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you, and work on your own quality of information more than anything else. That’s what can get you the most benefit from using Google+.

If you’re interested in learning more about search, check out Danny Sullivan’s and Rand Fishkin’s blogs:

• http://searchengineland.com

• http://seomoz.org

You can find other great sources out there, but these are two of the guys to pay attention to when you aren’t sure what to do and when you want to improve search results. Search matters.

14. Next Steps

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We’ve covered a lot in this book. I’ve tried not to talk too specifically about the features and technology aspects of Google+ because the tools are still evolving and because they aren’t the most interesting part of using the platform. What scares most people about a new social network such as Google+ is learning how to click everything that needs to be clicked and how to avoid doing something embarrassing. Though those are important parts of the learning process, what we have talked about in this book focuses more on the business opportunities inherent in using Google+ as part of your outpost strategy for your digital channel.

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This chapter sums up some potential next steps, in case you’ve mostly been reading along and haven’t jumped into action. Now that we’ve talked at length about various aspects of Google+, from those “day-in-the-life” glimpses to understanding how to execute a “warm sell,” to thoughts on how to circle people and develop a content strategy, let’s outline some of that here. I don’t want to repeat what we’ve already covered, but it’s important to give it order and also provide a simple reference section.

Starting Moves

Following is a list of initial steps you can take:

• Decide who in the organization should be involved in Google+ for business. The more the merrier, but this depends on your business and on how you intend to implement it.

• Determine whether you’ll use standard Gmail accounts or if you’ll use Google Applications accounts. (There’s technically no difference, but for a level of enhanced business branding, if you use your Google Apps accounts, you can use corporate or alternative-to-corporate business email addresses.)

• Write a simple “rules of engagement” document (no more than one page in length) that spells out the simplest possible goals of anyone’s interactions on Google+, which spells out the absolute no-no’s and off-limits behaviors (such as trashing competitors) and explains what to do if something goes wrong.

• Consider a “launch day” (or days) to gather people together and train them about the uses of Google+ and so that you can reiterate the policy you’ve put together for the rules of engagement. Remember that different departments (if you’re a larger company) will have different goals, and that this might actually be the point where it becomes clear that people see the possibilities of using Google+ differently. Also remember that some people won’t feel as technically comfortable, so this is your chance to help them feel a bit more acclimated.

• It would be exceptionally good to invite the Legal department (if you’re a larger company or if you’re highly regulated) to this experience far earlier.

• For everyone you decide should have access to Google+ in the company, build robust profiles. You might put some guidelines in place for what should go into a profile, but I’d also encourage some flexibility in this area after covering specific corporate goals. For instance, don’t enforce corporate ID photos as the standard avatar photos for Google+. Be creative and permissive, but with some “bumpers” in place so that people know what won’t be okay in the profile-creating process.

• Put together a “cheat sheet” of how to delete a post, how to share a post, how to set circles specifically for sharing, and any other matters that might prove immediately useful to employees who find themselves in a bind.

Listening

Listening on the social web is a matter of implementing search tools to understand what people