This is the Transcript of the #WeddingMarket Chat on March 18th, 2015 with Jesse Stay, The Social Geek. The answers were made on Twitter so responses will appear different.

Jesse Stay Biography

Jesse Stay, “The Social Geek”, studies and learns about new business-altering paradigm shifts in technology, and shows businesses how to embrace these paradigm shifts before their competition does. He has written 6 books, helped design some of the top apps on Facebook through his specialty of “social design” and “growth hacking”, and has consulted and worked for
multi-national organizations and companies including Facebook, Inc. itself to help them improve their marketing and social media strategies. Jesse has grown Facebook Pages in the millions for multiple organizations and individuals using a few simple techniques in Facebook marketing and ad strategy. He has tripled traffic on websites through Google+ authorship and integration strategy, and performed similar for other clients using his special “hub and spoke” technique of social presence strategy. In his books, blogs, webinars, and coaching, Jesse teaches his audiences that anyone can be a marketer. He has since been recognized as one of the top 20 developers to follow on Twitter by Mashable next to Jack Dorsey, and top 10 entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter by Mashable and Entrepreneur magazine next to Ev Williams, Biz Stone, and Guy Kawasaki.
For more information about Jesse Stay, please visit www.staynalive.com

 

Q1: How did get involved with social media?

Answer
Jesse Stay: I wanted to stay in touch with my younger brothers and sisters at the time & joined Facebook. I actually joined LinkedIn and Orkut before that as a way to network with previous employers.

@TaylorWed: I’ve never heard of Orkut! Is it like LinkedIn?

Jesse Stay: Orkut was recently phased out by Google in favor of Google+. Orkut actually predates Facebook! 🙂

 

Q2: How did the book Google+ Marketing come about?

Answer
Jesse Stay: Google+ Marketing For Dummies came out after I pitched Wiley. Saw incredible focus by Google on the new service and integration into multiple products and said they needed it.

 

Q3: Why should wedding pros use Google+?

Answer
Jesse Stay: Wedding pros should use Google+ because it’s GOOGLE – it will improve your presence across ALL Google products.

 

Q4: What are the benefits of using Google+ for business when there is only so many hours in the day?

Answer
Jesse Stay: Use Google+ as part of your SEO strategy. By having a place on Google+ UR search presence will be strongerI had one client that got 300% increase traffic to their website from search traffic they got from Google+.

 

Q5: What are the best ways to use Google+ to get maximum results?

Answer
Jesse Stay: HAVE A PRESENCE! At least create an account and it will help. Create
regular content. You can use same content you use for Facebook if time is limited, but post something. network network network – get in and find others in your industry and comment, share, etc.

 
Q6: Must you post often on Google+ for it to be effective?

Answer
Jesse Stay: yes. Like Twitter, content is king on Google+. No filtering, so more content==more visibility.

 

Q7: How does Google+ help with SEO?

Answer
Jesse Stay: It especially helps with personal & contextual search results. Use keywords, links, and post often to appear.

 
Q8: Is Google+ a good way to send an email to a person that you would like to connect with that you don’t have an email address for?

Answer
Jesse Stay: It all depends on that person’s privacy settings. If email is listed, yes. where it DOES help is that every contact you add on Google+ they get added to http://contacts.google.com . Also, in Gmail you can send messages to G+ contacts without having their email address at all – just type name.

 

Q9: How can communities be effective on Google+?

Answer
Jesse Stay: I highly recommend reading the Cadbury case study here: http://www.google.com/+/business/brands/case-study/cadbury.html … .
Use G+ communities as a way to bring your brand into the passions of your audience.
so, create a “Utah weddings” community, let them talk about weddings, and share insights from them on your page.

@danieladegrassi As a member of a group can you post on Communities?

Jesse Stay: Depends on community settings, but usually most members can post in the groups they’re part of.

 

Q10: How can you find brides and wedding pros on Google+?

Answer
Jesse Stay: You’ll likely do better finding wedding pros than brides on G+. Use it as a networking tool. That said, using search for “engaged” on Google+ might return some results. Also, for photographers there’s a thriving photography community on Google+ – follow @Jarvie for good examples. For the photographers photos store in their original format so they’re more beautiful on G+ than Facebook. Brides ARE using http://Google.com though – worth it for just the search benefits.

 

Q11: Is Google+ good for promoting events?

Answer
Jesse Stay: It can be. Use it to promote a G+ Hangout on Air – people can RSVP and ask questions live, in real time. For smaller groups in Google Calendar select “add video” it’ll let attendees join a G+ Hangout.

 

 

Q12: What are key ways that wedding pros can make their business more profitable by using social media?

Answer
Jesse Stay: Measure, measure, measure! 🙂 Use Google Analytics & FB Insights to know how clients are truly converting. Set up Google Analytics ecommerce tracking, and FB and Twitter conversion pixels – measure conversions.

 

Q13: What are some of the lessons you have learned about Google+?
Answer
Jesse Stay: Mostly, remember it’s not about http://plus.google.com – it’s about every Google product. Remember that and it doesn’t matter what happens with the site – your efforts will be fruitful. Google is HUGE – Google+ is the easiest way to make Google work for you.

 

Q14: How do you handle your social media on a daily or weekly basis?

Answer
Jesse Stay: I send everything to email. Use your notifications and send the stuff you MUST attend to to your email. Then, I use Hootsuite and spend time daily going over the business pages I manage. Hire interns 🙂

 

Q15: Where can your book Google+ Marketing be purchased?

Answer
Jesse Stay: Best place to buy Google+ Marketing For Dummies is http://stay.am/gplusmarketing .

 

Q16: What would you like everyone to take from this #WeddingMarket Chat?

Answer
Jesse Stay: Mostly that Google+ is not a destination – it is a social layer across all Google products. When you use http://plus.google.com with that in mind and measure growth across other sites you’ll see success.

 

#WeddingMarket Questions From Twitter:

@danieladegrassi Besides content marketing, is the use of hashtags really effective to show up higher in searches?

Jesse Stay: Yes, I’ve had entire presentations trend on Google+ by encouraging audience to use hashtags on Google+. In terms of Google search, I haven’t seen huge improvements in search results from hashtags. I think *because* Google+ will be in EVERY Google product that’s motivation to grow now. 🙂

 

@EventsDEEsigned What type of posts seem to do best on G+ for wedding planners? What are people searching for?

Jesse Stay: I suggest using Google Trends (www.google.com/trends/ ) to find what people are searching & go from there.

 

@prettyentertain I’ve read several stories over the past 6 months or so indicating that Google is phasing out G+. Your take?

Jesse Stay: Google+’s long term strategy has always been to phase into being the social layer across ALL Google products. I anticipate that will continue to happen. Google+ will still be there, but maybe not http://plus.google.com . Still pays to have a presence long-term for those reasons.

 

@FocalClarity Is it more effective to have a business page or personal page on Google+ for your business networking?

Jesse Stay: @FocalClarity for business networking use your personal account, but share things from your biz page from that account. @FocalClarity on Google+ transparency and bringing out people behind the biz is critical for success .

 

@danieladegrassi I wasn’t sure if people do searches on Google+ versus Goggle search engine?

Jesse Stay: They do on both, but more searches happen on Google search engine – I’d focus there.

 

@EventDeeSigned What is the difference in G+ & http://plus.google.com ?

Jesse Stay: Google+ is the product that exists on ALL Google-owned sites. http://plus.google.com is the destination. So in essence, Google+ is not going away. Possibly (but some argue not) http://plus.google.com will. Focus on http://plus.google.com now and you’ll benefit as they integrate into other sites.

 

@danieladegrassi Can you implement Google+ on @hootsuite?

Jesse Stay: Hootsuite works with Google+ business pages but not personal accounts.

 

“@TaylorWed So would I set it up via my G+ business profile or personal?

Jesse Stay: Use both and add both as admins 🙂 I’d create it with the business page though.

 

@TaylorWed Peeking at communities right now…private vs. public community? Advice?

Jesse Stay: I think public communities have faster growth, but depends on the passion of your audience and strategy.