Home > Store > Business & Management > Sales & Marketing > Internet Marketing

larger cover

Add To My Wish List

Google+ for Business: How Google's Social Network Changes Everything

  • Description
  • Extras
  • Reviews
  • Sample Content & TOC

The Complete Business Guide to Google+, Today’s Hottest New Social Network!

Every week, millions more people sign up for Google+: Suddenly, it’s today’s hottest new social network. Google+ for Business reveals why Google+ offers business opportunities available nowhere else--and helps you grab those opportunities now, before your competitors do. Top social media professional speaker and business advisor Chris Brogan shows how to get great results fast, without wasting time--and without wasting a dime. Brogan guides you through using Google+ for promotion, customer service, community building, referrals, collaboration, and a whole lot more. You won’t just master innovative new tools like Circles and Hangouts: You’ll use them to generate more customers and more cash!

  • Make the right first moves after you’ve signed up for Google+
  • Take advantage of links between Google+ and Google search
  • Define the best Google+ strategy and tactics for your business
  • Create a business page that attracts new paying customers
  • Integrate Google+ into your current online/digital strategies
  • Learn how your customers are using Google+--and give them what they’re looking for
  • Use Circles to organize your contacts and interactions more effectively
  • Create Google+ posts that draw attention and spark conversations
  • Master warm selling on Google+
  • Build a simple, low-cost content strategy around Google+
  • Grow your audience and share others’ valuable content
  • Discover new ways to derive even more value from Google+

 

Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars It's more than just circles: this book tells you how to reach people, December 25, 2011
By 
Chris Guillebeau (Portland, Oregon and the World) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
I downloaded Google+ for Business on Christmas Day and read it on a long flight from Miami to Los Angeles. My initial motivation for picking it up wasn't so much to learn about Google+... I just enjoy reading Chris's blog and would happily pay for much of his free content. When I saw he had a new book out, I didn't have to think much about making a small purchase to support him.

Nevertheless, my motivations weren't entirely altruistic: I've been using Google+ every day, and figured if I could learn even one thing from the book, it would be well worth the minor investment of time and money.

Chris widely acknowledges the challenge of writing a traditionally published book about a rapidly changing software platform. With that in mind, he spends at least as much time explaining the "why" behind sharing content and cultivating a community. I especially liked a section on curation ("You are a magazine publisher") and the general theme of curiosity and gratitude that... Read more
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


73 of 86 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars Misses The Point: Authorship and Google+, January 16, 2012
By 
Jason L. Mcdonald (Fremont, CA 94536) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Google+ for Business: How Google's Social Network Changes Everything (Paperback)
This is one of the best books there is on Google+, which doesn't say much because Google+ is so new, and especially so new to marketing. As I read the book, I liked it. I thought it was pretty good. But then - as someone who teaches Social Media Marketing online (Google 'Jason McDonald' to find me), I started to take it apart, started to think through my own ideas about what is really unique about Google+ vs. Facebook. Then it hit me: Chris misses the point. He really misses the point in this book.

GOOGLE+ IS MORE THAN A BETTER, GOOGLE VERSION OF FACEBOOK

One of the themes of Chris's book is that Google+ is an improvement on Facebook, but one backed by the world's largest search engine. That's true, but if Google+ is going to be just like Facebook, with just a few tweaks and changes, it won't work, in my humble opinion. Microsoft, after all, was much, much bigger than Google yet Google took over search, even though Microsoft easily killed Netscape. Kodak... Read more
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, a book about social media that tells you HOW to do it, January 1, 2012
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Google+ for Business: How Google's Social Network Changes Everything (Paperback)
If you've picked up a book in the past about social media, hoping to learn how to use it in your business, you were probably disappointed. Most of them are fine books, but they are more about WHY than HOW, and so you finish them excited about the possibilities but with only vague ideas about what to do. It's frustrating.

Google+ for Business is the opposite of that.

I read it from cover to cover over the course of two days, and what impressed me about it is how actionable it is. Chris doesn't just give you general principles and strategies. He tells you exactly what to do.

For instance, he breaks down different "Work Days" for different types of people, such as restaurant owners, authors, real estate agents, salespeople, and so on, and then he gives a breakdown of exactly what they should be doing every day and why. If you're struggling to visualize exactly how Google+ fits into your marketing strategy, this gives you a concrete picture... Read more
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


Share your thoughts with other customers:
 See all 26 customer reviews...

Online Sample Chapter

Google+ for Business: How Did I Get Here?

Excerpt

Google+ for Business: Tips for Building Your Profile (video)

Table of Contents

Introduction: Google+ Is So New     1
Who Am I?      2
What’s in This Book     2
Chapter 1: How Did I Get Here?      5
Why Is Google+ the Next Big Thing?      6
Speculating on the Future     7
Facebook Is Better. Twitter Is Better. LinkedIn Is for Business     8
My First Touch with Google+     8
This Sounds Like Other Social Networks     10
Why Is Google+ So Interesting?      10
The Sharing Culture Grows and Grows     11
Another Social Network to Manage? Really?      12
What Do People Do on Google+?     12
Chapter 2: The Opportunity of Google+     15
Where Google+ Fits in the Business Ecosystem     16
Google+ Opportunities     17
Preparing Yourself for Opportunity     19
The Personal Touch and Personality     20
Blending Business and Personal     21
Start Early     22
What You Can Accomplish with Google+     22
Opportunity Is What You Make of It     23
Chapter 3: A Day in the Life     25
My Personal Day in the Life of Google+     26
Interview with Scott Monty, Ford Motor Company     27
Interview with Greg Pak, Comic Book Author and Screen Writer     28
Interview with Jenny Cisney, Kodak’s Chief Blogger     29
Interview with Darren Rowse, Problogger     30
Interview with Jacqueline Carly, Fitness Professional     32
Some Partially Fictitious Day-in-the-Life-of Suggestions     33
The Author     33
The Real Estate Agent     34
The Reporter     35
The Sales Executive     35
The Educator     36
The Photographer     37
The Business Executive     38
Wrapping Up     39
Chapter 4: First Moves with Google+     41
Profiles Matter for Business     42
Using Your Google+ Profile for Business     42
Businesses Are Made of People     42
Connections Before the Sale     43
How You Appear to Others     44
Your About Page: The Basics     48
Start at the Top     49
Your Profile Photo     49
Editing Your Name     50
Editing Your Summary Line     50
The Most Important Part of Your Profile: The Introduction     51
Employment: A Useful Hack for You     52
The Links Section     52
Moving on from the Profile     53
Chapter 5: Circles     55
What Circling Means     56
How Do I Know Who Is Circling Me Back?      56
Reciprocal Follows     58
Creating Circles and Naming Them     58
Outbound Circles and Inbound Circles     59
Sharing Circles     60
Ordering Circles     60
Who Should You Follow?      62
Friendsurfing     62
Do I Know You?      62
Should You Circle Celebrities?      63
More About Outbound Circles     63
Circle Tricks     64
Circles Aren’t a One-Time Thing     65
Wrapping Up     65
Chapter 6: Posting in the Stream     67
Google+ Isn’t a Blog, and It’s More Than Twitter     68
Posting on Google+     69
The Sharing Options Under the Main Post Area     71
Formatting Posted Text     72
Posting Photos     73
Posting Video     74
Posting Place and Location Data     74
Other Post Options     75
Disabling Comments and Reshare     76
The Importance of Sharing     76
Chapter 7: A Simple Content Strategy     79
How Others Approach Content Sharing     80
Jennifer Cisney (Kodak)      80
Michael Dell (CEO, Dell)      81
Scott Monty (Ford Motor Company)      81
Bill Gerth (Social Media Lead at Comcast)      82
The Biggest Content Difference (So Far) on Google+ for Business Users     82
Restaurant Owner     83
Community Manager/Developer     84
Online Store     85
Professional Speaker or Thought Leader     86
Writer, Photographer, and Artist     87
Posting to Build Connections     88
Value Your Audience’s Attention     88
Chapter 8: The “Warm” Sell     89
Attention Is a Gift     90
Make It About Them     90
Turn Self-Promotion into Appreciation     90
Don’t Waste Chances to Sell     91
The Warm Sell--Warming Up a Sale     91
Getting to Know You     92
The Difficult Sell     92
Affiliate Marketing and Google+     94
The Two-Tier Sale     95
A Power Move--Mention Your Competitor     96
If You’re Not Directly in Sales     97
Chapter 9: Growing an Audience     99
Quality over Quantity     100
Measuring the Size of Your Audience     100
Value Your Audience     101
What Interests Your Audience     102
What Community Means to People     103
Bring a Campfire     104
Connecting People Is Key     104
The Time in Between Is Important     105
You Are a Media Company     106
Make Your Buyer the Hero     106
Sailing the High C’s of Audience Building     106
Chapter 10: Sharing     109
The Value of Content Curation     110
Sharing as a Practice     112
Building Interest     113
You Are a Magazine Publisher     113
Commenting on What You Share     114
What Does Your Magazine Look Like?      115
Two Resources to Help with Your Sharing     115
A Sharing Workflow     116
Can Sharing Add Direct Business Value?      117
Chapter 11: Power Plays in Google+     119
John Herman: The Hangout Entertainer     120
Michael Dell: The Wide Open CEO     121
Muhammad Yunus: Changing the World     121
Mark Horvath: Handing Out Pizza, Socks, and Hope     122
Robert Scoble and Rackspace     124
My Power Plays     125
Chapter 12: Setting Up Your Business Page     129
The Look and Feel of the Business Pages     130
Rules for Business Pages     130
Coming Soon (or Already Here)     131
How Businesses Might Use These Pages     132
Interesting Business Pages of Note     133
The Corcoran Group: https://plus.google.com/106654503918907830147/posts     133
The Dallas Cowboys: https://plus.google.com/106281600940449244340/posts     134
Intel: https://plus.google.com/111660275132722215045/posts     134
Edelman Digital: https://plus.google.com/106069281351191490929/posts     135
Forbes: https://plus.google.com/116243183460563505245/posts     135
NASA: https://plus.google.com/102371865054310418159/posts     135
The Role of Your Business Page in Doing Business     136
A Robust Business Card     137
Chapter 13: Feeling Lucky?      139
Home Bases, Outposts, and Search     140
Social Signals      140
Shifting Sands     142
How People Come to Matter     143
Serving Suggestions for Using Google+ to Improve Your Search Results     144
Use Your Profile     145
Taking Full Advantage of Google+ to Help Your Business     145
Stay Organic     146
Chapter 14: Next Steps     149
Starting Moves     150
Listening     151
Posting     152
Sharing     153
Video     154
Hangouts     155
Photos     156
Commenting     157
Business Pages     158
Some Final Thoughts     158
A Note About This Book     159
Index     161
 

Sample Pages

Download the sample pages (includes Chapter 1 and Index)

 

Book

This product currently is not for sale.

Buy

eBook (Watermarked)  $19.99  $15.99

Includes EPUB, MOBI, and PDF
About eBook formats

This eBook includes the following formats, accessible from your Account page after purchase:

ePubEPUBThe open industry format known for its reflowable content and usability on supported mobile devices.

MOBIMOBIThe eBook format compatible with the Amazon Kindle and Amazon Kindle applications.

Adobe ReaderPDFThe popular standard, used most often with the free Adobe® Reader® software.

This eBook requires no passwords or activation to read. We customize your eBook by discretely watermarking it with your name, making it uniquely yours.

Purchase Reward: One Month Free Subscription
By completing any purchase on Que, you become eligible for an unlimited access one-month subscription to Safari Books Online.

Get access to thousands of books and training videos about technology, professional development and digital media from more than 40 leading publishers, including Addison-Wesley, Prentice Hall, Cisco Press, IBM Press, O'Reilly Media, Wrox, Apress, and many more. If you continue your subscription after your 30-day trial, you can receive 30% off a monthly subscription to the Safari Library for up to 12 months. That's a total savings of $199.