1. Alisa Leonard Vice President, Marketing Strategy iCrossing
What means for you
Alisa Leonard
Vice President, Marketing Strategy
iCrossing

2. The basics…

3. Streams – connect with people

4. Circles – manage people

5. Sparks – discover content

6. Hangouts – connect in real-time

7. So what does it mean for you?

8. 1 2 3 Perspective Google+ is not another social destination site
Google+ promises to continue to enhance the relationship between search and social
Combined with use of +1, Google+ promises to drive greater bought, earned & owned media synergy 1 2 3

9. Not another social destination
Building a social web

10. Laying the foundation for a social web
Focused on creating a social layer – social data that could permeate nearly every Google product
Social identity, content and activities connect across web services– from Google+ to Search and Maps
This means a more customized, user-centric web experience

11. The new social CRM – hyper customization
CIRCLES ALLOW MARKETERS TO CUSTOMIZE SOCIAL CONTENT TO SPECIFIC AUDIENCE SEGEMENTS

12. Algorithm + Human Interaction
Search + Social
Algorithm + Human Interaction

13. The question for marketers:
Can you improve your short- and long-term natural search performance by becoming active in Google+?

14. The answer:
Yes. The backbone of search & social synergy is content & social signals

15. Sparks – social content
Similar to “most shared” stories in LinkedIn, “most re- tweeted” in Twitter
Tends to rank and display content based on social signal velocity
Users can subscribe to topics at keyword level
Expected to become a signal for web search in the future

16. +1 – social signal The +1 appears to be Google’s primary social signal
+1’s live in Google+, Google Search and now your web site
Aggregated +1’s increase visibility in search & social
Receiving +1’s requires better content and active engagement

17. Content best practices
Editorial Insights. Develop a content program based on search and social insights that cater to your target audience (segments)
Customization. Customize editorial programs by Circle segmentation; create multiple editorial calendars that map messaging to audience segment
Ritualized Content. Communities respond best to ritualized content; identify top topics and content formats that receive the most interaction and create recurring content events (e.g. “Tuesday Tips”)
Publishing Primetime. Monitor and measure when content posts receive the most interaction and adjust publishing schedule to maximize social signals

18. Community management best practices
Balanced Diet. A community must have a “balanced diet” of content and conversation. Community managers should turn published brand content into consumer-centered conversations
A/B Testing. Just like paid media, content and engagement tactics should be tested, refined and formalized into day to day execution best practices.
Escalation. Establish a clear path for escalation so that no comment goes left unanswered or ignored. Unanswered comments lead to mismanagement and lost opportunities

19. Bought, Earned, & Owned Synergy
An illustration

20. The relationship between Google+ and the +1 means that a consumer’s social graph could be connected with actions across natural search, paid media, and web content
(Let’s see what this could look like)

21. Bought + earned
A paid media program using +1 could extend its reach through targeting a user’s social graph who +1’d an ad, and capture audiences in a social database (the +Page) for ongoing messaging and engagement beyond the paid campaign

22. Amplified earned: search + social
All of that brand content and engagement shared through the +Page in turn creates visibility in natural search (“flooding the zone” of a SERP with all brand touch points – from site to social)

23. Earned + owned
A customer that +1’s content (or a product) broadcasts a recommendation to friends, generating earned media impressions and word-of-mouth
Additionally, that customer may be asked to join the brand's +Page circles (capture for CRM)
Your site content benefits from improved search visibility from social signals

24. In summary

25. Remember the 3Cs of Google+1
Content. Success in Google+ is predicated on quality, frequently published content. Community. Building community is crucial– it impacts brand engagement and how content moves and spreads across the web (including how visible it becomes in search). Customization. Google+ will offer more flexibility and customized brand engagement with specific audiences due to the Circles feature. 2 3

26. Get started
Get personal. Set up a personal account and familiarize yourself with the platform until +Pages are launched.
Asses your current social media programs. Are your programs centered around content and proper engagement techniques? Are you thinking about your current social programs in a holistic manner with search?
Test & learn. iCrossing’s Live Media Studio & SEO teams have developed Google+ best practices and starter programs

27. Alisa Leonard Alisa.Leonard@icrossing.com @alisamleo
Thank you!
Alisa Leonard
@alisamleo
“We Build Connected Brands”
iCrossing