Many of the large companies like +ESPN, +BMW, and +H&M are using Google+ and have found it to be very valuable. However, many small businesses have yet to come to the same conclusion. +Jesse Wojdylo discusses why and how local small businesses should be using Google+ in today's Wojdylo Wednesday article.Most Google+ users enjoy the engagement and interaction on a personal level but finding successful small businesses on the Google social layer is not so easy. Some of the major brands have discounted Google+ because they cannot get the engagement and interaction they receive on other social networks. What they do not realize is they are missing out on a huge audience that wants to consume their content. Recently, I started working with the Law Offices of David Azizi and I have learned quite a bit. A little bit of hard work and understanding of the platform can go a very long way when it comes to building a Google+ presence as a local small business.
Google+ Pages
The first thing I did with the Law Offices of David Azizi was explain the importance of the Google+ Local page. The firm had already set up the page but they were only posting links to law related content. This is not the way to increase engagement on Google+. We came up with a strategy to offer much more to their followers. We decided to share amazing California photos, some Google+ tips and tricks and intersperse some of the law related content. In less than two weeks the Law Offices of David Azizi has hit the What's Hot section of Google+ and the Google+ Local Page is fast approaching 100 followers. The page has also shown great success in garnering engagement on their posts. The page has a total of 636 +1s. This shows what a local business can do if they are willing to reach out to their audience on a personal and local level.Hangouts on Air
Legal information can be very difficult to understand. For this reason I started a question and answer series with David Azizi. We are starting out with very basic questions and we will drill down to the more focused questions as time goes by. Here is one of the early videos we did - What is the First Thing to do After a Car Accident? If you want to catch more of this series there is a very lengthy resource that features some of the most popular hangouts titled Los Angeles Car Accident Attorney Q&A. Feel free to contact the Law Offices of David Azizi at their Google+ page or you can contact me at jwojdylo@gmail.com if you have any legal issues you would like addressed through a Hangout on Air. Client confidentiality is of the utmost important but David Azizi will answer some of the more basic questions.I am truly shocked that more companies are not using Hangouts on Air to answer basic questions. This reaches the customer in a much more powerful way. It is not a Tweet or a Facebook response. It is a personal willing to spend the time to discuss a topic in a face to face setting. That's a plus.
Google+ is Pure Google
Most of those that have read my articles know that I feel as if Google+ is going to surpass Facebook simply because it is pure Google. Google is slowly weaving Google+ into all of their platforms including Search, GMail, Android, Maps and Local. If a small business wants to get their name out there through Google it would be a very wise decision to adopt the Google+ platform. It can sometimes be hard to understand Google+ but +Google Plus Daily along with many others have some amazing help resources. Feel free to ask for help or join some of the help communities like Google+ Updates and Google Plus Pro Tips.If you have a small business, what has been your experience so far with Google+?