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5 Very Important Reasons Why Freelancers Need Google+

by Laura Spencer

on February 10, 2014

in Marketing Social Media

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Is your social media strategy up to date? Be honest, now.

If you answered “no,” you’re probably not the only freelancer who did so. However, social media is an important marketing strategy for freelancers.

As I’ve mentioned before on FreelanceM.ag, social media is not a waste of time for freelancers if it’s done right.

Now of course you shouldn’t be spending all of your time on social media, but most freelancers will benefit by having an active online social media presence. Google+ should be a part of your strategy for building that online freelancing presence.

In case you don’t know, Google+ is still a fairly new social media platform. It started in summer of 2011, just over two years ago. That makes it quite a bit younger than Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Maybe that’s why some freelancers aren’t on board at Google+ yet.

Are you still unsure about Google+ In this post I share five very important reasons why freelancers need Google+ as part of their social media strategy.

Reason #1. Networking Benefits

Even though Google+ is still relatively new, the sheer number of users makes Google+ significant.

According to recent statistics published in an article from Matt McGee on Marketing Land, Google+ Hits 300 Million Active Monthly “In-Stream” Users, 540 Million Across Google, the number of active Google+ users falls somewhere between 300 and 600 million.

Yes, that was millions of users. Now of course, your reach will vary depending on your Circles and your participation. But the potential to reach and network with a substantial number of contacts is definitely there.

Reason #2. Search Engine Benefits

Since Google+ comes from the same people who run the leading search engine. It shouldn’t come as any surprise that active Google+ participation may have SEO benefits.

So, if you have a freelancing blog or website, Google+ may help attract traffic. Who doesn’t want that? (If you don’t have a blog or website for your freelancing business yet, why don’t you?)

If you do own a blog or if you’re a freelance writer, take advantage of Google Authorship. Many experts believe that Google Authorship also improves search engine results.

Reason #3. Community Participation

Google+ is home to literally dozens of freelancing community groups. Some are centered around a specific freelancing specialty such as web design, programming, or writing. Others are open to all freelancers, regardless of specialty.

Freelancing communities allow you to get to know other freelancers. They can also provide specialized resources and other information for the interested freelancer.

Here are two resources to help you find good Google+ communities:

If you know of any other Google+ communities, feel free to share them with our readers in the comments.

Reason #4. Hangouts

Google+ Hangouts are a great way to connect with others face-to-face using your webcam or use the chat-like interface instead.

Use Hangouts for informal discussions or even for webinars. Some enterprising folks have created video Hangouts as a private channel to publish regular content–sort of like having your own private television channel.

Make live video calls with Hangout that include up to ten participants. This could be great for project meetings. Another nice feature for freelancers is that you can review past Hangouts in case you forget what you talked about.

The mobile version of Google+ includes Hangouts too, so you can also use them on your smart phone or tablet.

Reason #5. Collaboration Tools

Google+ works with other Google tools that make it easier to collaborate on projects. And collaboration is becoming more common in the freelancing world. Plus, it’s convenient to have everything available under one umbrella.

Just a few collaboration tools you may want to check out include:

Your Turn

I haven’t even mentioned some Google+ basics such as Circles and your profile, but make no mistake–those basic features are important too.

If you’ve been hesitating about getting started on Google+, what are you waiting for?

Do you use Google+ for social media yet? What features do you like best?

Share your answers and Google+ tips in the comments below.

Learn how to earn $125 or more per hour as a freelancer – Free Test Drive

About Laura Spencer

Laura Spencer is a freelance writer from North Central Texas with over 20 years of professional business writing experience. If you liked this post, then you may also enjoy Lauraâ??s blog about her freelance writing experiences, WritingThoughts. Laura is also on Google+.