A little company called Google recently started a new project called Google+. If you haven’t heard or seen (and you don’t live under a rock), Google+ is Google’s social platform that looks to run with the likes of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. Fully integrating itself with the rest of the tools that Google has to offer will set this platform apart from the rest of its competitors.

QUICK OVERVIEW
Google+ features some of the same elements that all social media platforms have, but with their own Googley (yeah, that’s a word now) twist to it. There is a news feed type of element called “Stream.” This will look very similar to other platforms with constant updates of new posts from users that you have in your “Circles.” Circles are customizable, you can have separate circles for everybody in your life (friends, family, co-workers, haters, etc). Like Twitter’s platform, users that you add to your circles do not have to add you to their circles (and vice versa). There is also a place for photos, a group chat element called “Huddle,” and even a place to have group video chat called “Hangout.”

SOCIAL MEDIA OVERLOAD
While this may seem like one more thing to consume your business’s time and money, you must think in terms of depth. Let’s take a football team as an example:
Team One has 11 players – each player plays both offense and defense.
If anyone on Team One gets injured and can’t play, then there is no substitute and both sides of the ball will suffer. Not to mention the fact that every single player is going both ways and working twice as hard.

Team Two has 22 players. – 11 on offense and 11 on defense
If anyone on Team Two gets injured and can’t play, then there are no substitutes for each side. You must rely on a player from the opposite side of the ball to fill in the hole. While it can be done, this will most likely lead to numerous problems and missed assignments.

Team Three has the 44 players. – 11 on offense, 11 on defense, and 11 substitutes for both sides
If anyone on Team Three gets injured and can’t play, then any one of the numerous substitutes can fill in and keep the team pushing towards victory.

Now think of Team One as your business only using Facebook. You still have a chance of being successful, but your chances are less. Now think of Team Two as your business using Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Now your chances of success have just increased substantially. Finally, think of Team Three as your business using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, AND Google+. You have now increased your chances to their fullest potential, and isn’t that what your social media strategy is all about? (Hint: You should answer yes to this question.)

Now that you are thinking of your social media strategy in terms of depth, you can easily see that adding something like Google+ would just further your chances of success. If any of the other platforms start to decline, then you have Google+ to pick up the slack (and vice versa).

Stay tuned for some follow up info on Google+ for businesses!

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Twitter and Facebook may be “what’s hot” for social networking, but with LinkedIn’s network of over 100 million professionals it’s quickly becoming a hotspot to help grow your B2B business. Most people are familiar with how to use LinkedIn on a personal level, but there are several features available to raise awareness and generate revenue for your business as a whole. The top ones are below:

• Make your profile complete and add keywords.
Your profile is the first thing other LinkedIn users see so it’s very important to list all relevant information about yourself. Also, LinkedIn profiles have a high PageRank on Google, so by completing your profile, adding keywords and making your profile available for search engines to index the easier it will be for people to find you.

• Make connections.
LinkedIn is a social network, but for building relationships with other professionals. You need to remember that this isn’t Facebook, Twitter or Myspace (heaven forbid) – we aren’t trying to be friends with everybody. Make valuable connections with other professionals that can help you promote your business and your own personal brand. You can search by industry, keywords, company and title to name a few. Take a look at business descriptions and connections to determine who would be the best contacts for you and don’t connect with anyone you don’t actually know – LinkedIn is not a popularity contest.

• Get recommendations.
Recommendations are the most looked for feature on your profile and can enhance your professional credibility, which will help make connections. Most importantly, don’t ask everybody for recommendations – only people that you know well. Always be sure to return the favor when appropriate!

• Use LinkedIn Answers.
The most powerful tool LinkedIn has to offer is LinkedIn Answers, which allows professionals to ask and answer questions about every possible business topic. The more answers that are chosen as the “best answer” can earn you the title “expert” in a certain field. Now that you demonstrated your knowledge or “expertise,” you have the opportunity to connect with the question-asker and anyone else that read the question and your subsequent answer.

• Join groups – or start your own.
LinkedIn’s Groups feature is a great way to stay informed and make new connections with other professionals that share your interests. There are hundreds of thousands of groups on LinkedIn and chances are you will find a few that will work for promoting and discussing your business. The more you interact with your groups the more exposure you will receive. Select groups that are appropriate for a business professional of your kind, but also be sure to get involved in groups where your PROSPECTS are – this way you will be on hand to sniff our opportunities.

LinkedIn allows professionals to connect with people they already know and to search for people they want to know. Spending some quality time on LinkedIn and using its features will help grow your business and generate revenue, especially for those of us who are too busy to do the amount of face to face networking we should be doing. LinkedIn is proving to be a very credible substitute for such in any B2B focused social media strategy.

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Do you recall your last customer “service” experience? Did it leave you pleased and pleasantly surprised or angry and frustrated? The subject of good versus bad customer service is an issue that every business must be aware of. In the age of “Social Media Justice”, it is important to remember that information travels fast, and in this day and age, it’s only a click away for the person researching your company for their next purchase.

Think of changes in our access to information about a company just in the last 10 years. And with the rise in social media, your service interactions with your customers can be screen captured, chat copied, browser recorded, phone tapped and email forwarded in the blink of an eye. Your customer service is now “content” for sites like YouTube, Yelp, FourSquare, Facebook and ScamReport.

So, how do we develop a system in which we use all relevant mediums and tools to deliver excellent customer service? First, we must use all points of customer engagement to increase convergence and provide care. Quality customer care and responsiveness equals priceless credibility. Second, relate and get to know your customers as individuals. Stay engaged with who your customers are, get to know their behaviors and find a common-ground. Lastly, empower your employees with knowledge and direction. A well-trained employee will have the skills necessary to provide positive, productive communication with clients.

It’s important to remember that technology is enabling better customer service experiences, but can work against you when a bad experience happens. Meet your customers on their turf – so to speak. If they are using social platforms like Facebook or Twitter, learn how you can utilize these touch points to improve your relationship and service (or to avoid customer care calls). For a business, using tools like social media platforms can be a win-win situation. It has given businesses a variety of channels to respond to and engage with customers quickly and individually. Social media platforms allow for you to stay engaged in the behavior, activity and responsiveness of your audience.

Aside from the immediacy and interactivity of emerging technology that can support this, what it all boils down to is the human interaction between business and customer. Great customer service is a reflection of how well a company values their customer. And remember – “honesty is the best policy.” Addressing customer concerns in both a timely and honest fashion is of critical importance and priority. Otherwise you may have thousands of potential customers reading about it in the “reviews” written by the people who really matter – your customers.

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