GOOGLE PLUS TUTORIAL SERIES: WHAT IS GOOGLE PLUS AND SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

This week, we decided to have a look into Google Plus’ Buttons for blogs and websites. First, we will acquaint ourselves with Google plus. Getting to know what it is and the various buttons and how to add them to your blog or website.

These buttons goes a long way in SEO Optimization, it helps in consolidating +1s from your Google plus profile to your blog.

What is Google Plus?

According to Wikipedia: Google+ (pronounced and sometimes written as Google Plus) is a social networking and identity service owned and operated by Google Inc. It is the second-largest social networking site in the world, having surpassed Twitter in January 2013.

It has approximately 359 million active users. As of May 2013, it had a total of 500 million registered users, of whom 235 million are active in a given month. Google has described Google+ as a "social layer" that enhances many of its online properties, unlike conventional social networks generally accessed through a single website.

Google+ was used by 30% of smartphone users between April–June 2013, making it the fourth most used app.

Google+ Role in Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing, according to Wikipedia, refers to the process of gaining website traffic or attention through social media sites.

Social media marketing programs usually center on efforts to create content that attracts attention and encourages readers to share it with their social networks. A corporate message spreads from user to user and presumably resonates because it appears to come from a trusted, third-party source, as opposed to the brand or company itself. Hence, this form of marketing is driven by word-of-mouth, meaning it results in earned media rather than paid media.

Social media is a platform that is easily accessible to anyone with internet access. Increased communication for organizations fosters brand awareness and often, improved customer service. Additionally, social media serves as a relatively inexpensive platform for organizations to implement marketing campaigns.

With Social Media Platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Google+, one can easily gain traffic or attention to one’s blog and websites by implementing/ integrating social media buttons, badges and embebed posts, tweet and timelines as widgets on a blog.

Google Plus released badges and buttons for blogs and websites, which if well implemented can help draw traffic to a blog or website. Recently, new Google badges were released by Google now available. Google has added new profile, page and community badges (examples provided by Google pictured above) that allow you to promote your Google Plus page on your business homepage or your personal blog.

It was by announced Google designer, Chris Messina. The badges should grab some attention on business websites and, which could help build connections on Google Plus.

These buttons come in several different form factors and two themes (dark and light) and better yet are Retina-ready by cleverly relying on Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) for the G+ logo.

Highlight of the Buttons and Badges

+1 Button

Let visitors recommend your content on Google Search and share it on Google+.

Google+ Follow Button

The Google+ Follow button is a simple widget that works well in site designs that that use other social follow buttons or when space is constrained.

Just like the badges, your users can easily add your page or profile to their circles without leaving your site.

Google + Page Badge

For linking your Google+ page to your site. Get more recommendations for your site in Google search and grow your audience on Google+.

With Page Badge, visitors can be engaged on your brand directly by connecting to one of the new Google pages.

Profile Badges

It helps people find you easily on Google Plus and add you to their circles. Allow people to easily find you on Google+ and add you to a circle directly from your website.

It includes the profile badge features and adds some additional functionality. They help Google consolidate +1's from your website and your Google+ page, and make your website eligible for Google+ Direct Connect.

Communities Badges

Community badges allow your website visitors to find your community and preview it before joining. It helps them gets to know what the community is all about before joining it,

With the new Google badges, businesses can connect visitors directly to their Google Plus page from a blog or other website.

Features of The New Badges

Snippet of the Profile photo.
The Thumbnail icon you use to represent your Google Plus page.
A Page Name.
A tagline (Description of the business or website).
A Google Plus follow button and a +1 button.

Creating a new Google Plus badge is simple. The steps are similar to adding any other widget to your blog or website. First select the Google badge you wish to create. Customize the badge by adjusting width, color, layout and choosing whether you wish to include cover photo and tag line.

In our next article, we will discuss how to add a Google+1 Badge to Your Website.

We Are Social: Share With Your Friends. Don't forget to subscribe to our Newsletter.