In the series Social or Not To Social, we have been discussing the various social media platforms. This week let’s look at Google Plus (Google+). In comparison to Facebook, Twitter  and LinkedIn Google+ is the new kid on the block. When Google+ came to the market there was a lot of scepticism about why there is a need for a new social media. Since its launch, it has established credibility and has over 500+ million users with over 300+ million users being active once.

Here are some quick tips to get you started on your Google+ journey:

Creating a Google Account: To use Google+, you have to have a Google account. Google has introduced One Account where you only need one account to access all your Google products. Chances are you already have one, if you use any of the services like Gmail (Google Mail) or YouTube. When you are creating a new account, you will be asked all the information like your name, birthday and email address.

How You Look: When you create the account, it has a default picture, a simple blue figure. When choosing an image to add, remember this is how you will appear in Google search. So add a professional looking photograph of you, focussing on your face, looking at the camera and smiling. This adds a bit of personality and charm to your profile. You can update this photograph any time, if you like. The minimum size of the image that can be used is 250 x 250 pixels.

Creating Circles: When you access your Google+ account for the first time, a screen will appear that will prompt you to add people you know along with some suggested users. Circles are Google’s way of saying add as a friend (in Facebook language) or follow (in Twitter language) or Connection (in LinkedIn language). Think of circles like groups and Google has created some default circles for you to add people. The default circles are Family, Friends, Acquaintances and Following. You can create your own circle if the connection you want to add does not fit into the circles above for example create a circle called Business Contacts. When you add someone to your circle, they get a notification that you have added them.

Banner Image: Google+ is a very visual platform and offers you a chance to showcase yourself with relevant images. When you join Google+, you get a default image on the banner. Add a sticking image of your company, products or anything you are passionate about. In Facebook the banner image size is 851 x 315 pixels, but in Google+ the image size is 2120 x 1192 pixels.

Give Your Profile a Boost: When you created the Google profile, you added all your basic information. Click the About button and start completing the profile. Add details about your work, education, places you have lived, worked or visited. There is a section called Story, this is very important, as this helps you in adding personality. Add a Tagline (brief description), Introduction (information for people, so they know they have the correct person) and Bragging Rights (of which you are proud).

Navigating the Stream: After you have added a few people in circles and arrived at your Google+ home screen, you will see different posts, products and other information. On the left hand side you will see 10 options under the Home Menu: Profile, People, Photos, What’s hot, Communities, Events, Hangouts, Pages, Local and Settings. In the centre of the screen you will see all the post from the people in your Circles. This section also shows People you may know and Today’s birthdays. On the right hand side you will notice a Hangout Box, which shows the list of individuals or brands you have in your circles. Google Hangout is like instant messages with video capacity.

The information above should help you get your teeth into this new social media. Of course there are features which I have not discussed as this is a beginners guide. What do you think of this new kid on the block? Do you think this kid has the potential? If so tell me in the comments below.

Until next time, happy posting 🙂