not only allows you to upload videos but you can also create a group of friends and invite people who interest you to view your new videos. You can also subscribe to channels that interest you and send direct messages.

You will also see that videos now rank within search engine results pages so it is important that you get involved and upload your videos to YouTube.

What is so good about social media?

Social media is changing the way we do business and the way in which we can communicate with customers both existing and new. If you are planning on launching a new product into your business then why not ask your social media base what they think about it? They will provide you with feedback that could not be previously achieved and if they like the product you already have some people willing to buy it.

If you have a business that deals with longer term clients social media is a great way of informing them what your business is currently doing and the ideas for the future it has. Keeping your clients continually involved allows you to create better working relationships which are better for both sides.

Search engines such as Google are changing all the time and they are swaying continually towards indexing social media to bring a more live experience to search results pages. This again shows the importance of regularly updated Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Social media best practices
The trick with social media is to build up your presence slowly, do not just set up an account and tell everyone about your business because they will easily get bored of you. You have to treat social media like as if you were at a dinner party - You do not want to be the guy that talks all about himself, you want to be the person that finds out about others, shows interest and then influences people with their own thoughts.

Always brand your social media like you would your stationery and website. Applications like Twitter allow you to create your own backgrounds and add profile pictures and logos, take full advantage of this. The secret to good branding is repetition so use your colour schemes and logos to full effect.

Do not be too personal on social media; do not allow your own political views and beliefs to be shown to others and always remember that your comments and blogs can be seen by many. With this in mind still have fun with it, it is there to be used and used properly it can create a wealth of new clients and revenue.

Ian Spencer works for Clear Web Services, a SEO Web Optimisation and Web Design company serving the Forest Of Dean, Gloucestershire and South Wales.

He has worked in the SEO and Internet Marketing world for many years, and working in partnership with another company has launched the new SEO business.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ian_D_Spencer