Are you avoiding Google+ because it’s:

• a ghost town?
• too complicated?
• yet another thing to do and you haven’t gotten around to?

In this interview I did with B.L. Ochman, Google+ coach and one of the most influential women in social media, you’ll find out why Google+ is a key tool in your online marketing strategy. (Highlights below the video.)

Highlights:

• Google+ is incorporated into everything Google – Search, Maps, YouTube, you name it. The algorithm heavily favors content originating in Google+. In the words of Larry Page, “If you ignore Google+, Google search will ignore you.”

Fill out your profile and add your photo, otherwise you’ll be a blank on Google+.

• Google+ enables you to have one account, while sharing your varied personal and professional interests with relevant people. On Twitter or Facebook, the potential clients who are interested in your US tax policy updates may or may not want to see your latest wedding cake decorating efforts. And even those who drool at your frosting and fondant may not be following the numerous pictures of your toddler with the same eagerness. So there you need multiple accounts. On Google+, you can use Circles to share with every person what is relevant to them, while remaining one account – one you.

People think Google+ is a ghost town because they don’t know how to use it.

• One of the most important things Google+ lets you do is claim ownership of your content across the web, so Google will know it’s your content, and doesn’t belong to those big bad scrapers. All it takes is a little line of code in the right place.

Google+ is more than a social network.

• The Hangouts feature is one of the best ways to have free video events. You can host a private or public meeting with up to 10 people actively participating and collaborating using Google properties like Drive. As many people can watch live as you want, and you can auto broadcast the Hangout to YouTube so it will be available for viewing later on. (More details on using Google+ event pages to boost your Hangout engagement in the interview above.)

Like everything Google, there’s a learning curve. But it’s worth it.

B.L. can be found tweeting @whatsnext, writing at the What’s Next Blog, and giving Google+ training at Maximum Plus. And of course, you can circle her on Google+.