6 Google+ Features for Recruitment Marketing

Google+ – lots of talk but very little action from the average recruiter.

I ran a PR and Content Workshop with BlueSkyPR recently and the marketers in the room all frowned when the Google+ topic came up.  Many of you lovely people, just haven’t engaged with the product – BUT you may have ticked a box and set it up.

There’s lots of content out there re: the formidable Google+, but for now, let’s do what should never be done and focus on the features (and talk benefits later!)

Yes, Google+ Ironically has Some Cute (and perhaps) Hidden Features…

I am going to tell you about 6 great Google+ features that can help recruitment marketers and recruitment consultants get a little more engaged with the product.

The power of Google+ lies in the SEO value that it adds to recruiters.  If you don’t know what that means, it’s basically getting your website / profile higher in Google searches. However, it is also an excellent way to share content and to get your content found – and attract (which is a goal for ALL of my clients!)

Here are 6 ways in which Google+ will help you to market vacancies and content to candidates and clients.

6 Cool Features of Google+…

1. Collections – 
   Google has changed some of its features. They have scrapped auto hash-tagging and their analytics tool ripple, replacing it with collections. As such, nobody really knows about collections yet! Collections is essentially like Pinterest. Users can post to individual collections so that people can follow whichever board takes their fancy. A nifty little tool if you want to filter posts by sectors to target candidates who don’t want to shift through the rest of your content!
2. Bookmarks –
   As if circles weren’t good enough already, here is another nifty little way to exploit them! Create a circle, add yourself. Now you can find some content and share it with yourself so that you have a nice little record of great posts and content. How could you use this for recruitment (and marketers, this is for you)? Use it to store content for you to use! Too much content will overwhelm candidates and sometimes you can create a backlog of content for a rainy day!
3. Embed posts –
   Get your posts embedded into your blogs and your website. This will drive traffic to your account, boost engagement and ultimately boost your SEO.
4. Formatting your posts –
   Add bold, italicised and strikethrough fonts to your posts to make them appeal to users. Here is how you do it:
   *Bold* = Bold
   _Italics_ = Italics
   -strikethrough- = strikethrough
5. Google Mobile – 
   Now – your mobile phone is far from hidden.  I’ve talked before about it being an extension of your body (read my blog about Jedi Mind-Tricking Talent with Google Analytics [link to UC article I wrote).
   But how about this… We know that talent is online when you’re not working.  You need to keep your profile front and centre, or at least just to their left so they see you in their peripheral vision.
   Open Google+ on your mobile and do this:
   Go to your Home banner and press the down facing triangle.  Choose What’s Hot and hey presto – content that (has been gathered by Google who is watching your every move) is here for reading / liking  sharing etc…
   My What’s Hot?
   Star Wars
   Back to the Future
   Mauritius
   Game of Thrones
   Recruitment (oh dear! And spooky!)
6. Hangout banners:
   Give your Google hangouts a professional feel by adding your name, job title and company logo. This is an excellent feature when conducting an online meeting with new clients or video interviews with candidates.

Google+ is designed to improve SEO and to enable effective sharing of content. Recruitment marketers and recruiters should master Google+ so that you can share content more effectively, be seen online (attract) and boost your website’s ranking!

It also helps if you look like you know how to use the thing too!