5 social media tips to try: Google Business Apps

Martin Kubler's advice on making the most of the Google apps

1 Get your Google account now: Even if you’re not planning to use Google services right away, get your Gmail address activated today to ensure that your preferred username is still available. While the Gmail address details will not be public, the username also influences your YouTube channel URL and other publicly visible Google features.

2 Sort out your Google+ page: Create or fine-tune your pages now. Make sure you get others to add your pages to their circles, so you can then claim your Google+ pages vanity URLs (shorter custom URLs that replace the very long standard Google URLs).

3 Reply to reviews: Reviews on your Google listings are very visible and will turn up in search results and other places around the Internet, so make sure you’re replying to all reviews and report questionable content to Google for removal.

4 Managing multiple locations or outlets: If you’re trying to claim or manage multiple Google listings, keep an eye on Google’s Business help section, because the launch of a new bulk management tool is imminent – it will make your Google life much more comfortable!

5 Use ‘Insights’ for a quick performance overview: Google’s ‘Business Insights’ is a great executive overview tool. Let your Google specialists bother with the far more detailed Google Analytics data, but check your Business Insights regularly for a quick glance at whether things are proceeding according to plan.