The New York Times uses Hangouts on Air to cover breaking news

Every Friday, we’re posting Google+ tips to help publishers make the most of all of the features and resources available. Be sure to check back each week for the latest in our educational Social Fridays series!

A few weeks ago, we talked about the possibilities around using Google+ Hangouts on Air to hold live broadcasts. This free feature allows you to live stream a conversation between 10 participants, directly from your Google+ page, your YouTube channel, and even your website, for a global audience to view.

The New York Times has been hosting frequent Hangouts on Air to engage with their audience, with topics ranging from foreign affairs to professional baseball to voter concerns. Since setting up the +New York Times page in November 2011, the Times has aimed to create a hub for their online readers to not only discover news, but to also participate in discussion.

Recently, the Times used Hangouts on Air to cover a breaking news story and reach a wide online audience. Just hours after the the Supreme Court’s monumental decision to uphold President Obama’s Affordable Healthcare Act, the Times became the first major media outlet to discuss the news via live web video. The Hangout video was broadcasted live on the +New York Times page as well as on the NYTimes Opinion page, allowing the discussion and analysis to be shared with a wider audience.

The Times team prepared for a smooth Hangout by securing guest participants for their live broadcast a week in advance. When the date of the decision arrived, the Times added a graphic placeholder to the NYTimes Opinion page and published a post to their +page to publicize the upcoming Hangout. Once the Hangout started, they embedded the video directly into the Opinion page and also added a homepage promotion to their site to drive awareness. After the Hangout was completed, the Times team quickly edited the video footage on YouTube and uploaded it to the front page of NYTimes.com for additional visibility.

For more information, read the full case study. If you’re ready to start broadcasting, be sure to review our tips and then get started with your own Hangout on Air. If you have any advice of your own to share about Hangouts, feel free to post them to our AdSense +page!

Posted by Arlene Lee - Inside AdSense Team

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Social Fridays: Track and measure the performance of your +page

Every Friday, we’re posting Google+ tips to help publishers make the most of all of the features and resources available. Be sure to check back each week for the latest in our educational Social Fridays series!

We know publishers love metrics, and so following on last week's look at Google+ Ripples, today we’ll show you how you can analyze the impact of your Google+ page with Social Reports in Google Analytics.

If you’re already using Analytics to measure traffic to and interaction with your pages, be sure to use Social Reports to analyze your social media efforts. The Social Sources report will show you the social networks that are driving traffic to your site or any specific page, and help you identify which content is popular across various networks. In addition, you can compare the time spent on your site by visitors coming from various networks to see where engagement is the highest.

Also be sure to visit the Social Sharing report to gain an understanding of which of your social media share buttons are being clicked and for which content. Analytics will automatically report the +1 activity you receive from visitors on your site, and other social plug-ins can be easily adapted to report to Analytics.

Give these reports a try to gain a better understanding of how your social efforts are impacting user engagement. Have you made any updates to your content or your +page after viewing these reports? Visit our AdSense +page to share your tips with other readers.

Now that you know how to monitor your success with Google+, tune in next week when we’ll share a publisher case study. Have a great weekend!

Posted by Arlene Lee - Inside AdSense Team

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Social Fridays: See how your content was shared on Google+

Every Friday, we’re posting Google+ tips to help publishers make the most of all of the features and resources available. Be sure to check back each week for the latest in our educational Social Fridays series!

Since we started 4 weeks ago, we’ve walked you through placing the +1 button on your pages, creating and verifying your Google+ page, and adding the Google+ badge to your site. You’ve completed the main steps for getting set up on Google+ and are posting regularly -- but do you know how your content is spreading? In today’s Social Fridays post, we’ll show you how to find this information using Google+ Ripples.

With Ripples, you can now see how your public content was reshared over time on Google+, and what users were saying about it. To try it out, just find a public post and select ‘View Ripples’ from the drop-down menu in the upper right-hand corner of the post. You’ll see a number of circles that each correspond to a user that has reshared your content, and inside the circle you’ll see the people who have reshared the link from that person (and so on). Circles are roughly sized based on the relative influence of that person -- so the larger a person’s circle is, the more reshares have resulted from their original reshare.

You can also see who has been discussing your content on Google+, even if they didn’t reshare your original post. Circles on the Ripples page that aren’t connected to other circles represent individuals who have independently shared your content. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to play an animated version of the visualization that shows how your link was shared over time. You can also see a line graph that illustrates activity on the post.

With this information, you can identify key influencers or top contributors in your community who are helping to get the word out about your content -- whether or not it was reshared directly from your +page. You might want to reach out to these engaged individuals to ask for their feedback about your content, or even set up a Hangout to talk in more detail with them.

Give Ripples a try today, and see how some of your recent content has been publicly reshared. For more information, watch this video:


 
Want more reports and metrics? Be sure to join us here again next Friday, when we’ll walk you through the reporting tools you can use to track the performance of your +page. Until then, let us know on our AdSense +page if you’ve found any interesting insights via Ripples.

Posted by Arlene Lee - Inside AdSense Team

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Social that Adds Up

Earlier this week HootSuite Enterprise hosted Adam Singer, from Google Analytics, to share how you can use Google to measure social performance. With over half of people talking more online than they do in “real life”, digital social media is a critical platform for marketers, but how do we measure its impact?

Most marketers use platform metrics as performance indicators, but often they cannot be linked to sales. Engagement is the easiest and often the most measured social metric in terms of followers, fans and comments. However, revenue is often the more important (and more difficult to measure) metric that can help marketers determine an ROI for their social media efforts. Google offers two solutions that can help drive social media performance: Google+ and Google Analytics social reports. 

Building relationships on Google+ may improve other parts of your marketing plan. Google+ is integrating social in all the Google products marketers already use, which can help them drive deeper engagement with their target customers, be more relevant by offering social recommendations when customers need them most and remain accountable by providing transparency of how their ad dollars are performing. 

With Google Analytics Social reports you can tie your social media to metrics you care about. Here are some top tips Adam covered in the webinar:

• Find something you can measure (micro or macro-conversions) and sprint in that direction. Focus on how separate channels can drive different types of site actions, which can be tied to a value you determine.
• Measure success criteria directionally. Benchmarks are uncommon and do not necessarily translate across products, services or industries.
• Create your social posts with a measurement goal in mind. Be sure to include a call to action to inspire your audience to act.
• Understand and connect with your audience differently across the different networks. Try not to post the same thing on each platform, customize and use what works best.

Thank you to those who could join, if you have any questions feel free to reach out to Adam (+AdamSinger on Google+) or watch the webinar recording here.

Posted by the Google Analytics Team

Stat Source: Socialnomics, 2009

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Social Fridays: Gain visibility by verifying your Google+ page

Every Friday, we’re posting Google+ tips to help publishers make the most of all of the features and resources available. Be sure to check back each week for the latest in our educational Social Fridays series!

Now that you’re regularly posting content to your Google+ page and using features like Hangouts, we’ll move on to the importance of verifying your +page.

What does it mean to verify a +page?

Verifying your +page confirms that the +page actually belongs to you. Once your +page is verified, it’ll appear with a checkmark designed to help our users find what they’re looking for.

Why should I verify my +page?

Not only does verification help users confirm the authenticity of your +page, but it also brings you a major benefit only available to verified +pages. Verified +pages that are popular and engaging may appear on the right side of relevant Google.com search results, for users who are logged in. This is designed to help users find the relevant content they’re looking for, and may increase the visibility of relevant +pages. Please keep in mind that to be eligible, the +page also needs to be active with a meaningful number of followers and regularly-updated content.

How do I verify my +page?

Follow these three steps:

1. Link your +page to your website: Fill out the ‘About’ section of your Google+ page, being sure to enter your site’s top-level URL.
2. Link your website to your +page: Add a Google+ badge or code snippet to your site, which lets us know that the site is associated with your +page. We recommend using the Google+ badge, as it can help you attract additional followers -- for top publishers, adding the Google+ badge helped drive a 38% increase in followers. You can select the size of the +badge for your pages, and with some of the larger sizes, users will be able to add your +page to their circles without leaving your site.
3. Post actively to your +page and gain a meaningful number of followers.
4. Complete our verification request form.

As you complete the verification process, be sure to continue posting regularly to your +page to engage with your users. To help attract followers to your pages we also recommend promoting your +page on other relevant sites or blogs you own, as well as other social destinations. You can also place an author tag on your online materials, which means your authorized photo and name appear next to search results for content you’ve created.

Enjoy your weekend, and we’ll see you back here next Friday when we’ll show you a feature that allows you to track how your content spreads on Google+.

Posted by Arlene Lee - Inside AdSense Team

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Social Fridays: Use images to deliver a richer experience

TGIF, it’s time for our next Social Fridays post! This weekly series will take you through best practices and tips to help you make the most of Google+ for your site.

As you’ve been posting new content to your +page and perhaps using the Google+ mobile app, you may have noticed that Google+ is quite a visual platform. The Financial Times has found that images and videos have the highest engagement on their +page, and we’ve heard similar comments from other publishers. Today we’ll share a tip on how to make the most of the visual nature of the platform to help increase interaction with your content.

To post a link to an article or page of your site, you may currently be using the ‘Attach link’ option on your +page and pasting in the URL of the article. When you post this way, a small thumbnail of an image from that article will appear next to a text preview, or a relevant icon. You then have the option to post additional comments above the content before you share it.

From time to time, instead of simply attaching the link, try posting the image from the article as the main content on your +page. Then, in the comment field above, enter the description with a shortened link to the full content. This allows users to see a larger version of the image from the article and can draw them in, while the shortened link above the image directs them to the article on your site for the full content.

Here’s a side-by-side comparison of how these two approaches would look while drafting a post for your +page:

Link as attachment 

Image as attachment 

Give this technique a try for some of your posts, and see how it can help you build a richer experience on your +page. Have you found success with posting images, or do you have other tips for +pages to share? Leave a comment on our AdSense +page and discuss your experiences with other publishers.

Tune in again next week, when we’ll discuss verifying your +page. In the meantime, feel free to head over to our AdSense +page to share your thoughts about today’s content with other readers.

Posted by Arlene Lee - Inside AdSense Team

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Social Fridays: Create a Google+ page to connect with users

Welcome back to our Social Fridays series, where we’re providing tips for getting set up optimally on Google+ each week. Last week, we shared best practices around placing +1 buttons on your site and tracking their performance. Today, we’ll move on to creating a Google+ page for your site.

A Google+ page is the hub of your site’s identity on Google, and offers a number of tools to help you reach audiences in new ways. On your +page, you can share your articles, photos, YouTube videos, and even host live broadcasts. Your +page will also include a +1 button that users can click to recommend you. Think about your Google+ page as a way to complement your site, allowing you to grow and measure user engagement before directing users back to your pages for more of your great content. Creating a Google+ page is simple and takes just minutes.

 

Once you’ve set up your own +page, be sure to set up a content pipeline and post regularly.
One great way to engage with users via your +page is to host regular Google+ Hangouts. Hangouts are free, multi-person video chat sessions for up to 10 people that can help you get closer to your users, no matter where in the world you’re located. We all know that talking face-to-face can convey much more than simply typing messages -- so consider hosting classes via Hangout if you run a hobby-related site, or invite loyal readers to discuss recent content you’ve published.

You also have the option of broadcasting your hangout to the world via Hangouts on Air. Up to 10 people can still actively participate, but anyone can tune in to watch via live streaming on your Google +page, your YouTube channel, or even your own site. Every Hangout on Air will be automatically recorded and saved to your YouTube channel, so you can edit and share the content afterwards. Whether you want to interview an expert, give a behind-the-scenes tour of your business, or just share your content live in front of a global audience, Hangouts on Air allow you to connect with your users in a new way.



To create a Google+ page for your site and get started with Hangouts, sign in to your personal profile on Google+ and then follow the simple instructions. You’ll be able to enter details about your site and upload a profile photo so your users will be able to recognize you. For more information about getting started with +pages, visit the Google+ Help Center.

Feel free to share feedback about this post and your experience with using Hangouts on our AdSense +page. Then, join us here next week for our next Social Friday post -- we’ll share a little-known best practice for posting to your +page that can help increase engagement with your users.

Posted by Arlene Lee - Inside AdSense Team

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Social Fridays: Help your site stand out with the +1 button

As Google+ has continued to evolve and grow, we’ve released a number of features and tools to help you engage with your users in new ways. We’ve heard from publishers that they’d like to ensure they’re getting set up in the right way on Google+, and so we’re kicking off a Social Friday series right here on our blog. Our goal is to help you make the most of Google+, discover ways to reach new audiences, and use our resources to make data-driven decisions.

Even if you’ve already gotten started with Google+, we encourage you to follow along over the next few weeks to make sure you’re using our social tools optimally for your website and business. Today, we’ll start off our series with a look at the +1 button, and show you how you can track its impact with Webmaster Tools.

The +1 button helps you expand your audience by enabling users to recommend your content to their friends and contacts. When a user clicks the +1 button on your site, they’ll be able to share your site’s link with their contacts via their Google+ stream. This can help you extend your reach beyond just your existing fans, to their circles of friends. Be sure to place the +1 button on your pages so that users can endorse your content -- we recommend locations like the header and footer of your pages, and also on pages that tend to be shared frequently, like articles or product pages.

In addition, +1 recommendations will be visible to a user’s friends and contacts on relevant Google.com search results, which can help your site stand out. For example, let’s say John is a fan of your content and he clicks a +1 button on your site. When John’s friend Sue is logged in to her Google Account and performs a Google.com search that includes your site in the results, she may see an annotation below your site that tells her John has +1’d it. This annotation may help your site stand out to Sue because it’s personally relevant to her. Overall, as potential visitors see recommendations from their friends and contacts among their Google search results, you could see more, and better qualified, traffic coming from Google.

So how is the +1 button performing for you so far? You can find out using Social Reports in Analytics.

Get started with the +1 button on your pages today -- just generate a short snippet of code and paste it into the HTML of your site, as you do with your AdSense ad code. You’ll also be able to customize the size and layout for your site. For help with the +1 button, visit our Google+ Webmaster FAQ.

Thanks for joining us for our first Social Fridays post. Next week, we’ll discuss Google+ pages for your business and how to get set up optimally. Do you have feedback or best practices to share with other publishers about today’s content? Feel free to leave us a comment on our AdSense +page.

Posted by Arlene Lee - Inside AdSense Team

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Let Us Know How To Make Social More Useful For You

Google Analytics users are a digitally savvy bunch. As such we’re lucky to have a passionate community of marketers, analysts and developers that follow us across social platforms. Thousands of you read our blog posts, Tweets, and Google+ updates daily and we always use engagement data to refine what we share (and how we share it).

However, in social numbers are best paired with qualitative feedback and understanding more about who you, our most passionate users are. That’s why for the first time we’re taking feedback directly from you on how we can make our social participation even more useful.

Want more tips? More trends and opinion pieces? Video guides? Let us know and we’ll try and fulfill it. 

As a thank you for your time, we’ll be shipping 50 random respondents who complete the entire survey Google Analytics t-shirts. 

Posted by Adam Singer, Google Analytics Team


Update: this survey is now closed and we've removed the link -- thanks everyone for your feedback! We'll be using your ideas to improve how we participate in social.

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Social Reports are now found under 'Traffic Sources'

We’ve recently consolidated the locations of our social reports. The 3 reports, Social Engagement, Social Actions, & Social Pages were previously listed in the Audience section and have been moved to the Traffic Sources -> Social section. Click through to see the reports in your Analytics Account.

In addition we’ve added new social reports and functionality, as detailed on our recent blog post on the launch of our Social Reports. Users now have access to both onsite behavior, the existing data, and off-site social activities of partners such as Google+, Digg, and Reddit among others. Below is a summary of how to access the data from the old reports in the new ones.

To access onsite activities use the Traffic Sources -> Social -> Social Plugins report. Here you see the social activities broken down by content. Selecting a specific page shows you the social activities by network for that page. Click the “Social Source and action” tab highlighted in the screenshot below to see a breakdown of the itemized activities.

Hope you’ll find this information helpful and learn more about how social channels are delivering value to your website.

Posted by Linus Chou, Google Analytics Team

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