Google plus is providing opportunities for businesses that other web access points do not.

Two of those opportunities are Hangouts and Communities. But just what exactly are these tools and how can they be beneficial to your business?

The experts at Archway Internet Marketing can explain the tools to you and in what ways they can specifically boost your business. But here is some basic information about the items:

Google Plus’ Hangouts give you another meeting tool, another way to connect with staff in other offices or clients across the country. Communities give you a way to connect with people sharing an interest, people who could use your product or service now or in the future.

Hangouts are video streams that let multiple people chat live at the same time. It is a huge advantage to using Google+ and one of its biggest selling points. The video streams have been improved since Google plus was instituted, making it a better business conference site. As long as you have at least 150 kilobits per second of bandwidth, you can connect to a Hangout.

There are also Hangouts On Air, which allow Google plus users to broadcast hangouts to many viewers. That web-access avenue has also been tweaked. Now when the host is the only participant in the Hangout On Air, the filmstrip of faces below the screen will go away.

A rapidly growing trend is Google + Communities. The Communities act similar to Groups on Facebook. Google + Communities are only a few months old, but have captured the fancy of those who are active on plus. It enables them to share information with individuals with similar interests.

Communities can be a boon to your business as Communities provide a key way to interact with potential customers, enabling you to connect with people who have a vested interest in your products. Having an interested audience is a huge benefit to businesses and a definite way to increase sales. By being involved with a Community linked to your product area, you are much more likely to sell your goods and services.

While the temptation is there to hawk your product continuously – and that alone can boost sales some – being part of a Google + Community gives you a great way to interact with customers and potential customers and build clients for the long haul, not just one-time sales. Google plus and other social media avenues should not be used simply as advertising venues, but more as ways to connect with current and future customers.

Communities give you a great way to increase attention of your brand and services. Communities are straight-forwarded gathering places and people in a Community that matches your business are definitely potential customers. Once you have established yourself as a trustworthy source of information, people in the Community will be more more willing to listen to sales pitches. Again, a soft sell is definitely better. You are still looking to generate relationships more than just one-time sales through your efforts.

If you look through the Communities and don’t find one that fits your product’s genre, start your own Community, and make it public to increase your audience. The experts at Archway can help you set up your own Community and monitor it for you. If you start your own Community, make sure to tell other Google Plus users about it, as well as clients and potential clients connected to you on other social media avenues, like Facebook and Twitter.

Many people turn to Google Plus Communities to get more information or questions answered in a certain field. Make sure that you share your expertise with the Community audience so they turn to you as an expert in that field. No better way to get a potential customer to your site than to answer one of their questions by pointing to information already posted in a blog on your website. You can also use Community discussions as fodder for your website’s blogs or articles.

Let the marketing experts at Archway help you with these Google + tools. Call us at 1-877-50-TWEET (877-508-9338) or email us at manageyourtwitter@gmail.com and let us help with your marketing efforts through Google Plus.

Having a social media presence is vital for a business today. With Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, Foursquare, YouTube, Google+, blogs, e-newsletters and websites, it is hard to imagine that you can overdue it with your posts, but you can.

Be an annoyance or narcissistic and your gains in social media numbers can disappear in a heartbeat. Good social media skills, like proper manners, are never going to steer you wrong.

Knowing when your social media efforts are going over the top is key to understanding how to effectively use these emerging communication tools.

Here are 10 ways businesses overdue social media:

1. Overposting on Facebook and Twitter – Hammering followers with 25 posts a day may sound like a great way to get your name out there and dominate the social media scene, but eating up that much of a person’s day is going to turn them off and result in “unlikes” and lost followers. Keep your name out there without being a nuisance.
2. Too self-centered posts: Tweets and status updates telling people where you are at or what you had to eat for your business lunch isn’t vital information. You may be an accountant and love numbers, but your followers are not going to be engaged by tales of your afternoon of number-crunching. It is good to gauge followers’ interest in your posts. Get their input on what they want to see more and what they want to see less in your updates.
3. Increased postings with increased popularity – Just because your followers or friends have increased doesn’t mean you are suddenly that much more interesting and engaging. You do not need to post more once your popularity increases. Keep your postings at a consistent level, or, if anything, cut back slightly as your popularity rises.
4. Posting in only one specific area – While your position or your business may be specialized, people don’t want to hear just about your niche. Let them know about company news of broader interest. Let that know about discounts and deals. Tell them when business numbers are up. Invite them to upcoming company events, when appropriate. Inform them about upcoming company plans and projects. Give them recaps of events and fiscal year performances.
5. Writing too much – Long posts are not your business’s friend. People don’t want every detail of your business day. Keep posts short and too the point. This is a “need-it-now” society. People don’t have time to wade through paragraph after paragraph to get to the point of your post. Twitter breeds brevity with its 140-character limit, but know that you don’t need to use all 140 characters to get your point across to readers. Keep Facebook posts to quick recaps of business events and happenings,
6. Overhastagging on Twitter – More than one or two hashtags in a post is over the top and completely unnecessary. Hashtag only what is essential. Don’t hashtag every word. And keep hashtagging to Twitter. It does not have a place or purpose on Facebook.
7. Reciprocated “Likes” – Exchanging “Likes” with other pages on Facebook can boost your fan numbers, but doesn’t do anything for your page. In fact, such reciprocal moves can hurt your business because these reciprocal fans won’t interact with your content. Facebook algorithms detect such discrepancies and lessen your visibility on fans’ newsfeeds.
8. Too many posts early – Business tend to heavily promote an event or a deadline way in advance and then slack off as the event or deadline nears. Continue to promote an event or deadline until it passes. With everything so instant today, people have apps on their smart phones and can access information from anywhere. Keep posting until the deadline or event passes.
9. Automated responses – Yes, automated responses give people a response and free you up for other things, but it is a generic response – and not one that builds relationships. If people take the time to send you comments and concerns, take the time to send them back an honest reply. Taking the time to answer posts and tweets shows customers that you care. An automated response can say “thanks for your question or concern,” but also let that person know that he or she will hear back from someone – and follow through with that.
10. Hammering one social media site – Focusing all your attention on one social media outlet misses lots of other potential customers. While you may like only doing Facebook posts for your business, people who could use and buy your products or services may be on Linkedin or Twitter. You need to link your social media together and use them all to your advantage. Every social media outlet has its own benefits. Use its different style to benefit your company. Facebook, for example, is more visual. Post photos of products and services there. Twitter is more text-based. Pinster is visual, good for photos, but also for pinning websites, links and blogs. Foursquare allows people to check in and post about businesses. Make sure you are keeping a presence on all social media outlets.

One of the 10 most popular social media websites is www.pinterest.com. The site states that it’s a virtual pinboard. It allows users to get a free account and share beautiful things (including articles and pictures) that the users find on other websites. Users may browse boards that are made by other users, to find new things and get new ideas from other people who have some of the same interests. Some Pinterest users use their boards to plan weddings, decorate, and share recipes.

A pin is any image that a pinterest user adds to his or her board. A pin may be added from any other website, by using the Pin It button. A user can upload pictures from his or her computer. Each pin that is added, using the Pin It button contains a link back to the original site.

A board is a set of pins that each user can create. A board can be created about any subject, including recipes, churches, or political views. A user may add as many pins as he or she chooses, to his or her board.

Unlike many social media websites, Pinterest is mainly a visual site. If a user wants to post information and doesn’t have any pictures, he or she won’t be able to contribute, well. Each user needs to choose interesting pictures to pin.

Some Pinterest users get accounts because they want to use the site to post offers from their businesses. It’s usually difficult for users to do that, since the majority of users find other pins on which they want to comment. Users usually find that they enjoy the site more, if they discuss other pictures.

Users should notice many things that others posted and comment on them. If you use the @ sign, the person you mention will be tagged. Users usually think that is a compliment.

Google follows Pinterest, so users should use keywords, when they create a pin. From an SEO standpoint, this is great news, since it may cause your link to be found by others. This may change.

The majority of Pinterest users are women. This is important for business owners who consider using Pinterest to promote their business. They should do that, only if they think that the majority of their customers are women.

Many people think that Pinterest is addicting. Pinterest users spend an average of 15 minutes, each day, “pinning.” Since this can be done while users use other sites, that time may be higher. Facebook users spend an average of 23 minutes, per day, on that site, but Pinterest is doing well, for a new site.

Few social media sites list etiquette, for those sites, but www.pinterest.com has a page “Pin Etiquette.” It states that the rules were sent by their users. That page reminds users to be polite and honest. That page reminds users to cite the original site, for each of their pins. That page asks users to report objectionable material, since they don’t allow nudity or anything that encourages violence.

These facts should help readers decide whether they want to user www.pinterest.com. If you want to know more information, please read the site and views some boards.

Two important companies, who can help businesses use social media, are Alterian and Raven Tools.  Here are some details about both companies.

One of the newest social media sites is www.flickr.com, a site that allows users to post photos so that the pictures can be see by anyone, who uses that site.

These facts should show that Flickr is a useful website, for people who want to post pictures, view photos, from others, or both.  If you have any questions, about the service, please read the site, www.flickr.com.