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Google+ is taking major strides in the social media war. Just recently, the newest social network powerhouse joined its competitors and released their version of brand pages for businesses. On January 10th, Google+ took a leap ahead of all other social networks to unveil a unique feature that no one else currently has the resources to compete with. Google search and Google+ have officially merged together to form “Search plus Your World,” bringing your personal world into your search experience. As Google states in their blog, “We’re transforming Google into a search engine that not only understands content, but also people and relationships.”

How are they doing this? Search plus Your World introduces three new features that integrate your Google+ social life with what you’re interested in searching:

1. Personal Results- Your Google search will return not only information on the public web, but will also include matching results from your Google+ posts and photos, and those that have been shared with you.

2. Profiles in Search- Using a new autocomplete feature, searching a person on Google will first return to you results for people you know, or may be interested in following, before it shows you people you do not know. The results for people you know come accompanied with information from their Google+ profile and web pages that may be relevant to them.

3. People and Pages- Along with information on your search query, Google will return Google+ profiles that are related to your search, and enable you to immediately add them to your circles.

Of course, you must be logged into your Google+ profile to gain access to your personal results, and Google has added other security and control measures to ensure that Search plus Your World is truly a personal and private experience. Google search results and Google+ content are protected by SSL encryption for signed in users, which is the same method of security used for messages in Gmail. To allow for transparency and control, Search plus Your World personal results are marked as Public, Limited or Only You, and Google+ profile results are distinguished by their circle or connection to your search query. Google has also added a toggle button to give you control over whether you want Google to return your personal results, or not.

Without a doubt, this merger between Google search and Google+ is unprecedented, and will remain the only one of its kind for some time. But, what’s next? This certainly will not be the last social media innovation Google unveils. Indeed, according to their blog, “Search is simply better with your world in it, and we’re just getting started.”

For more information on Search plus Your World and Google+, read:
Google’s blog, “Google Merges Search and Google+ Into Social Media Juggernaut,” and “Google+: The Complete Guide.”

The moment all businesses have been waiting for has finally arrived: Google+ brand pages! Just recently, Google+ followed Facebook and Twitter and created a place specifically for brands and businesses to network in the social media sphere. Your business can now connect, and even “hangout” with your Circles. Are you ready to get started on Google+ Brand Pages? Here’s how:

1. First, you need a Google+ personal account to build your brand page off of. If you do not have a personal account, you can create one here.

2. Once you have a personal account, sign in here to begin building your page

3. Pick a category your business falls under. Your options are:
a. Local Business or Place (Hotels, restaurants, places, stores, services…)
b. Product or Brand (Apparel, cars, electronics, financial services…)
c. Company, Institution or Organization (Companies, organizations, institutions, non-profits…)
d. Arts, Entertainment or Sports (Movies, TV, music, books, sports, shows…)
e. Other

4. Add your business’ information.

5. Add only 10 words that best describe your business. You may add your companies tagline, a quick summary of your product or services, or any other 10 words or less you would like to use.

6. Upload a photo to use as your brand page’s profile picture.

7. Announce the creation of your new brand page to your personal circles!

That’s it! In 7 simple steps you have created a Google+ brand page for your small business, and increased your social media presence and SEO. Once you have your brand page, you can post, share, upload photos and videos, add to your circles, and host hangouts. You can even get creative and jazz up your profile with the scrapbook feature. For more information on all of the features and how to use them, check out Mashable’s “10 Tips and Tricks for Better Google+ Brand Pages.”

Take a look at DivergingSoul’s brand new Google+ page, and be sure to add us to your circle!

It is now 2012. By this time I’m sure you are already aware of the advantages a website can bring to your small business, and odds are you have taken the initiative and set one up. However, you may have come to find that you do not have the time or resources to give your website the tender loving care it needs to thrive.

Just as plants need air, water and sunlight to grow, Aaron Sperling suggests small business websites need fresh content, social media integration, easy ecommerce and maximized SEO. Read his article “4 Ways Small Business Websites Can Drive More Sales” for tips on how to drive more traffic and sales to your small business’ website using these four steps.

For further information on creating and implementing a plan for your small business website, please contact us at DivergingSoul. We have all the tools and knowledge you need to make your website a success!

As the new year quickly approaches, it’s time to look back at what 2011 has seen, and look forward to what 2012 will bring. As we look back, we can see that one area that has rapidly grown and will undoubtably continue to do so throughout the new year is social video.

Social video allows for a company to create unique content that goes beyond traditional advertising to further engage with an audience across multiple platforms. As they are “social,” these videos can be shared amongst viewers to create a viral campaign.

Hundreds of companies have started up their own social video projects, and we can definitely expect to see many more join the trend in 2012. With increasing competition, brings increasing innovations. In “What’s in Store for Social Video in 2012?” Chris Schreiber names five of these innovations that he predicts will be trending in the upcoming year. They are:

1. Integration of original branded content into broader marketing campaigns

2. More organic video experiences on sites

3. Improved earned media science

4. Widespread adoption of cost-per-view pricing

5. Dedicated social video budgets

Will 2012 be the right time for your company to take the leap into social video marketing?

Read Schreiber’s full article for more information on social video in 2012 at Mashable.com.

In a new study conducted by Beyond Consultancy we get to see the workings of the modern day consumer and how their buying habits are tied to social media.

The results show that interactions such as sharing or “liking” a product are much more common and influential with products they call “low involvement”.  Low involvement products in the study are low cost, easily bought items like music or baby products.  With “high involvement” products (expensive purchases with high consumer research, like cars or high end electronics), more traditional social interactions such as reading reviews or visiting the product’s website have greater influence.

In the study, 20% of consumers are classified as “high sharers”.  This important demographic is more likely to be influenced by social media when looking at low involvement products and in turn will have a high spread of influence when they share their buying habits.

Perhaps most importantly in the research was the fact that although social media is continuing to move forward in the area of marketing and advertising, search results remain king in the land of e-commerce, consistently topping the list of “influential channels”.

For more ideas on how to know your customer and shift your social media accordingly, view the infographic below or read the full article here.

Just how influential are your “Shares?” You may not realize it, but those little social media buttons that come in the form of “Like,” “Tweet,” “+1,” “Share,” etc. a lot of power.  They allow you to share your favorite things with friends in just one click instantly connecting a typically anonymous purchase or profile change to hundreds and thousands of others. According to an infographic created by Spinback, 90% of all purchases are subject to social influence, and 67% of people spend more money online after recommendations. What is this all called? Social commerce – and according to Mark Zuckerburg, its the next big thing. Here’s how it works:

1. It begins with the online retailers website or social network page.
2. Someone comes across something they like on the site, and shares it on their own social network page.
3. Friends see the recommendation, and visit the retailers site for themselves.
4. These simple clicks result in increased sales and traffic to the retailers site.

Check out the infographic “The State of Social Commerce” at hitekconsulting.com for more amazing statistics, and see how having a presence on social networks have helped increase sales for many businesses.

Social media, used the right way, can be a blessing for your small business. Social media can also end up being a waste of your time if it is done incorrectly. The best way to insure your social media campaign is successful, is doing it right from the beginning. Here are some  key points and advice from three experts on how to put yourself on the right track to social media success.   If social media is on your mind and you don’t know where to start, give the DivergingSoul team a call and we’ll help you out.  We can help you put together the right plan for your social media initiatives and so you how to leverage unique social media tools to help your efforts become more successful.

Rhea Drysdale, CEO, Outspoken Media
First step: Create a plan. Do your research on different social media channels to see what people are already saying about your company. This will help you pick the best social media channels for you to be active on, and to see what other businesses in you industry are doing with their social media. If you find in your research that not a lot of your customers are involved in social media, you may want to consider other options, such as a blog. Also, before you begin your social media endeavor, get a baseline of what is currently out there on your company. This way you will be able to monitor the progress of your social media activity.

Lee Odden, CEO, Top Rank Marketing
First step: Have a goal. Ask yourself, why do you want to do this? What will it do for your business? After you’ve answered the question and come up with a goal, you can start a plan on how to accomplish that goal. Keep in mind that social web changes quickly, so make sure your plan is adaptive.

Wendy King, President, 23 Kazoos
First step: Understand the kind of media that is best suited to your target market. To do that, you need to know who your target market is, and where they are. Then, pick a media where your consumers are most concentrated, and focus in on that.

Read the full article on “How To Launch Your First Social Media Campaign” at openforum.com.

– Take a look at this handy infographic, “Who Likes What?: Social Media by Demographic,” to help you determine where your audience lives in the social media world.

As a small business it may be intimidating, and often frustrating, being in constant competition with the larger, “top dog” businesses. This David vs Goliath saga with well-known brands who have more than enough money to spend on lavish ads and promotions is all too familiar. It often seems there is no winning against these top competitors. There is one cost effective tool that many small businesses are using to step up to the big business bullies, that tool is social media.

In his article “How Social Media Lets Small Businesses Poke Big Competitors in the Eye,” Shel Israel tells the story of a small Houston coffee shop that was able to “poke the eye” of their big competitor, Starbucks. What could this small coffee shop do that Starbucks couldn’t? The owner, JR Cohen, could personally interact with its customers through Twitter, a move that Starbucks just couldn’t counter. Read this social media success story from American Express Open Forum, and see how one tweet led to a major win for this small business.

If you are interested in pursuing social media for your small business drop us a line!  DivergingSoul Media can help you get started  by constructing your social media plan, developing your social network platforms and implementing analytical tools to monitor your results.  By getting all of that “stuff” out of the way, you’ll be able to focus on the most important aspect of social media, your customers!

Social networks are everywhere. From middle schoolers to grandparents, it is seemingly impossible to find someone without an account. And it’s not just individuals who are flocking to social networks, businesses are successfully using them to market their company and interact with their customers. With the steady addition of new social networks, most recently Google+, finding the right network for you or your business can be a lengthy trial and error process. This infographic from Mashable.com weighs the pros and cons of the top 5 frontrunners in the social network war: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Tumblr, and LinkedIn. It will bring you one step closer to finding “the one.”