Where did the week go?

Where did the week go? It's Friday and Mick Sharpe rounds up some powerful Google+ events and thoughts in #FridayFavourites .
Honoured that the Midweek Zap was included and all credit goes to Jason Darrell who went above and beyond with his presentation and generosity.

#googleplustips   #contentstrategies  

Originally shared by Mick Sharpe

Collectomania

It’s no surprise that collections are the hot topic of the week. Google’s new feature allowing you to group your posts by topic is a good thing but has had unforeseen consequences for me this week. It seems that many are going through their posts and adding to collections, as you might expect. As I look through the stream for Friday Favourite candidates I’m finding more and more collection posts from the past, rather than current items which has slowed me down a tad. It will probably settle down as people sort out their collections or maybe I should include some of the choice reposts?  Anyhow on to the current content I did manage to find.

We now know who to blame thank for the always excellent #RayBunch show - martin shervington! Martin joins Ray Hiltz, B.L. Ochman, Jessica Dewell, Randy Bowden and Scott Scowcroft for The Evolution of Google+ and Communities (https://goo.gl/MAEEiF). Martin challenges the assumptions of how we use this platform and details some of the changes happening in the Plus Your Business! Community, the move to a paid Academy model and a switch to a lead by example methodology. Get out of your comfort zone and find out what it’s all about.

Martin was up for a second helping this week as he, Mary Stovall, Travis Taylor, Ronnie Bincer and George Cohn get Talking about Google+ Collections! (https://goo.gl/Jl1k1a). An early doors look at the Google+ landscape following the launch of the collections. As you would expect some great tips here and the most important one from Ronnie warning that you shouldn’t delete a  collection if you want to keep the posts within it. You need to remove the posts from the collection first!

I’m always happy to see a fellow Brit in an HOA (we need more accents on G+). Well this week Jason Darrell joins Zara Altair for Midweek Zap - Your Semantic X-Factor (https://goo.gl/hPxQRA). You may know Jason from his posts to the Google Semantic Search Community (https://goo.gl/ZQYfdo) or his thorough and insightful comments on the post of others. In this show Jason talks about aligning your digital footprint across the many touch points online. Jason also introduces the Semantic X-ray - a methodology to assist business owners in getting their online content in order, narrowing focus, defluffing and improving readability. Jason has also very kindly shared this methodology in the event comments. Nice job Jason.

Join the best guests talking about the latest news in The Mid Week Marketing Mix (https://goo.gl/S8YbJA). Mark Schaefer discusses his latest book The Content Code: Six essential strategies to ignite your content, your marketing, and your business. Thomas Power introduces his klout70 project utilising Whatsapp private groups. kara wood takes on the latest digital media news including the social media world rallying to help those affected by the Nepal tragedy and a look at the new Google+ Collections. As usual The Digital Marketing Bureau provides you with the quick link #timestamp summary here (https://goo.gl/KWDfjB)

Randy Milanovic shows how you can get through the tough times without harming your business in Keeping Your Business Afloat in a Downturn the KAYAK Way (https://goo.gl/PI3cmX). I can certainly vouch for this approach as it has seen us through the recent, (ongoing?), recession in the UK. The fact that you’re not reliant on throwing more cash at traditional channels to chase fewer and fewer clients is the major plus point. Isn’t it just common sense to use the slow times to continue to build trust with your existing and potential customers, increasing your authority in your field? Another excellent piece from Randy.

Always interested in finding out what others think of Google+ particularly those that have been here from the outset. Mike Elgan shares his views in How to fix Google+. (https://goo.gl/tnDws1). Some interesting suggestions that Mike believes could increase the visible engagement on Google+ including increasing, or removing, the current circle limit of 5000. I still have a way to go on this one but I’m sure for some, including Mike, this is a pain. I agree with Mike’s call for more filters on the stream, or better default settings, particularly the ability to hide posts in communities of which you are not a member. Take a look and share your thoughts.

Thinkers corner

It’s been a little while since we enjoyed some #MarkoKoolAid so it’s time to quench that thirst. Bruce Marko’s The Last Free Thing (https://goo.gl/IxSzDc) explores hope as only he can. We all need hope at different times in our lives, for ourselves, for others, for a change, for staying the same. Soak it in and enjoy this piece from Bruce. I think I need to find that sign post ;-)

David Kutcher posted this to his I'm ranting again... and you like it. collection and I can openly admit I do like it! Pretty websites...are rarely websites that convert as well as unpretty ones. (https://goo.gl/Xov5s8) refers to a Seth Godin blog suggesting you can either have a pretty website or one that makes money (my summary). As usual a great debate ensues in the comments some of which revolved around Seth terminology. I’m not sure if there was a later addition to Seth’s article that clarified things further but it seems to me that… I’ll actually stop there because I think it’s too sweeping a statement. I can think of examples that would support and refute Seth’s view. Then again I’m not sure of how much money they are making so Seth may actually be right or wrong! What do you think?

And finally…

Eric Enge delivers some good advice in this blog article for Plus Your Business! . 8 Rules To Get Started With Content Marketing (https://goo.gl/tXQ5ek) will keep you on the right lines when content marketing for your business. For me the quality over quantity tip is always the first thing I start with when talking with clients. It might seem like an awful lot of effort for what looks like little output but quality will have a life of its own, quantity just adds to the noise out there. And we all know how we feel about the noise! The aim should always be an increase in your visibility and authority.


Have a great weekend wherever you are

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Created by Mick Sharpe of Bitingedge