Google_ for Business_ How Google's Social Network Changes Everything - Chris Brogan [24]
Mike Bowler is in the real estate business. He does training, consulting, and selling. When you visit his stream, you can find a mix of local Michigan interest items (which lets you know that he cares about his community and it gives you interesting items from the area he services), stories from the real estate community at large, praise to his colleagues and community members, videos from Mike about what interests him, and more. The humanity of Mike shines through and says to you, if you’re in the market to buy or sell a property in Michigan or if you want to train your team of real estate professionals, that Mike is the man for you. Business is made up of people.
If you’re Richard Binhammer at Dell, you’re part of a larger corporation, and you have a somewhat more defined role. It’s a lot easier to be personal and personable, and yet the company requires that Richard shows results that justify his time on various social networks such as Google+. To that end, Richard almost has it easier than if you represent a small business.
If you are president of a small design firm, you have a lot more of the burden to represent the company. And yet, if you don’t balance your personal self with your business self, you’ll miss the opportunity to build relationships before the sale.
Now let’s start on profiles, and then work from there.
How You Appear to Others
Often when established users of Google+ come across someone new (such as yourself, perhaps), the first view they have is of Figure 4-1.
Figure 4-1 Brief user information in Google+.
Now, when people see this, they can decide a few things. “Hmmm, I’ve never heard of Chris, nor have I heard of Human Business Works, so maybe I won’t circle him.” Or they might think, “Well, he runs a company of some kind, so maybe that means something to me.” But because they see that information, they have just a little bit more to go on before deciding in a split second whether they want to add you back to a circle of their choosing.
This is just the first part of the importance of making sure your profile is in good working order. There are more steps, but initially people make choices.
Other things to consider, obviously, while looking at the previous picture and text is whether your avatar profile is helpful to people deciding whether to add you to one of their circles. If you have a cute, fluffy kitty, it’s less likely that you represent some business of significance to the people viewing you—unless you’re fortunate enough to be in the cute, fluffy kitty business.
That preview of your profile is people’s first view of you—their first inkling into whether they should consider connecting with you. That’s a great reason to give it some attention.
Danie Ware’s profile is succinct but gives you a sense that she’s creative, artistic, multi-faceted, and definitely not your typical person to connect with (see Figure 4-2). The beauty in this is that when you stand out in the crowd, you get more opportunity. Danie’s clearly a “Plate-Spinner Extraordinaire.”
Figure 4-2 Danie Ware. Courtesy of Danie Ware, http://danieware.com.
David B. Thomas used to work with me, and we’ve known each other for a few years now. He gives you insight into what matters most by leading with being a dad and husband (see Figure 4-3). In his business section, he starts with his new book with links right to where one can purchase it. And then Dave finishes with his work history and a link to his professional site. What I like is that his profile is well rounded.
Figure 4-3 David B. Thomas.
Nick Bilton’s profile is brief, but in there are so many interesting bits that one simply needs to learn more (see Figure 4-4). He writes for The New York Times, but that’s not nearly as cool as the fact he cofounded NYCResistor and that he’s “jumped