THIS IS A SERIOUS NEWS FLASH – at least as of today… You don’t have to take the bait and set up a gmail account just so you can take advantage of Google+, Google+ Hangouts, YouTube. etc. Google would like to lead you down the path, but you don’t have to go there and drink the Kool-Aid. Are you struggling to keep one online identity? As a sometimes “too early” adopter, I have too many online profiles, yet they are all me. I feel like I need to gather them up into one cohesive presence, but am still unraveling the pieces of Google, Google+, Gmail and my own branded presence.
[quote author=”Songwriters: LENNON, JOHN / MCCARTNEY, PAUL”]I am the eggman, they are the eggmen. I am the walrus, goo goo g’joob. [/quote]I’ll tell you about a client and the discoveries we made today about Google+.
This client had a login for Google analytics sales@theirdomain.com. They can view stats, set up adWords campaigns, etc. They also had an old PLACES page – before Google Places became part of Google+ with “LOCAL.” We had verified through their postcard verification system over a year ago, since we clicked too many times to get the quickie verification online. We added photos, hours, description,categories and it was a PLACES profile. We verified the client “OWN THIS BUSINESS?” through the process.
Enter: Google+
I wanted to create a Plus PAGE for this client. I went to gmail.com and logged in with the client’s login for analytics: sales@theirdomain.com – at this point there were these confusing paths before us to set up a gmail account, login with gmail and have the sales@theirdomain.com be the SECONDARY email allowing them to login with EITHER. We didn’t want that. The client didn’t want that. So instead of taking the bait, I clicked on the +Bob link in the upper left. Client’s first name is Bob. VIOLA! I’m in Google+ as the client. There is no other email associated with this account. It is HIS own domain, branded, BUT with access to the tools on Google+.
He is able to completely modify his profile, as anyone with a Gmail account would be able to do. He can start a hangout.
Now, helps to add Bob (sales@theirdomain.com) to my CIRCLES on G+, he adds me to his. It speeds up the notification/invitation process SUBSTANTIALLY!
[infobox]Note to self: Remember when you schedule Hangouts on Air (HOA), or do a video chat to ask the people you want to chat with to add you into their Google CIRCLES. It is also recommended that if you want to broadcast your events on your Google+ PAGE, have everyone follow your PAGE. Get it? PROFILE and PAGE. Kind of like Facebook.[/infobox]Back to Google+ for NON GMAIL USERS. What this means is that we can allow ANYONE to join our circles, even without a Gmail account. REALLY! If you have set up a GOOGLE account with your branded email — remember, we should all be using our BRANDED emails — you can then create a beautiful BANNER and a PAGE for your company.
Don’t forget to COMPLETELY fill out your profile on Google. Banner, tagline, links, etc.
I came to this knowledge late and had a Google+ for my branded email, but I was always using my main @gmail account to bring in mail from 10 accounts. This had been going on for about two years and then the onset of Google+. STINK. I need my mail history, etc. so I just swallowed hard and stayed with my @gmail account.
I have TWO profiles that I have to figure out which to use as my primary:
https://plus.google.com/109627307196701790504 is with my BRANDED email of susan@susanfinch.com login.
https://plus.google.com/u/0/117465476555941682843/posts is with my catch all hub of susanmfinch@gmail.com
At least I only have ONE page and I have set up @susanfinch.com to be a MANAGER of my page that was set up in my @gmail + account.
Are you dizzy yet? I am, but it’s getting better.