Fun with Google Plus Pages and discovering I am lazy
or
Fun with Google +
Which is proper?

I have to start by giving a big thumbs up to @starbucks via. I had a coffee pot malfunction this morning and the VIA Columbia was good and fast and got me through that “oh crap, no coffee” moment.

I finally got around to working on a Google plus page for the dealership. Why I had been putting it off is hard to say. Probably because I have a production problem here of late. I am not a big fan of putting the same content on each and every site. I know you have to sometimes. But to me it just looks bad to see the same picture on Facebook, then Flickr and again on the blog. Or a video posted to YouTube, then the blog and shared on Facebook and Twitter. This is not syndication…it’s boring. Believing that though has it’s drawbacks. Mainly it means you have to produce. I have to create, capture, design, copy or steal things to post on the web at our different outlets. And me being me, wants them all to be different. So, my hesitation to work on Google plus was due to laziness. My own. I just couldn’t see where I could come up with more content.
I got a little more organized and decided it was time. Not everyone takes these things as serious as me (because I am a freak) but it’s like having another child for crying out loud. Yep, I am going to have to take care of this thing if I launch it. And feed and groom it. And hopefully raise it up so that I am not afraid to be seen with it in public. Yikes !
Part of the problem is the perception that something like this is really not work . (my boss) You just slam together some text, sprinkle in some pics and your done. Put a lid on it, seal it up and put it on the shelf. That attitude comes from years using traditional advertising. People with those views just do not get the web at all. This will become a living, breathing thing. And I am hoping it’s not gonna be a Frankenstein, a monster that crushes my brain.
So, getting started on our Google plus page was hard just in the decision to do so, not in actually doing it.
I think most people will find it much easier than Facebook. Probably because it just looks less busy, less distracting. As far as content goes, I am going to build a base of good info about the dealership and the people who work here and then sprinkle in some everyday happenings I run in to. Birthdays, weather, who won the lotto, standard mundane stuff. Setting up the “about” tab took the longest and that was just finding the links I wanted listed. All the content you add will go a long way to bolstering your footprint on the web. Also, you can look at as a proving grounds. If you are more partial to your Facebook page, use Google Plus to experiment with before posting on Facebook.
Or just use it as a dumping grounds, put EVERYTHING thing there then pick from the best to spread around to other places. Look at it as a place to manage all your content. If you are the only one working on social media this can be the place aggregate everything and a launching point for ideas and trials.
Someday s I wish I had a separate phone to use around work. Would make uploading much better. The biggest problem is forced procrastination. If I cannot do it right then and there, if I have to wait till I get in front of my computer, there is a good chance it will not happen. Because by that time I am already involved to two other things that have come up. A fix may be to carry my Ipad with me.
I will try that and see how it works out. I can set up the apps on it geared to posting directly to the dealerships streams. And get more use out of the Ipad too instead of depending on my phone so much. That brings up another issue all together. Using an Ipad at work. Can you actually get any work done on an Ipad? I’ll have to give it a go and see.

So jump right in to setting up a Google Plus Page, it is easier than you think.

Filed under: Web Ops | Tagged: Google Plus, Social Media | Leave a Comment »