The next topic in our social media 101 blog series is YouTube and Google+. We’ve bundled them together, well, mostly because they are now very much bundled together. Having both a Google+ and a YouTube profile will positively impact your SEO—actually, they’re part of most basic SEO strategies! Google crawlers are biased towards Google products—YouTube videos and Google+ profiles and posts tend to rank higher.

1. Learn Social Media: Google+ and YouTube
The next topic in our social media 101 blog series is YouTube and Google+. We’ve
bundled them together, well, mostly because they are now very much bundled
together. Having both a Google+ and a YouTube profile will positively impact your
SEO—actually, they’re part of most basic SEO strategies! Google crawlers are biased
towards Google products—YouTube videos and Google+ profiles and posts tend to rank
higher.
Google+ 101
Google+ statistics:
 Google+ now has 540 million members, 300 million of whom are monthly active
users (not at all the ghost-town network many people think it is: Twitter has 230
million active users; LinkedIn has 259 million active
users)
 Google has integrated Google+ with Gmail, YouTube,
Google Analytics, Google Images, Google Maps, Google
Earth, Google Finance, Google Drive, Google Docs,
Google Wallet and Google Search!
 Google+ offers Hangouts, a free video call service
(similar to Skype, but with better resolution and service) that allows up to 10
people to participate
Bottom line: Google’s search algorithm favors content that has a presence on its own
platforms, such as Google+ and YouTube. If you want to be found online, you should
have a Google+ profile!
Google+ best practices:
 Make sure you use the same Google login for all of your company’s Google
accounts—Gmail, Google+, YouTube, Google Analytics, etc.
 Complete your Google+ profile entirely and make sure information matches your
website (if your website spells out ‘Street’ in your address, then spell it out on
Google+ too)
 Verify your page (once you do that, people will be able to find your
business’ location on the map, and you will see that little check mark on
your profile)
 Share content on a daily basis, don’t setup your profile and then forget about—
instead make the most of it!
 Google crawls Google+ profiles for new content (Google+ posts are
assigned their own URL, and treated like a blog post)

2.  Create Circles for different audiences and share posts with them specifically. For
example, you can share content with just your employees, or with customers only
Your homework:
 Set up your Google+ page
 Go to http://www.google.com/+/business/, sign up with your company’s
main Google login, follow the wizard, be sure to fill out all the fields and
perfectly match the information on your website
 Verify it—Google will send you a PIN code either by postcard or via a
phone call
 Ask your web master to add Google+ badges and share icons to your website and
blog (https://developers.google.com/+/web/badge/)
 Find connections and add them to Circles—employees, customers, vendors, etc.
 Hover your mouse over ‘Home’ on top left and select ‘People’ from the
drop down. Choose from the menu in the center of the page—you can
search for people or click on ‘Discover’ to see a breakdown of choices by
interests
 Post your original content—blogs, white papers, YouTube videos, press releases,
company events, product pictures and tips, promotional offers, etc.
 Take advantage of Google Hangouts—the super sharp video platform. Use it for
training employees, product demos, sales presentations, Q&A sessions, team
meetings, etc. (Note: you can record Hangout sessions, and make them available
for everyone afterwards!)
YouTube 101
YouTube statistics:
 YouTube has more than 1 billion unique users each month
(Facebook has 1.23 billion active users)
 Over 6 billion hours of video are watched each month on
YouTube—that’s almost an hour for every person on Earth!
 Mobile makes up almost 40% of YouTube’s global watch
time
Bottom line: YouTube is the second largest search engine (Google being #1)—if your
business wants to provide visual demos, small spoken bits of thought leadership,
videos from conferences or clips of team collaboration around the office, YouTube is
your medium. Plus YouTube is owned by Google, so having a frequently updated
channel that provides useful videos will positively impact your website’s SEO.
YouTube best practices:
 Similarly to Google+, create your YouTube account using your business’ generic
Google login credential

3.  When creating videos, try to be as professional as possible, but you don’t always
have to hire a production company
 Choose professional settings with a quiet and neutral background
 If possible, use a high-resolution camera and good microphones (if you
don’t have one, ask around the office for who has the latest smartphone
with the best video capabilities)
 Have a script, rehearse, speak clearly and to the point—YouTube
audiences are impatient, you will lose them if you beat around the bush
 Keep videos short—if it’s a product demo for example, try to keep it under 30
seconds; for longer videos, consider breaking them up into parts
 If you have some editing capabilities, include a call-to-action and contact
information in your video—for example, add “Visit our website at
www.abcdecompany.com for more product specs or to request a live demo.”
 Tag your video—it’s how people will find it when they search the site. You should
tag based on what topic the video addresses, what service it promotes, where it
was shot (for example, at a big conference such as Dreamforce), which industry it
services (IT, staffing, etc.). A good practice is to think about what users will
search for if they need the solution you’re providing in the video
 Also choose the right category—for example, should the video go under
the ‘Informative’ category or the ‘Reviews’ category, etc.
 Use the main tag/keyword in the video’s title as well
Your homework:
 Setup a YouTube channel, be sure to fill out all fields—remember to cross-link to
your website and all your other social profiles, add a company description, and
describe the type of videos you’ll be sharing (if you have predetermined a topic
range)
 Add your company logo as the profile picture and an eye-catching banner in line
with your company’s visual guidelines
 Record a video and upload it!
 For this “101 exercise” try something simple, such as a product demo or
a short video addressing FAQ’s
 And finally… Share! Embed your YouTube video on your website, blog, post on all
your social profiles, add links in your newsletter and email signature
Google provides a lot of free products for businesses so take advantage of them.
Be sure to check back again next week for our look at awesome free social media tools
and apps. In the meantime, contact us anytime with questions, suggestions or tips
you’d like to share!