Google_ for Business_ How Google's Social Network Changes Everything - Chris Brogan [14]
This service isn’t yet widely available to the public, and invitations are required, but if you ask your web-savvy friend for an invite, chances are they’ll have one. At some point, this service will be open to the public, but if you wait that long, you’ll miss the boat.
The sooner you get into the game, the sooner you can use the tools to change how you grow your business. It also enables you to experiment faster, make more mistakes faster (before more people are there), and have a presence before some of your competitors.
What You Can Accomplish with Google+
Everyone reads books (especially business books) with a specific goal in mind: “What’s in it for me?” That’s okay. If you’re going to spend your time and money on a business book, there should be some value given in the exchange. But one of the most important things about how to use Google+—and social networks in general—is to learn how to build value by promoting and helping others.
In 2009, Julien Smith and I said in our book, Trust Agents, “Be the elbow of every deal.” What we meant was that there’s great value and long-term influence in helping others make connections and build business relationships. Without ever asking for reciprocation, this one move of helping others connect and make business happen with no immediate value to you is a power move worth mastering.
In Google+, you can do this in several ways. One is by sharing posts from people with smaller audiences. Another is to make introductions between two people you follow who might not yet follow others. Another is to promote products and services that aren’t yours but that would help your constituency. These are all big opportunities to build value for others and build relationships in general.
In opposition to “What’s in it for me,” consider, “What can I do for others that can help them?” What this brings you, if executed in earnest, is a lot of respect and admiration from people in your community, and if one were to be honest, that kind of currency translates well into people’s willingness to share your content with others, with their interest in participating with you and your posts, and with people’s perception of you and your motives. Don’t do one simply to earn the other, but understand that, should you work toward this mindset, it does indeed pay off in tangible dividends, even if these aren’t always directly monetary in nature.
Opportunity Is What You Make of It
Google+ isn’t a hardcore sales and marketing engine. The game, such as it is, isn’t to get the most followers and then start blasting them with offers until they purchase. It is, instead, a way to educate prospective buyers, a way to connect with your community of customers, a method by which to promote offers and events (sparingly) to your audience, and a way to build relationships before you need them.
If you’ve noticed, a lot of these methods and means aren’t exactly hardcore tricks and tactics yet, which is explored in later chapters. The reason I start with this talk about potential opportunity and about the mindset behind what might be helpful for you, and all this stress on relationship-minded business practices, is that these are what are required for a mindset before you dig deep into the heavier selling or other business functions. I hope that works for you.
We’ve talked about what you can do and why you might do it, and we’ve talked about a lot of the various methods by which you can find opportunities in Google+. The next chapter walks you through several “serving suggestions.” Pick up a can of vegetable soup at the grocery store, and you’ll see a picture on the outside of the can with the words “serving suggestion” nearby. What they mean by that is, “Hey!