{"id":27109,"date":"2014-04-15T11:56:11","date_gmt":"2014-04-15T16:56:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/publicityhound.com\/?p=27109"},"modified":"2025-10-29T14:34:30","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T14:34:30","slug":"19-ways-google-communities-can-help-grow-your-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/google\/19-ways-google-communities-can-help-grow-your-business\/","title":{"rendered":"19 ways Google+ Communities can help grow your business"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2014\/04\/GoogleCommunities-logo.jpg-200x200-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2014\/04\/GoogleCommunities-logo.jpg-200x200-1.jpg\" alt=\"Google+ Communities logo\" class=\"wp-image-27115\" title=\"Google+ Communities\" srcset=\"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2014\/04\/GoogleCommunities-logo.jpg-200x200-1.jpg 200w, https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2014\/04\/GoogleCommunities-logo.jpg-200x200-1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2014\/04\/GoogleCommunities-logo.jpg-200x200-1-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Of all the social media sites you are on to grow your business, Google+ can give you the fastest traction possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">No longer the ghost town it was proclaimed to be two years ago when it started, Google+ now has more than <strong>300 million active users,<\/strong> many of whom are <strong>your customers<\/strong> or people in <strong>your target market.<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">Do you really want your competitors, who are also on Google+, to catch their attention before you do?&nbsp;<br><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">Google-certified business coach <strong>BL Ochman,<\/strong> who teaches Google+ strategy to big PR firms and solopreneurs, will share tips on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicityhound.com\/shop\/how-to-use-google-communities-to-connect-with-influencers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How to Use Google+ Communities to Connect with Influential People<\/a> during a webinar from 4 to 5 p.m. Eastern Time on <strong>Thursday, April 17.<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicityhound.com\/shop\/how-to-use-google-communities-to-connect-with-influencers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Register here<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">Google+ Communities are teeming with important business leaders, experts and influential industry leaders. In many ways, &nbsp;Communities are far more powerful than LinkedIn groups.&nbsp;Here are 19 ways Google+ communities can help you grow your business.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Better Results in Google Search<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>1.&nbsp;Google indexes your content shared in public Communities and elsewhere on Google+<strong> almost immediately<\/strong>, which means it shows up in search results within minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>2. Because Google&#8217;s new search algorithm favors it, content on Google+, including within public Communities, <strong>dominates Google search<\/strong> more than other social network including Twitter, Quora, Facebook and LinkedIn.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>3. If you have <a href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/authorship\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">created <strong>Google Authorship<\/strong><\/a> and linked your Google+ profile to content you create, your thumbnail-size avatar will often show up in search results and be the only avatar on the page. It will <strong>call attention to your content<\/strong> and make it <strong>more credible.<\/strong> This includes content shared in public Google+ Communities.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2014\/04\/Brian-Clark.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"239\" src=\"https:\/\/www.publicityhound.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Brian-Clark-300x239.jpg\" alt=\"Brian Clark\" class=\"wp-image-27111\" srcset=\"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2014\/04\/Brian-Clark-300x239.jpg 300w, https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2014\/04\/Brian-Clark.jpg 538w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>4. &nbsp;Unlike Faceboook, <strong>you don&#8217;t have to pay<\/strong> to have content you&#8217;ve shared in public Communities and elsewhere on Google+ pushed out to your followers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Promote Your Expertise<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">5. You can promote your expertise from your Google+ hovercard, the little card that pops up when someone hovers their cursor over your name.&nbsp;<\/span>&nbsp;People in an industry-specific Community with you can click on your name and immediately determine whether you&#8217;re <strong>someone with whom they need to connect.<\/strong> &nbsp;<span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">See this handy guide on&nbsp;<\/span><a style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.publicityhound.com\/blog\/create-an-impressive-google-hovercard-in-7-easy-steps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How to Create an Impressive Google Hovercard in 7 Easy Steps.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicityhound.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Google-Plus-Stephan-Hovnavian.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"207\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.publicityhound.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Google-Plus-Stephan-Hovnavian-207x300.jpg\" alt=\"Google Plus -- Stephan Hovnavian\" class=\"wp-image-26078\" srcset=\"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2013\/11\/Google-Plus-Stephan-Hovnavian-207x300.jpg 207w, https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2013\/11\/Google-Plus-Stephan-Hovnavian.jpg 305w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 207px) 100vw, 207px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>6.&nbsp;You can add the +1 button to content on your website or blog, thus <strong>encouraging people to share it<\/strong>&nbsp;with others in one of more of their Communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>7.&nbsp;You can &nbsp;promote your expertise in your Google+ profile which you must create before joining Google+. Within Communities, you can also include many links to other social sites or places you want people to visit so they can follow you, or learn more about you and <strong>how you can help them.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>8. You can answer questions, share helpful content, offer links and <strong>solve problems<\/strong> posed by people within your industry-specific Communities. This is a fabulous way to build a huge following.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>9. You can <strong>build customer loyalty<\/strong> by encouraging people to join a Community you have created, or one you&#8217;re in, and answer questions about things they need to &nbsp;know more about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>10. If you&#8217;re a brand, you can join Communities and <strong>talk with prospects<\/strong> in your target market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Connect with Influential People<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>11. You can mention influential people in a post and <strong>they&#8217;ll see it,<\/strong> even if you are not in one of their circles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>12. They&#8217;ll know when you&#8217;ve <strong>commented on their content.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>13. You can<strong> start a conversation<\/strong> with them or ask them questions within Communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>14.&nbsp;If people say \u201cyes\u201d or \u201cmaybe\u201d to your event invitation, it is <strong>automatically added to their Google calendar<\/strong> and they are reminded of the event several times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>15. You can <strong>share a post<\/strong> in a Community in which you both are members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>16. If you see they have tagged a photo, <strong>comment on it. &nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Caution: Don&#8217;t spam. If you do, you will be banned from the Community.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">To Become Smarter Faster<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>17. In Communities, you can learn more about the things you are passionate about, either personally or professionally by <strong>directing questions to specific people.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">18. You can <\/span><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">take advantage of <strong>Hangouts<\/strong> which can be run from within a Google+ Community, with Hangout invitations sent to all members. Many experts are hosting free Hangouts on topics that interest their target market. <strong>You can, too.<\/strong> &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">19. Facing <strong>a business dilemma,<\/strong> like a printer you can&#8217;t fix or a bank that&#8217;<\/span><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">s giving you problems with your merchant account? Join a Community that covers the issue and throw out the question. People &nbsp;will be&nbsp;<strong>glad to help you.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Join Us in the Hangout<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Convinced yet?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This webinar will be presented as a Google Hangout. If you\u2019re unfamiliar with the technology, don\u2019t worry. <strong>You do not currently have to be using Google+.<span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After you register, you will get an email with instructions on three ways to participate. If you can&#8217;t attend because the time is inconvenient, register anyway. I&#8217;m sending a link to the video replay and the bonuses within 48 hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;ll see you Thursday, or somewhere within Google+ communities. Be sure to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.google.com\/+JoanStewartPH\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">connect with me.&nbsp;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Of all the social media sites you are on to grow your business, Google+ can give you the fastest traction possible. No longer the ghost town it was proclaimed to be two years ago when it started, Google+ now has more than 300 million active users, many of whom are your customers or people in\u2026&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/google\/19-ways-google-communities-can-help-grow-your-business\/\" class=\"rmlink\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","iawp_total_views":2,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[713],"tags":[265,723,229,662,214],"class_list":{"0":"post-27109","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-google","7":"tag-content-marketing","8":"tag-evfent-publlicity","9":"tag-seo","10":"tag-social-media-tools","11":"tag-target-market","12":"entry"},"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Joan Stewart","author_link":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/author\/jstewart\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27109"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27109\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42993,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27109\/revisions\/42993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}