Google+ Pages for Business Guide

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Table of Contents

What is Google+ and Why is it Important for Businesses .....................................2 Setting up your Google+ Profile ............................................................................2 Editing Your Google+ Profile.................................................................................2 What are Google+ Pages?....................................................................................2 Whats the Difference Between a Google+ Page and a Google+ Profile? ............3 Creating a Google+ Page .....................................................................................4 Connecting Your Website to Google+...................................................................4 Adding a Google+ Button or Static Badge to your Website ..................................5 Interaction between Google+ profiles and Google+ pages ...................................6 Managers and Owners on Google+ pages ...........................................................7 Setting Privacy for a Google+ Page ......................................................................7 How to Add People to Your Google+ Page Circles...............................................8 Finding Your Google+ page ID .............................................................................8 Choose visibility settings for individual profile sections .........................................9 Setting Your Google+ Page Alerts and Notifications.............................................9 Promoting Your Google+ Page ...........................................................................10 Limiting Who You Receive Notifications From ....................................................11 Sharing in the Stream (or Spreading the Word) ..................................................12 How to Reshare a Post .......................................................................................13 Locking a post.....................................................................................................14 Sending a Private Message ................................................................................14 Ignoring or Blocking People ................................................................................16 Removing Someone from Your Circle.................................................................19 Google+ Direct Connect......................................................................................20 A Word About Hangouts .....................................................................................21 Vocabulary..........................................................................................................22

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What is Google+ and Why is it Important for Businesses

Google+ is a social network. It can be used to connect on a personal or professional level. Once you set up a profile, you can create a page for your business. With Google+ pages, businesses can share information and connect with customers and other businesses. Google+ pages were launched on November 7, 2011.

Setting up your Google+ Profile

If you already have a Google profile, you can skip this step. If you need to create an account, find out how. Or, sign into your account.

Editing Your Google+ Profile

You must have a profile before you can set up a page. If you already have a Google+ profile, you can skip this step and set up your Google+ page. Or, you can edit your profile before setting up your page. When youre on the Google+ page that youre editing, follow the steps below: 1. Click the profile icon 2. Click Edit Profile. 3. Choose a section to edit. You'll know it's editable when the color of the section changes to blue. .

What are Google+ Pages?

Google+ pages are social networks used primarily for businesses to interact with customers and other businesses. You can set up a Google+ page for any of the following categories:

Local businesses

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Companies, institutions or organizations Products or brands Entertainment, arts, sports Other

Whats the Difference Between a Google+ Page and a Google+ Profile?

The difference between a Google+ page and a Google+ profile are:

Profiles are set up for people: pages are set up for the categories listed above

The default privacy setting for a page profile is Public Pages for Local Businesses have fields to help locate your physical location

Pages can have more than one administrator Pages can have a +1 button; profiles cant People must add a page to their circle before the page can add them (sort of like Opting In)

Profiles can click the +1 button on pages, but pages cannot Pages cannot share with circles once removed (i.e., extended circles); but profiles have that option

Pages cannot play games or hangout on mobile devices

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Creating a Google+ Page

1. Sign into your Google+ profile. (You must have a Google account before you can open a Google+ page.) If you dont have one, sign up for one. 2. Select Incoming from the left sidebar. Note: If you select Local Business or Place category, you must provide an address. 3. Click Create a Google Page on the right sidebar. 4. Click one of the categories that best describes your page. 5. Type your businesss phone number and click Locate. The number should be the business line. 6. Click your businesss name, if its listed. If its not listed, click Add your business to Google or Look up a different number. 7. Add your basic business information. Note: Google may already have information, which you can edit. 8. From the dropdown menu, select the primary category for your business. 9. Choose the age requirement for your business. 10. Click Create.

Connecting Your Website to Google+

To gain more visibility, link your website to your Google+: 1. Click the profile icon 2. Click Edit Profile. 3. Click Links on the About tab. 4. Click Add custom link. at the top of the page.

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5. Type a link title and add the URL. 6. Click Save. Link your website to your Google+ page and then link your Google+ to your website. The links are important because they allow you to easily connect with friends, customers, and fans. And, the spiders and bots pick up information more easily for Google searches. It allows Google to consolidate the +1's from your site and your page, and makes your site eligible for Google+ Direct Connect. After youve linked your Google+ page to your website, make sure to also link your website to your page. Learn how to add the Google+ badge to your website.

Adding a Google+ Button or Static Badge to your Website

You can include a Google+ button encouraging visitors to come to your site. Beyond the difference in looks between the Google+ button and the badge, the badge also includes a +1 button. And, it allows visitors to add your page directly to their circles. The badge looks like this: or a static Google+ badge on

your page (or both). If you include both, you increase your chances of

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If you previously included +1 button on individual posts, its best to leave them and then add a separate Google+ badge to your page. When you include the badge on your website, you interact directly with Google+ Direct Connect. When users type +site_name in Google search, they go directly to the corresponding Google+ page.

Google+ Button
You can add a Google+ button to your page, or to individual posts and

content. You can customize your content and get the snippet of code.

Static Badge
A static Google+ badge is available to post as a link to your Google+ page.

Find out more about the Google+ badge and generate code.

Interaction between Google+ profiles and Google+ pages

Google+ pages interact with users much the same as Google+ profiles. Google+ owners of pages can:

If someone has already added or mentioned you, you can mention people in comments and posts

Ignore and block people and pages Add people (who have previously added you) to circles Add pages to circles Reshare, comment on, and +1 peoples posts Join and share hangouts

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Pages cannot interact with a Google+ profile unless the profile has added it to the circle or previously mentioned it. You can remove a page from your circles, block the page or ignore the page. The page can also be reported as being abusive.

Managers and Owners on Google+ pages

Google+ allows a page to have one owner and up to 50 managers, who all have the same permissions. Managers can edit the page without having access to your personal login information. If your page is updated frequently, letting others have access to the page allows you to share responsibility for updating it. The names of the owner and the managers are not visible to the public. A manger has all of the responsibilities of an owner except they cannot transfer ownership of a page nor can they delete a page.

Setting Privacy for a Google+ Page

The privacy of your Google+ profile settings can be edited to allow you to:

Select who you share info with (click here to see more information) Control what profile information each group sees (the settings are public for pages by default)

Limit interaction with pages and people by blocking or ignoring them Limit whos allowed to send notifications to a page by adjusting the settings

Lock posts to prevent them from being shared

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How to Add People to Your Google+ Page Circles

1. Click on the Circles icon at the top of the page. Note: People must

first add a page to their circle before the page can add the person 2. Add people and pages by clicking Drop here to create a circle. 3. Click See whos already added you to find out who has already added you to their circle. Note: After someone has added your page, you dont need to reciprocate and add them to your circle. They will still receive your public posts. 4. Click the circle Drop here to create a circle to open a screen that identifies the circle. Note: The following default circles are displayed: Following, Customers, VIPs, and Team Members. 5. Add a description to the circle and begin to add people by dragging their profile. 6. Click Create empty circle. Note: People who have been added to your circle will receive a single notification, even if they have been added to more than one circle.

Finding Your Google+ page ID

1. Log into your Google+ account. 2. Go to the Stream of the page that youd like the ID for. 3. Look at the address bar at the top of the page. Your page ID is in the form of a 21-digit string in the following format:
https://plus.google.com / [yourpageID]

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Choose visibility settings for individual profile sections

While in edit mode, the icon next to each section of your profile indicates whether that section is visible to a custom set of people or the public, visible to circles, or is private. Note that by default, your name and profile are always public. You must be signed into Google+ before updating your visibility settings. 1. 2. 3. 4. Click the Profile icon Click Edit profile. Click the About tab. Click the profile section that youd like to edit. (Note: each section allows you to indicate what categories (Friends circle, etc.) can view that section.) 5. 6. Repeat these steps for as many sections as youd like to change Click Save. .

You can see how your profile appears to others after you update your settings.

Setting Your Google+ Page Alerts and Notifications

You can set alerts so you are notified of important events that involve your Google+ Page. For example, you can set how youll be notified and for which events. To set your event notifications, follow the steps below: 1. Sign into Google+. 2. On the left sidebar, click on the page that youre adjusting the settings for. 3. At the top of the page, click the Options icon.

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4. Select Google+ settings. 5. Mark the check boxes to identify which events you would like to be notified about.

Promoting Your Google+ Page

Use these techniques to increase the visibility of your page and promote your Google + page.

Keep your profile up-to-date and update your posts frequently People interact with recent posts, and will return often when posts are current.

Spread the word When you click Spread the word on the sidebar of your page, you share your page with people from either your Google+ profile or your page, depending on which account you are logged into.

Connect your website with your Google+ page With a link to your website, you increase your chances of being noticed with customers and friends, and it helps Google determine the popularity of your site.

If you have an AdWords or AdWords Express campaign Connect your page to your campaign in order to share +1s, which adds to the count on your page and vice versa.

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Limiting Who You Receive Notifications From

If you receive too much information, you may want to limit the notifications you receive from certain people. You can limit notifications for the following activities:

Photo tagging Invitations to games or hangouts Mentions in a post or comment Posts shared with you

When youre signed into Google+, you can limit notifications by: 1. Clicking on the Stream icon .

2. Clicking Settings at the top right side of the page. 3. Clicking the arrow next to Who can send you notifications in the section Who can interact with you and your posts. 4. Making a selection, or customizing your selection:

5. Clicking the arrow next to Who can comment on your public posts in the section Who can interact with you and your posts. 6. Making a selection, or customizing your selection.

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Sharing in the Stream (or Spreading the Word)

Once youve set up your Google+ account, youll want to create content to post and share. The information that you share in Google+ is added to your stream and those who you share with. Note: Shared information is public and may appear in search results. Once you are signed into Google+, you can share by doing the following: 1. Click the Share button at the top of the page, in the Google bar.

Alternatively, you can go to your Google+ Stream, and click Spread the Word in the right sidebar.

2. Enter your post. 3. A pre-populated group of people may be displayed if you previously shared content with the group. You can remove a circle by clicking X. You

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can click +Add circles or people to share with to add people or circles, unless you have a pre-populated group to share with. 4. You can share your post by emailing someone if theyre not on Google+. 5. To add a photo , video , link or location , click on the appropriate icon, then drag them to the Share box. Links can be added by finding the icon next to the URL in the browser window and dragging it to the Share box. 6. Click Share. Groups of people in your Share box may have either a blue or green chip next to the group. Blue chips represent those people with whom content is being shared. Green chips represent people who havent been added to a circle.

How to Reshare a Post

To let others know when you find a post that youd like to share, you can reshare to the stream and share it with your circles, as follows: 1. Click Share at the bottom of the post. 2. A pop up box will appear that will allow you to add comments and determine which circles or people you want to share it with. 3. When you're ready to post, click Share. Note: When resharing, people will see the original post and content, but not comments or +1 on the post. If you reshared a post, it will be made public that you shared it, but not who you shared it with.

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Locking a post
By default, the setting to allow others to reshare a post is automatically enabled. You can lock your posts to prevent resharing via the Share button, mentions, or photo tags. To lock a post: 1. Click the drop down arrow in the box where you add circles to your post. 2. Select Lock this post. 3. Complete your post 4. Click Share to share. Posts can also be locked after theyve been shared by clicking on the drop down menu at the top of the post and clicking Lock this post. This setting is not retroactive on a post, once its been shared. A locked post is indicated by (locked) at the top. To unlock a post, click the drop down menu and select Unlock this post. Anything that you share can be reshared and would be available to the general public through comments, photo tagging or reshares.

Sending a Private Message

If youre sending a private message, you send the message on your Stream screen (and they receive it on their Stream screen), but no one else can see the message. And they cannot share your message. 1. Click on the Home tab.

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2. In the Stream area, click Share whats new.

3. Add your message. 4. Then, use the @ symbol followed by your friends username or add the friends email address to the stream update. When you start to type, the program will fill in the blank.

5. The persons name starts to autofill as you type, if the person is in one of your circle already, and will appear in a blue box below the stream. Click it. Make sure that the Public tag is not added and make sure that there are no circles added to the message.

If the public tag and my friends circle was added to this message it would look like this:

6. Click Share.

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Ignoring or Blocking People

Ignoring People
When you ignore someone, you limit the shared information coming from them.

You wont see them in your circles You wont receive notifications from them (unless they tag you in a photo), and you wont see their mentions of you in your stream

You wont see their posts in your Incoming stream, and the content that theyve shared will be removed from Incoming

They will be removed from the list of People whove added you

Ignored people can still:

Tag you in photos (and you will receive a notification) Add you to their circles Comment on your public posts

The person who is being ignored will be unaware that you have ignored them. They may also appear as a suggested friend at a later time. You can ignore someone using one of the following methods:

1. From the Notifications icon

at the top of the page in the

Google+ bar, you can select the person, and click Ignore next to their name. Note: This option is available for people who have added you, but who you have not yet added to your circles. 2. From your Stream, select Incoming, and click Ignore next to their name. Note: This option is available for people who have added you, but who you have not yet added to your circles.

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3. From you Circles icon

, highlight People whove added you

at the top left side of the page, highlight the person, then click Ignore at the top right side of the page. To see a list of people who you have ignored, select More in the top corner while editing your circles, then click View Ignored in the drop-down menu.

Reactivating an Ignored Person

You can bring an ignored person into one of your circles by: 1. Click the Circles icon at the top of the stream.

2. Highlight People whove added you in the top left part of the page. 3. Click More actions in the top right part of the page. 4. Select View ignored. 5. Select Un-ignore. You can then add them to your circle(s). 6. Select Done. The person is then removed from your Ignored list.

Blocking People
The affect of Blocking someone means:

They are removed from your circles (and any extended circles). You wont see any of their new posts in your stream. They wont see anything that you share with your circles (though they can still see posts that you share publicly not within your circles).

They cant comment on your posts.

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Note: Content that was previously shared is still visible in the blocked persons stream, however, they cant comment on the post. Note: The person is not notified that theyve been blocked, unless theyre blocked from within a hangout. But, it may become apparent to them after their interactions are seen as being limited. To block someone: 1. Click the Circles icon at the top of the stream.

2. Highlight People whove added you in the top left part of the page. 3. Click More actions in the top right part of the page. 4. Click Block. Alternatively, you can do the following: 1. At the persons profile, click Block [persons name]. 2. At the confirmation screen, click Block [persons name]. To see a list of people who have been blocked, select More in the top corner while editing your circles, then click View Blocked in the drop-down menu.

Reactivating a Blocked Person

You can bring an ignored person into one of your circles by doing one of the following: 1. Click the Circles icon at the top of the stream.

2. Highlight People whove added you in the top left part of the page. 3. Click More actions in the top right part of the page. 4. Select View Blocked.

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5. Select Un-block. You can then add them to your circle(s). 6. Select Done. Alternatively, from the persons profile, you can: 1. Click Unblock in the upper right corner. The person is then removed from your Blocked list.

Removing Someone from Your Circle

You have the option of removing someone from a circle or from all of your circles. To remove someone from one specific circle: 1. Click the Circles icon .

2. Open the circle by clicking on it. 3. Select the persons name. 4. When the name is highlighted, select Remove from the upper right corner of the page. 5. Alternatively, you can click on the persons photo and drag them out of the circle. If youd like to remove someone from all of your circles, you can: 1. Click the Circles icon .

2. Click People in your circles at the top left side of the page. 3. Highlight the persons name. 4. Click Remove from the upper right corner of the page.

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A confirmation appears notifying you that the person has been removed from all circles. You can further remove the person from your Google Contacts address book, but it may remove the person from all other Google contact list, including mobile device.

Google+ Direct Connect

With Google+ Direct Connect, you will quickly retrieve to a Google+ page by adding a + operator in front of your search terms, such as +youtube, especially for a company, major brand, or cultural entity. And, you will be given the option to add the page to your circle. If a Google+ page exists for your search, youll be taken to the page immediately, and given the option of signing in (or joining, if you are not already a member), and add the page to your circles. You will also be given the option of automatically adding a Google+ page to your Following circle when searching using Direct Connect. Alternatively, you can change your settings to allow pages to be added to your circle using the following steps: 1. When signed into Google+, click your profile picture at the top of the page. 2. Select Account settings. 3. Click Google+. 4. Modify the settings at the bottom of the page. Note: Google+ Direct Connect is not available for every page at this time. A page is available for Google+ Direct Connect based on its relevance and popularity. You can increase the probability by linking your Google+ page to your

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website, adding a Google+ badge, or by adding a code snippet to your site in addition to including your website link to your page.

A Word About Hangouts

Although not normally associated with a Google+ page, you can connect with others via a multi-person video, for face-to-face interaction. If you like a post, click Hangout beneath it, and your invitation is added to the comments. If others are hanging out, you will be able to see their invitation, too. Hangouts can available through Google+ Messenger on your mobile device. You can also join a hangout by dialing in from almost any country directly into your hangout. US and Canadian calls are free.

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Vocabulary

Circles- Circles are categories set up according to social networking connections. Theyre set up in order for you to share information thats relevant for each group. Google also lets you customize your profile for each circle.

Page Google+ for a professional entity (not a personal profile), such as a local business, company, institution, organization, brand, product, entertainment, arts, sports, other

Hangout Live connections with people using free multi-person video. Click "Hangout" underneath a post that youre passionate about, and well add your invitation to the comments. If others are hanging out already, you'll see their invitation in the comments as well.

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