Yifat Cohen & Jason T. Wiser Google+ Strategies – How to master hashtags and decipher authority signals

Yesterday night I spent a while watching those two recorded hangout on air (HoA) sessions of Jason T. Wiser and Yifat Cohen. I decided to give it a night and let it sink in and reflect before I make my personal article of what spoke to me the most from their presentation. I must also add that sometimes watching various HoA relating to the subject of social media and marketing that some terms take a while to sink in. While David Amerland has mentioned so often in his presentations the term instant gratification – it’s only now after hearing it again and trying to access some links that this made a tick realising that yes indeed this is what I or we have turned into. We want things now, and with the least clicks possible.

Yifat Cohen – Jaston T. Wiser – Get On Track Stay On Track – More Yifat Cohen G+ Tips, Tricks, and Strategies for Your Small Business

I have been on many websites in the past, and you know those long pages which tell you stories over stories where at the end in order to get what you want you must pay to get the answer. When I see opt in offers on websites, it’s usually what I expect – a smart content scheme to entice me to give my credentials in order to get something for free where halfway through I must then pay. Meaning this has led me to doubt opt in pages. That’s why; the LEAST I have to click away from a network, the more I prefer it. This is what is so great about hangouts on Google+ you do get professional information for free. It is a different form of University where you make up your own studies, get access to experts, get to ask them questions. On top its fun!

I barely watch any TV these days. Do you still watch TV? I prefer to watch Google+ Hangouts. As you know on TVs you can have channels. I never made the reflection that Google+ Hangouts are a bit like channels. You can subscribe to the shows that you like and when they are ready you get a notification, join in, participate and get feedback. This is NOW and this is the FUTURE. So in a way, in the late afternoon I prefer to watch Google+ than any series or movies. Why did I mention this? Watch the recorded sessions which I have linked below – this will become more clearer for you and also why as a business you need to consider hangouts on Google+ There is a whole world out there that will discover the use of it only years later!

The tips offered in those 2 sessions will be gold mines for you if you understand what it is all about. If you are new to Google+ I recommend you to gain some experience and re watch those sessions a while later again as Google+ comes with a lot of functions. For instance it took me like 3 years to realise that I was doing it all wrong with the circles!
If you are going to start with Google+ hangouts build your audience first! You will also see this in my notes below.

I have mentioned hashtags in my title above. The tips given by Yifat Cohen should be an eye opener how to use them with strategy. Did you know that when hashtags are of blue shades they were generated by Google and of grey shades they have been generated by you? (when looking at a post at the right top corner)

You can use hashtags to decipher more where you stand in the eco system of this network in using the explore function. For example for me its the hashtag #Mauritius that I want to be found with. And I can also see what does Google+ relate to Mauritius and what has it learned about this term in the sense of other hashtags it shows in asociation.

You can also use this URL to access the hashtag explorer:
→ https://plus.google.com/explore

Mauritius Hashtags

by using the keyword Mauritius I can also get see where my posts stand and what the competition is doing and if there are posts where I can join in, engage in comments, plus and share. You need to watch the second session as they do a walk through in the video of various things you can do with hashtags. One great practice mentioned was to just use 2 hashtags when you post and then see what Google comes up for the third one and what kind of term it uses. Through hashtags you can also figure out how does google see you. Have you specialised and are you on the way of becoming an authority?

While many savy online marketers in Google+ hangouts praise the platform it was also praise worthy wise to note that Yifat Cohen advises you to be careful in not placing all your eggs in one basket! Why? Your account at Google+ can also get suspended… there might be issues with your circles and your hangouts. This is also one main reason I post my main articles in my blog and link them from Google+ in this way the content remains mine and part of the interactions happen on my platform which I can keep while if Google+ closes my account I loose also the network I built. This is also addressed in these sessions.

At the end of session two Dustin W. Stout shortly joined in and they spoke for a while about youtube strategies. I currently have more than 200 videos about Mauritius up in my Mauritius channel. Am planning in making a presentation trailer soon. I usually post my videos on my social media network once they are up. Also blog about some. Great tip from Jason T. Wiser is to add a small subscribe icon at the top right corner!

One last great strategy to adopt is when new people circle you on Google+ you can offer them something interesting for example link to your youtube presentation video, an article or help, or ask if you can advise them about your service or product etc.

Discover more about these 2 sessions in my notes below:

Jason T. Wiser
Get on Track, Stay on Track: Marketing strategies from On Track Tips host Jason T. Wiser.

Yifat Cohen
GOOGLE+ FOR BUSINESS – POSITIONING YOU AS THE EXPERT ONLINE

https://plus.google.com/events/cmdnit2nvejtnrn976ejekik1n4

https://plus.google.com/events/c2mv4c5762cc2mm3b02hp6lj8jg

Part 1
2011 – Cyber Identities: Google+ was developped.
Relationships – learning who you are.
Identity eco system (ref: Open ID)

Tools to which businesses can have access
Building a loyal audience by building real relationships. Engage, offer tips, share.
Why should people connect to you?

Reputation management
Could I get bad reviews?
Does it matter if you get one bad review and have earned 10 good reviews?
Not everybody wants to buy with you.
Claim your reviews – claim your credentials! You can respond on reviews.
The more people see about you – the more clients are going to trust you.
Brian Shea says in the comments: “The negative reviews are a great opportunity to showcase how you respond professionally to help resolve an issue. Which is sometimes more positive than a 5 star review.”

Google+ the next generation
The past, the present and the future.
Future tools.

Story…
A free taxi (watch the video to hear the story from Yifat Cohen)

Part 2
As a business you know what you are specifically about.

Strategies regarding Hashtags
You can use hashtags to create your circles. And then search for this term where there are discussions and add those engagers into your circle.
Fill up content only with 1-2 hashtags and check what google suggests as other hashtags.

What is the point of using hashtags?
To find conversation on a specific topic. It can be used to build connections and conversations.

EXPLORE
Hashtags and What’s hot

What’s hot
You can engage into interesting topics that you like.

Hashtag
Google now breaks down the hashtags into different categories. Google also learns more about you and relates hashtags to your likings. You can also kind of discover what Google knows about you.
Great tip from the show is that you can figure out if you are heading towards the authority level that you want to reach or if mainly hashtags are showing that do not really relate to what you are targeting. Then you need to change your approach.
Google understands more and more the content that you post in the sense of depicting which hashtags to use. When hashtags are generated by Google they have a blue colour and grey colour when it has been posted by the user.

Tip: Use 2 hashtags and try to see if Gogole generates a third one.
You also need to ask yourself who is using this hashtag? Or will people looking for you use it?
You can teach Google how to look at your business and learn from you.
All your interactions teach Google your persona, who you are.

Lead Capture
Drive traffic to your website > opt in page for the Google+ Event
Immediate gratification
Notification circle

Ads, Google, Thoughts?
Emotional SEO!
Hangouts are coming to your TV!
Hangouts becoming like TV channels.
Audience building.
No ads to be expected anytime soon on Google+

Questions
Opt ins, lead captures
Using circles as an opt in/out strategy

Strategy: If someone follows you, offer them something interesting (for example link to your youtube presentation video, an article or help, or ask if you can advise them about your service or product etc.) and propose them if they would like to be added to your notification circle.

Circles are a great strategy but beware that you can also get suspended from Google meaning don’t place all your eggs in one basket.

Don’t bug people you added in your circles by sending them direct messages. Except if they want to hear from you and you created it as a notification circle.

Build your audience first and then start your hangouts.

Download your recorded HoAs.