THE POWER OF THE PLATFORM: VISUAL STORYTELLING ON SOCIAL NETWORKS 123 TIPS for Engaging on Google+ • Google+ supports long posts, so you can • Use the Events feature to promote future combine more scholarly posts with shorter, launches, conferences, meetings, presenta- snappier ones, along with photos and tions, or awards that your circles might be videos. interested in. It sends out invitations that • Make the most of the Circles feature by then sync with Google Calendars. sharing different content with different • You can use the Ripples feature to find groups of people, so everyone gets infor- out more about how your posts have been mation relevant to them. shared. If a few key individuals are influ- • Remember that having an active profile ential in sharing your content particularly can boost you up Google’s search engine, widely, you may wish to build a relation- so keep content fresh, and post regularly. ship with them to help your reach on social • Make the most of Hangouts by using them media. as promotional material. You can broadcast • Use relevant key words and links in your them to followers. About page to help drive SEO. • When you are adding people to Circles, • Google+ has a powerful search facility, think hard about how you label them. so use it to add businesses, colleagues, or Don’t just add them all as “followers.” You people with similar interests to your Circles. get the most out of Circles by being spe- • Be sure to add the +1 feature to your com- cific and then sharing targeted information pany’s web page or blog if you want the with each group. content to be shareable onto Google+.