Have you tried out Google+ but didn’t really know how to find wedding-related people or businesses? (Believe me, I can relate…it’s a bit hard to see the value in Google+ at first.)
Here’s a way you can “kick start” your account–shared circles. On Google+, a circle is similar to lists on Facebook or Twitter and groups elsewhere: “clusters” of people/businesses that are similar in some way.
Once you put together a circle, you can share it with others if you want. The flip side of sharing also works–you can look for shared circles on a topic you are interested in.
I, for example, recently shared my “Wedding Industry” circle…almost 300 wedding professionals and businesses, many of which regularly share tips and resources helpful if you are planning a wedding. Here’s how you’d add it to your circles:
1. Sign into your personal Google+ account or create one if you don’t already have an account: https://plus.google.com/ (use your main Google account email address and password to sign in).
2. Find the shared circle, here: http://plus.google.com/116084619581619105488/posts/QW2E8M3FDHW
3. Locate the area that looks like the piece I’ve “torn out” above and click “add circle.”
4. From there, you can name this circle or add it to another you’ve already started.
Now posts from those in the shared circle will show up in your stream on the Google+ home page (in a way similar to your tweet stream or Facebook news feed). If you run into any problems, comment below and I’ll try to help (I’m no Google+ expert, but I have gone through several “newbie” learning curves. lol).
P.S. Bonus step, if you have a Google+ business page. When I first started adding shared circles, I’d get errors if I was trying to do it from my business page. Turns out, it was because you cannot circle a personal profile unless that person already has you in her/his circles. And most circles have individual’s profiles in it. Rather than sifting through this one looking for pages to add to your business page’s circles, you can add the pages only circle I’ve shared here: https://plus.google.com/b/103409220027448237065/103409220027448237065/posts/3mJ2UWv9vsU
HTH. ~Bobette