Exclusive Interview with Guy Kawasaki – What The Plus!

Google Plus is one kind of social network platform that possesses this distinct exclusive appeal. This appeal is sometimes perceived by some potential users to be difficult to manage, thus even if they set up accounts they still focus on rather more mainstream contemporaries such as Facebook and Twitter. However, there are ways in which marketers can actually get the best out of Google+, and Silicon Valley icon Guy Kawasaki shares his quick tips on how we can use these to our advantage.

Download the full interview (.mov format)

Google+: Building Your Passion

“Google+ is for your passion, and not just for connecting with friends and family,” shares Guy. “I can’t use it to keep up with own friends-I actually made use of Google+ to search for people who share the same interests as I have.”

True enough, you can utilize the Google+ search engine and type in your interests to find other users who have the same ideas as yours. As a photography fan, Guy says he did the same thing and found other photography enthusiasts-virtual strangers who he eventually became friends with.

Google+ vs. LinkedIn

“There are only three social network platforms that I use: Facebook, Twitter and Google+,” he reveals. “I do have a LinkedIn account, but I don’t really open it.”

But why? It’s because for Guy, LinkedIn is more on making professional connections rather than starting conversations based on common interests. Indeed, LinkedIn is effective especially when you are looking for jobs or professional support, or are giving advice for those who are looking towards building careers, but it doesn’t really work well when you’re just after finding foundations built on common passions and interests.

Google+ for Small-Medium Businesses

Small-medium businesses may take advantage of Google+ through various ways, according to Guy.” The platform itself is seen as a land grab because it’s not yet really popular at this time, and setting up a profile for your businesses as early as now can help cement your reputation in the industry you plan to be in.”

“Businesses can use Google+ when creating a niche about their brands,” he adds. “Once you’ve set up your Google+ account, find interests and add those results to your circles so you can start making conversations. It’s like attending a cocktail party and meeting people there-you need to start with a common interest in order to come up with pretty good and lasting conversations.”

Guy also encourages businesses to post tips, advice and simple ideas about their products and services so that the people in their circles would learn more about what they have to offer. These also help those contacts remember these businesses because of their posts.

Google+ Everyday

“I usually open my Google+ account at night, take some pictures and links then post them on my circles,” Guy says. “In the morning I share these links to public circles so people would know the things that I found interesting. I post up to ten times a day to spread my interests.”

“I think businesses should just start posting once they’re in Google+,” Guy closes. “I actually made more connections in Google+ because I found strangers who happen to share the same passion as I have.”

Guy Kawasaki recently launched his latest book – What The Plus! where he teaches on how to circle people, how to perfect your profile, how to craft effective posts, how to comment, how to respond to comments, and how to share photographs. The book is available in e-book version only and can be purchased here.