Tag Archives: Google

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Social Media Personalized

Social media marketing is challenging for small businesses in McHenry County. Just keeping up with Facebook changes is almost a full-time job. Did you know there assistance for businesses in McHenry County and it will not cost you an arm and a leg?Bring your Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, FourSquare, YouTube, Twitter questions and more.

Check out the social media marketing programs offered at the Shah Center in McHenry just for small business owners. The Shah Center is a part of the Illinois Small Business Development Center.

Social Media Roundtable: A no-cost seminar to discuss the latest trends in social media marketing and share various approaches with your peers. A social media professional will help facilitate the discussion and be available for questions. There is no fee to attend, reservations required as seating is limited.

Social Media for Small Business: Do you have questions about social media? Want hands-on help? Bring your questions to our computer classroom and work with a social media expert. Learn new ways to reach and engage an online audience and boost your bottom line through the use technologies like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus. Cost: $30.

Consulting: The Shah Center consulting services are free to all clients, start-up entrepreneurs, owners and managers of businesses. We’ve helped businesses in our area attract customers, improve their operations, increase sales, and get financing. We can review your business plan before you talk to your banker to help you prepare. Use our research and contacts to strengthen your plan, improve your operations or develop your marketing and e-business strategies. Plus, we catalog and track all federal, state and local government business assistance programs. We offer counseling and seminars/workshops on these and other topics:

  • Business planning, people and other business management issues
  • Marketing and advertising
  • Finance and accounting, regulation and taxation
  • Production and operations, office automation and computer training
  • Business data analysis, technology and other issues necessary to promote business growth
  • Operational, project and strategic planning techniques

All classes are held at the Shah Center.  The McHenry County College Shah Center at 4100 W. Shamrock Lane in McHenry, near Centegra Hospital. For more information or to register, please contact the Illinois Small Business Development Center at (815) 455-6098 or sbdc at mchenry.edu.

For information on all of CyberLife Tutors presentations, workshops, classes and events visit our events calendar.

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Social Media

How to Use Google Plus for Marketing Your Business

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How to use Google Plus for marketing your business was one of the topics we covered at this months free Social Media Roundtable at the Shah Center in McHenry. Few of the attendees were aware of Google Plus and how to use it as a marketing tool. Visit our CyberLife Tutors calendar to learn more about our upcoming Social Media Roundtables and another events.

Google indexes updates and photos shared on your Google Plus business page for Google search. When someone does a Google search for the words included in these posts, they may see your Google Plus comments in their search results. Free search engine optimization (SEO) for your company!

Customers often tell me they do not know what to say on social media sites. It is exhausting to creating new content for your social media sites. Instead, post links to interesting articles you read and add your own two cents. That is what I did with the infographic below. Start with an idea then package it with your own learnings and knowledge.

The best time of day to post is not the same for all businesses. As dallas seo expert advises us, “Consider your audience and when they log in. During the class, attendees said they check social media sites before work (7AM), at lunch (noon), about dinner time (5PM) and before bed (10PM).” If your audience crosses time zones, adjust your post times to match so your content is more likely read.

Google Business Pages consolidates content from former Google Local pages including photos, hours, maps and reviews. Connect with customers and prospects to build relationships. Build a customer service hub. Create a public forum for others to gather, share and learn.

The infographic below suggests we spend an hour on Google Plus each day. For most business people, I find that amount of time excessive considering they are also using other social media sites and have a job to do. Certainly,  devoting 15 minutes a day to your Google Plus account would be a great start.

Google is beginning to roll out vanity URLs for Google Plus to a small number of members. You can get a gplus.to Google Plus vanity URL today.

Connect with CyberLife Tutors and April M. Williams on Google Plus. Click on Comments and tell us about how you use Google Plus in your business.

How to Use Google plus for Business Infographic

Social Media

Google Search Plus Your World Joins with Google Plus Search

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Google begins rolling out “Google Search Plus Your World” on 1/10/12 which incorporates posts, comments and pictures from those you are connect with through Google Plus.

Google introduces these big changes which impact search capabilities and results. Previously, Google search took into account your personal information and location to customize your search results to make them meaningful to you. With Google Search Plus Your World, results include your Google Plus contacts information, tips, comments, news, pictures and video.

Here the official notice from Google.According to Google, “you can see how your results look for a particular search with or without personal results by clicking the person icon personal results button or the globe icon globe button on the top right side of the search results page. You can also turn off personal results in your search settings”

ABC and Associate Press expressed concerns about the impact these changes have on search competition, Twitter, Facebook and anti-trust issues.

Google is connecting authors to their individual internet content through their Google Plus account. This allows authors to rank in search results based on their portfolio of writing as an author or publisher. Learn how to connect your Google Plus account to your content.

Google Plus personal accounts have been around for a months while Google Plus business pages are more recent. These two profiles will not only impact organic search results, third party endorsements from your connections will sway consumer’s opinion and impact click through rates.

Find April M. Williams and CyberLife Tutors on Google Plus.

Social Media

Get a Google Plus Business Page Vanity URL

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Google Plus Business or Personal pages are now available to all. I created pages for myself and two businesses then noticed the page URLs are lengthy. A long URL is hard to remember and accurately type into a computer. I used a neat tool to shorten the URL to a memorable set of characters.

Here are examples of how the original Google Plus URLs look compared to the shorter versions of the URL.

 

You can create your own vanity URLs at http://gplus.to. Just enter the original Google Plus page URL and the desired new URL. Your will then have a Google Plus page URL http://gplus/username.

Google Plus logo

Need assistance getting your Google Plus page set up? Call us at 414.604.6645 to do it for you.

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Google Plus Business and Organizations Pages

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Businesses and organizations can now create a Google Plus pages to market themselves joining millions of individuals. You can set up your Google Plus page following these steps.

  • Visit the Google Plus Page at https://plus.google.com/pages/create
  • Select the type of page you like
  • Fill out the contact info on the About page
  • Upload a logo or company picture
  • Write a short introduction
  • Share your page with others

Google Plus Pages for business and organizations will bring changes to the way search results are displayed. Visit our CyberLife Tutors Google Plus page and add us to your circles.

If you have any questions or would like me to set up your Google Plus page, just give me a call.

Google Plus Logo

 

Social Media

Google Plus is Now Open to All

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When Google’s new social networking site Google+ launched several months ago, it was invitation only. To create an profile, someone had to send you an email with an invitation. As of this week, Google+ is available to everyone.
Like Facebook, Google+ is changing and evolving rapidly. There is even a Google+ app for your Android or IPhone.

Finding People on Google Plus How To

Finding People on Google Plus How To

 

Google+ Social Networking Site from Google
Google+ Social Networking Site from Google
Social Media

Finding People on Google Plus How To

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If you joined Google+ you may wonder how to find new people to add to your circles. There is a search box at the top of the Google+ page. Using this method is effective if you know the name of the person you want to follow.

Other times, I am looking for those and I do not know their names yet. Many times I am interested in finding others who have something in common with me. Once I identify these people, I can check their profile then decide to follow them or not.

I use Find People on Plus directory helpful for this situation. Using the filters, I can narrow my search by gender, the number of followers, number of following, occupation or location.

This tool is especially effective for sales prospecting and career management.

While you are on People on Plus, be sure to add your name to the directory so other can find you.

Find People on Google Plus
Find People on Google Plus

What other tools are you using with Google+?

Social Media

What is a Google Plus Account

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Google+ is a new social networking site from Google. Launched in beta mode in July 2011, the site had 10 million users within two weeks. This figure is more amazing because during the pilot, an invitation was required to join.

Here are how to resources so you can get started with Google+ quickly.

  1. An email address is required to sign up for Google+. If you ask for an invitation, be sure to include your preferred email address with your request.
  2. Create your profile. Include your work experience, hobbies and any other information which is relevant to your background. Include keywords in your descriptions.
  3. Find connects using the search box. When you add contacts, you will see there updates in your stream.
  4. Organize your contacts into groups or circles as Google+ calls them. Cluster people by how you know them, relationship to you or any other way that works for you. Google notifies them they were added to a circle but does not state the name of the circle.

    Google+ Social Networking Site from Google
    Google+ Social Networking Site from Google

For more information read more tips for Google+ Newbies.

If you would like an invite to join Google+ enter a comment below including your preferred email address.

networking

Starting an Alumni Group

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Most of us change jobs every 2-3 years. Have you wished you had a way to keep in touch with your former co-workers?

I started an online alumni group during the recession in January 2002 to help find new jobs for recently laid off co-workers. The group currently has over 400 members and is still a resource for sharing job leads. Most of us are still in the Chicago area at other companies. We provide the group with unadvertised job leads, pre-interview company intelligence and internal contacts.

Thai Festival 2010 - 17
Creative Commons License photo credit: garryknight

Is now the time to set up a group for your former co-workers? It’s easy to do with online groups. They work as a broadcast system to distribute emails to those who have “opted in” to the group. Check out the free group tools at Linkedin, Facebook, Yahoo groups or Google groups and start your own group today. Either site walks you through selecting the options to set up your group. From personal experience, I select “restrict membership” to maintain the groups focus. I also recommend requiring membership in the group before you can post messages. This reduces the chance of getting spam.

The amount of time required to maintain your group depends on the options you choose during set up, the number of new members and member activity level. The group owner can change these options to better suit the needs of the group and time available to administer membership. Additional moderators can be appointed to help with group maintenance.