Today’s post isn’t a very long one. It’s more one to hopefully start a conversation and get your creative juices flowing. I want to know what you think technology will look like in the future. I had ideas of my own, but those ideas were blown away when I saw this video of some of the current things Google is working on.
Google+ and How Social Search Affects Google Results
I had the honor of doing a webinar today with Mike Mueller on Google+. Mike is super knowledgeable on the new Google+ platform, so I thought it would be fitting to ask him to do a class on basics of Google+ and also discuss with everyone about the new features of social search that have recently been implemented.
As I have shared with many people while traveling the country as a social media speaker, your use of social networks is becoming more and more important to the success of your business online. With the way that Google is integrating Google+ into search now, it makes this network even more meaningful.
Here is the presentation:
- What is Google+?
- Step-by-step walkthrough on how to get started
- Current useful Google+ applications for business
- How to keep Google+ from becoming a time suck.
- Understanding how to use this new Social Search to your advantage
With over 62 million users already on Google+, this is a network to definitely consider in your online marketing plan.
Google+ Hangouts Come to Mobile Devices [VIDEO]
Today Google+ released many new features for it’s users in addition to opening up to a Beta state that is now available for all users with no invitation required. Of these new features, the one that I think is the biggest and also my favorite is the ability to now do a hangout from your mobile device.
So far the update is only for Android phones, and so I immediately downloaded and installed on my device. I then gave it a quick demo test with a few of my friends. Unfortunately, it seems as if there is a glitch in either the app or within my device as whenever I use the front facing camera I am sideways in the Google+ mobile hangout. If I switch to my rear facing camera the video seems to be fine.
I see this another major step by Google at taking market share from the iPhone devices. Facetime has been a huge success for their devices but is only available on Apple devices. Google+ on the other hand will be available across all platforms it appears in the near future. The one issue they may face is that there are so many different devices running so many different versions of their operating system. Unlike Apple that allows everyone to update to the newest version, The Android system only is updated when the phone manufacturer allows an update to be done.
Here’s quick demo video.
What do you think of Google+ hangouts new mobile version?
Is Social Media Dying? Google Says No!
I am constantly traveling around the country as a social media speaker, I get asked over and over if social media is just a fad that will die any moment. Personally, I don’t see this happening at any time soon, but while at a recent event in Las Vegas, I had the opportunity to sit in on a presentation by Sam Sebastian of Google. This presentation was probably one of the most informative presentations I’ve heard in a long time and I will definitely be sharing more information from it over the next few months.
During his presentation, Sam shared statistics on the engagement of consumers in social media. In 2008 41.6% of Americans were using social media. In 2011, this rose to 61.2%. Also, from their predictions, they see this number to continue to rise over the next few years. Their predictions indicate that by 2014 the percentage will rise to 65.8%
Consumers show no signs of giving up on using social media any time soon, and therefore you need to have some sort of social media strategy in place for your business. Here are a few reasons I believe this trend will continue and that Google is right:
1. Smart phone usage continues to increase- During Sam’s presentation, he shared that by the end of 2011, half of all Americans will have a smart phone. This means that mobile usage on social platforms will continue to rise. Since all major social networks have made mobile applications that make using their platforms so easy to use, more and more will start using the platforms through their phone.
2. Ease of video creation & number of views increase exponentially- I wrote before about each day over 2 billion videos are viewed on YouTube daily. Sam also shared that popularity on YouTube has increased 2,000% over the past few years. With devices like the Kodak Playtouch that create great videos and smartphones now shooting HD quality video that can be instantly uploaded, I don’t see the number of videos created and being watched slowing down any time soon.
So, I ask you, do you think social media is dying? I personally agree with Google when they say no!
How Google Shapes The World Online
I found this graphic by SEO book that walks through how Google shapes the web and thought it was very informative. Luckily, they made it available for an easy embed and so I have placed it below.
The main point that I would want to make about it, is that no matter how hard you try to game the system or make shortcuts, you eventually will get caught and penalized. Everyone who has tried shady techniques to gain search engine rankings has been caught and when they are the results can sometimes be rather harsh. if you don’t believe me, just ask JC Penney and content farms. If you want your site to rank well and bring you business, there is really only one true proven way: Work hard at generating your own unique content that is valuable to your business. Don’t pay others to create links, don’t buy generic content, and don’t scrape it from somewhere else.
How Google Shapes The Web:
Click on Image to view full size.
Goo.gl Changes Link Shortening
Today I took some time to play with a new favorite of mine Goo.gl. This is a great product that the search engine giant created that simply rocks. What Goo.gl does is allows you to shorten links quickly and easily.This feature alone is nice, but it isn’t the reasons that fell in love with this new product. There are three major pieces that I simply love with Goo.gl. Here’s a short synopsis of it.
QR Codes
QR Codes are the newest & latest craze that is sweeping the digital community. Many think it is a way to make paper marketing once again effective. Personally, I don’t think things are quite there yet. I understand the concepts of QR codes and think they are cool, but unless consumers have a smart phone they cannot use QR code. I have seen many people starting to remove all their contact information and placing just a QR code there for people to scan. I am all for cutting edge technology but, I think that is a little more on the bleeding edge. Nevertheless, you can create them very quickly and easily by using Goo.gl. All you need to do is add .qr to the link. I simply copied the image and then linked to it and the QR code to the right was made. In the future as QR codes continue to grow in popularity, I see Goo.gl becoming a very important tool used to creating them.
Goo.gl Allows Easy Link Tracking
Wonder how many people are really clicking on the links you share on Facebook, Twitter, and more? If you shorten the links with Goo.gl, you can then track instantly how many times your links are clicked upon and also where your efforts are paying off. I ran a test earlier today with one of Jason Crouch’s posts on Using Social Media to increase Face to Face Meetings. I then shared the shortened link on Facebook and also on Twitter. You can see the results below. It shows you how many clicks, where they clicked in and also you can see the time where I posted it as well as when Jason did. At both times there was a quick spike in traffic.
The other things I enjoy is that Goo.gl shows me what browswers, what country and also what platforms the person was using when they clicked the link. I know, you may be thinking who cares about how many times something gets clicked and where they click from, but three situations where you may care.
1. Clients want to know what your online marketing efforts are doing for them. Ever have a client that wants to just see the numbers? This happens so many times when things may not be going perfect. You are doing your job, it is just taking a little more time to bring the results they expect. The next time you have someone ask you well what is going on with (insert so many things here) that you could respond with, let me see what type of clicks we are getting.
When the client sees that you have generated 28,000 clicks, they will be able to see that you are doing a good job and hopefully reduce the heat.
2. What network is my sweet spot? I share things on Facebook all the time but don’t really see a ton of interactions on my Facebook profile or our company Facebook Page in comments/likes. But when I started doing the test, I noticed quickly that on my first test link that Facebook connections clicked on the link a lot more than those on Twitter. While Google Analytics gives me some of this info, I am not crazy about the fact that it takes time for the analytics to update. With Goo.gl it updates instantly. I am a big fan of instant results. (not a Google Instant pun)
3. Effective Time Management. Ever wonder what time of day is best for you to be tweeting and sharing info? Well, with Goo.gl you can quickly and easily view when your links are getting more clicks and adjust your strategies accordingly. Test it out over few different days and times and you will learn quickly.
Collaborative Link Tracking
If you are like me, you work on projects from time to time with teams. Or maybe even with just your clients. One of the coolest features that Goo.gl does is allow you to create a shortened link, give to a group to share and then also let the entire group track the Results. In the first comment below you will see a link to track the clicks on this post. So if you want to share the Goo.gl shortened link for this post and see what type of traffic you generate you can. Anyone and everyone that you want to share the data with can by simply visiting a URL.
No longer will clients be contacting you wanting updates on numbers. They can simply follow along with you as you share with your online friends about their product or service.
Go give Goo.gl a try now! By the way, all the links in this post have been shortened, so when you click around, I am gonna know! 🙂