Google+ Update Makes It Easier to See What Your Friends Like

Google is making it easier for you to discover what your friends like on Google+.

Starting Tuesday the company is going to start highlighting posts that have been +1’d by people in your circles on your stream, as well as highlighting some of your own well-received posts to your friends in their main stream on Google+

The feature is somewhat similar to the way that posts are currently highlighted on Facebook, in that posts on Google+ will now show who from your circles +1’d the post directly above the actual content.

Content might not be items that would have otherwise shown up in your main feed. For instance, a friend of a friend’s post might show up in your main feed now because several mutual friends in your circles +1’d the post.

Content will only appear for people who you’ve given permission, however. So, a post you make visible to only people in your circles will still only show up for those individuals, while one you make available publicly might now also be shared to strangers as well.

If you’d rather keep your +1’s private on Google+ you can customize who, if anyone, can see your +1’s highlighted in their stream from the Settings page within Google+.

What do you think of the new feature? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

How to Add Google+ to Your Freelance Marketing Strategy

Are you missing out on the business benefits of using Google+ for your marketing strategy?

Despite the fact that Google+ has been public for two years now, there are still some freelancers who don’t use it yet.

I get it. We’re all busy. It takes time to be involved in a social media network. And you don’t think you have that time.

But if you’re leaving Google+ out of your freelance marketing strategy, you’re missing out. That’s true for all freelancers, but it’s especially true if you’re a freelance writer or blogger.

In this post, I’ll explain why Google+ is more important than ever for freelancers. I’ll also explain how you can get started with your Google+ freelance marketing strategy. If you enjoyed this post, you may also like Hot Google+ Tips for Freelancers.

Why Google+ Is More Important Than Ever

Google+ is more important than ever. It’s not fading away. And it’s definitely worth it for freelancers to start using this social media tool.

Here are some of the reasons why Google+ should be an important part of your marketing strategy:

• Second largest social network. Recent studies, such as this one from GlobalWebIndex, show that only Facebook has more users than Google+, which makes Google+ the second largest social network (second only to Facebook). The sheer number of users is enough to make it significant.
• Google Authorship. For writers and bloggers, Google Authorship is another reason to use Google+. Google Authorship connects your content with your Google+ profile and allows your image and byline to appear in the search engine results next to any content you produce. It’s a nice perk for writers, and you won’t be able to set it up if you don’t have a Google+ profile.
• SEO benefits. There have been a lot of questions about exactly how a Google+ profile affects search engine results. Authorship is one way, of course. Having a company page on Google+ also gives you more of an online presence, especially when combined with Google Places. The newer search engine algorithms are taking more and more notice of social media participation.
• Google Drive. Google Drive allows you to share spreadsheets, documents, slides, and other files through Google. Currently, you can store up to 15 GB on your Google Drive without any cost to you. If you work on a team with others or if you must turn in your work for approval, Google Drive is a great option. Your files are secure too because you control who sees them.
• Business Pages. You can also use Google+ to establish a business page for your freelancing business. Be sure to fill out your Google+ Local Business Profile. If you choose “local business,” Google will include your business reviews in the search results. It will also include your business on Google Maps and in local search results. And Google+ tools like communities make it easy to find relevant contacts.

So, if you’ve been ignoring Google+ in your social media marketing strategy, it may be time to give it a second look.

How to Get Started on Google+

It’s easier to get started on Google+ than most freelancers realize. There’s really no reason for putting it off.
Here’s how you can get started.
Build a strong profile. Give some serious thought to the Story section. You want a tagline and introduction that describes you, 
yet is interesting. Be as complete as you can in your profile.
Select your Google+ Cover photo. Google+ is very image-oriented, so get creative. You will need both a profile photo and a larger cover
 image. The right image can say a lot about you and your freelancing business.
Build a Business Page. You may wonder if you need both a 
Business Page and a personal profile, but I recommend having both. Your personal profile page represents you and your business page represents your business.
Establish and populate your circles. Give your circles names that fit and add the people who make sense to each circle. The circles determine who sees your updates.
Share often. Sharing is the heart of any social media tool, and Google+ is no exception. The more you share high quality content, the better for your freelancing business.
Don’t forget about tools like Google+ Hangouts and Communities. Google+ Communities allows you to connect with others who have similar interests. Use Hangouts for a real-time discussion or training class.

Tip: Google+ transfers photos between Android and iPad

Question: I have an Android phone and an iPad. How do I get the pictures I take on the phone to show up on the tablet?

Answer: Assuming you'd rather not transfer the photos through whatever computer you might sync both devices with (and why would you, considering the hassle involved and the need to add extra software to sync photos with Android), you should go with Google+.

Install that social network's Android app on the phone and put its iOS release on the iPad, and its automatic online backup should ensure that every photo you take from the phone will show up in the G+ app on the tablet moments later. That doesn't mean everybody else on G+ can see your shots — this automatic backup is done in private, leaving it to you to decide later which photos to share.

Make sure you set Google+ to back up full-size copies of each photo: In the app, tap the menu button, choose "Settings," tap "Camera & Photos" and then tap "Auto Backup." On that screen, you can also choose when you want this automatic backup to occur. Choose only via Wi-Fi if your phone can't go any faster than 3G or if you have a particularly restrictive data cap — unless you take photos all the time, they're unlikely to max out most limited plans — or if both conditions apply.

To download a photo to the iPad's own storage for offline viewing in Apple's Photos app, tap the gear icon in the top-right corner above the picture and choose "Download" from that menu. (If only this app offered some way to download your entire album at once.)

This approach also allows your photos to benefit from the "Auto Enhance" automated photo-finishing feature that Google introduced last month, which tries to fix flaws like unbalanced exposure, faded color and graininess. (It even attempts to smooth out wrinkles and pores on people's faces, which I think is going a bit far.) But although Auto Enhance can do a fair amount to upgrade low-light shots, I haven't seen it work magic on my phone's pictures.

RELATED: Artist 3D prints 2D photos

Flickr can also work for this, but I will wager that more Android users have a G+ account than use Yahoo's photo-sharing site — thanks to the increasing difficulty of doing anything with a Google account that doesn't have G+ enabled. Plus, there's (still!) no iPad app for Flickr.

This advice also applies to the smaller contingent of people who have an Android phone and an Android tablet, and to what I suspect is the even more exclusive demographic of users who alternate between an iPhone and an Android tablet.

If both your phone and your tablet run iOS, however, Apple's Photo Stream is the obvious and automatic choice. That can also get your pictures into your Mac's copy of iPhoto or your PC's Pictures library.

Tip: Near-infinite storage means you may never have to delete photos again. Delete them anyway.

Google provides 15 gigabytes of free online storage for your Google+ uploads along with your Gmail and Google Docs files, and that enormous quota seems like nothing next to the full terabyte that Yahoo provides for free, courtesy of the overhaul of the site it introduced last month. And thanks to Google's new automatic Highlights curation, you can even let Google figure out which photos are worth showing off.

That doesn't mean you should retire the delete key from your photo-management toolkit. One of the best ways to take better ones is to be cruel to the ones you've already taken: Inspect the five or so shots you took of the same subject and find reasons to trash three of them.

Maybe there's a shadow across somebody's face, maybe the subject is too close to the edge of the frame, maybe the background is too bright — if you spend a few minutes studying your work, you'll see what made some pictures better than others and, hopefully, will remember those factors the next time.