Strictly Marketing Magazine May/June 2016 | Page 4

One A+ and Three Cs Makes for a Good Google+ Report Card! passionate community of users, but the second goal was larger for us. We’re at a point where things like photos and communication are very important, we’re reorganizing around that.” Three Cs – Communities, Collections and Create: This may help to explain how Google+ shifted focus from something we would consider a traditional social network to Communities and Collections. T here are more people showing up and more engagement happening on the Google+ platform than you may just imagine. If you are ignoring this you may be missing out on one of the most important methods for building SEO and connecting with new customers. Best of all you can’t beat Google+ as a FREE marketing tool for your business. Many users who were skeptical of the Google+ platform are taking a second look and liking what they see. One thing is for sure, many of the users, including myself, are devoted and passionate about what Google+ has to offer. In fact, Global Web Index conducted a 2015 survey that indicated the number of people using Google+ was higher than what might be expected. 23% of those worldwide Internet users (excluding China) who were surveyed had used Google+ in the past month. While we don’t know the exact number of users we can safely assume it is in the millions. That is lots of potential eyeballs that just might see what you have to share. So what may have contributed to these changes? Bradley Horowitz who works on Google Products shared “For us, Google+ was always two things, a stream and a social layer. The stream has a 4 Strictly Marketing Magazine May/June 2016 Google+ Communities provides a place to connect with other people who are interested, passionate and curious about the same things that interest you. To discover Communities that may of interest to you all you need to do is click on the Communities icon on the life of your Google+ page. From there you can create your own communities or join those of interest to you. If you are just starting out with Google+ or returning to Google+ it is a great idea to join a community. There are already people there so it will make it easier to begin engaging and building a following. And if you see something you like, a comment, image or shared post hit the +1 button so people will notice you and your approval. Google+ Collections allows you to group your posts by topic. You can create collections around a particular topic or interest. And your collections can be shared publicly, privately or with a select set of people. Create whatever collection interests you and your G+ profile will add a new tab where people can find and follow selected collections. Collections provide a great way to follow and share the stuff you love. The latest addition to the Google+ platform is Google Create!