Courtney Engle

How to enable Google+ Hangouts on Air

Courtney Engle — Mon, 07 May 2012 22:57:15 +0000

Google+ has begun rolling out “Hangouts on Air”. This feature allows users to stream the video to countless viewers via Youtube while having up to 10 people in the hangout. In addition, users can embed the hangout live on their own websites.

To enable Google+ Hangouts on Air, begin a hangout. Click to enable.

How are you planning to use Hangouts on Air? I’m going to relaunch my podcast via on-air hangouts. I’ll have an audio option, but do a run-down of the social media, local seo, mobile marketing, and WordPress news of the day or week. As Youtube is a big traffic driver to my site already, I think this will be a great fit.

In other thoughts – if Google Drive doesn’t care about the bandwidth of content being accessed, I may use it for some my media storage needs. I’ve asked around a bit on this idea at Google’s support forums and at the School of Podcasting. I’d really love it if Google Drive could store and protect my various media data in one centralized place, charge me for the storage but not bandwidth, give me links for media files that will go out via podcasts and embeddable code on all files, and give me data via Google Analytics on it all. I’m hopeful, but not sure it’ll happen.

Google+ Hangouts On Air: broadcast your conversation to the world(googleblog.blogspot.com)
Google makes Hangouts On Air available to everyone(gigaom.com)
How To Get Started With Google+ Hangouts On Air(readwriteweb.com)

Want to connect further? Find me online: Google Profile & Online Activity
Want Social Media, Local SEO, and Mobile Marketing training? Social Mobile Local Marketing Pros - SMLMP
Want WordPress training? GFYD Member - Go For Your Dream
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Google Docs in Google Drive

Courtney Engle — Wed, 02 May 2012 22:44:10 +0000

Google Drive has suddenly given users LOTS of great file sharing options. Tonight Chris Lang is sharing about that on his Google Hangout (join us!). We’ll be talking about how Google Drive works now. Chris has some really fun tricks on using Google Drive as a place for media hosting. I’ll be sharing how to use Google Drive (formerly Google Docs) as a document creation and collaboration tool.

There are some glitches yet that I’ve noticed. For instance, if I upload a powerpoint file from the computer extension, it remains unconverted. Yet, if I upload the file from the web portal, I can convert it on the fly. I can convert it from MS Office (not iWork), but only if it’s smaller than 10mbs. Remember you will need to publish the file before you can get the embed code.

Other goodies we’ll be discussing include creating Google Drive Forms and adding scripts (like how to get an email of the form submission). Come join is.

Streamlining Social Media, Local SEO, and Mobile Marketing – February 27 2012

Courtney Engle — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 17:05:49 +0000

Curation of content and breaking it down into simple terms I what I love to do. I’m dabbling with a new podcast format, a listing of the best and important news of the day, and getting my blog moving more. So – today’s news:

Streamlining Social Media, Local SEO, WordPress, and Mobile Marketing

iBooks Author reviewed

Courtney Engle — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:28:02 +0000

This morning Apple announced three new tools for educational users: iBooks Author, iTunesU app, and iBooks 2. iBooks Author is in the OS X App Store now, so I did a quick review:

Social Media Account Dilemma: Personal Account vs. Brand Account

Courtney Engle — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:13:36 +0000

When creating a social media account, people still get confused if they should use a personal account or a brand account.

The social networks where you must have a company profile and where to create:

Facebook: http://facebook.com/pages

Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/pages/create

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/add/show

If you violate these terms of service, your profile can be taken down without notice. It would benefit you greatly to straighten out these issues as soon as possible. You can’t necessarily move your followers automatically from personal profiles to business pages. In Facebook, simply changing your name to be your actual name is easy. The other places aren’t as easy, so get it over with as soon as possible.

Social Networks that don’t require business pages:

Youtube, Flickr, Pinterest, and most others.

The exception?

Twitter. Twitter just announced that they will be integrating brand pages. As an example, see JetBlue’s Twitter account. Twitter hasn’t made it clear yet how business brands can get this brand page feature and seem to be rolling things out slowly.

4 Reasons to Love the New Twitter (socialnomics.net)

Mobile Site vs Mobile App vs. Mobile Landing Page

Courtney Engle — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Do you need a mobile site or a mobile app, and landing page, all of the above, or none of these? It really depends upon your business, but most likely you need at least to make your website mobile ready. Earlier, I shared how to check your website on mobile devices and how to make your WordPress website mobile friendly. If you are using Google Analytics to track your website traffic, you can see how many of your existing visitors are using mobile devices. At the very least, you need to make your website display well on mobile devices.

However, if you have some unique value in mind, such as customer loyalty rewards, or want to send push notifications (pop-ups on Smart Phones much like Text messages), then an app may be the thing you want to focus on. Apps that are primarily functioning only as an app version of the website usually aren’t worth the work or expense to launch. However, if you think of an innovative feature to offer users that extends beyond what a mobile website can do, it just might work. For example, Renegade Radio Nashville has a website to play their radio station live online. They also have an app for Apple and Android, as the mobile site doesn’t easily support live streaming music.

Mobile Landing Pages are a different creature than either a site or an app. Landing pages are terms used in the marketing industry that are the place where after searching or clicking through on some link, a visitor lands on your site. It has compelling information and a call to action (sign up for the newsletter, buy stuff, or other actions). Mobile landing pages are pages designed to only be accessed from a mobile device, say from someone scanning a qr code. They scan the pixelated box, it takes them to a mobile landing page, and they take action.

In review, mobile sites are versions your full site generally just able to resize itself automatically for many mobile browser formats. Mobile landing pages are only accessed from a mobile device with a call to action. Mobile apps offer features that integrate with mobile devices that extend beyond what your website can do.

5 Awesome Landing Page Lessons From Real Life Examples (hubspot.com)
4 Simple Steps to Get Ramped Up With Mobile Marketing (hubspot.com)

Google changes Search Engine Results – What it means for you

Courtney Engle — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:13:13 +0000

Google has introduced a new feature on search engine results pages called “Search, plus Your World“. These features may have significant impact on how you view search results and how your website displays for others.

Look at the two images below. The first is a typic search result for “WordCamp“:

Compare that with the new search results page with the social features enabled (like to full-size here):

What does this mean for you?

First, as a person browsing the web, you may choose to turn results off if you find that it results in better quality. I’d suggest testing that depending upon what you are seeking. If I’m hunting for advanced research, I’d likely turn the results off, and perhaps even go so far as to log out of Google and browse in Incognito mode to get the most pure results.

Secondly, for your website to be ranked more highly by those with personal results enabled, it will drastically help to have your online presence thoroughly complete. Claim and integrate services that work for you, whether blogs, microblogs, photo sharing, video sharing, slide sharing, or an assortment of other places. Next, claim your Google Plus profile and connect it to your social media accounts. Finally, get networking in Google Plus. The more people that are following you, the more likely your content will display on their search results pages.

Since joining Google Plus six months ago, I’ve connected with more people and brands than at all my other social networks combined. Early adopters stand considerable advantage when a network does explode. While Google Plus may not be as established as Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, it does have a lot of activity happening there. More importantly, your profile and connects are impacting search results already. More will be coming I believe. Don’t wait any longer.

How to Brainstorm, Project Manage, and GTD

Courtney Engle — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:13:35 +0000

I love when creativity strikes, leading my into a time to brainstorm, project manage, and get things done. To get those ideas drafted out and implemented, I use a variety of tools. First, I brainstorm ideas in a mindmap, like MindJet Mindmanager. Then, I schedule out tasks in Things. Finally, I review the calendar using BusyCal. Best of all, all of these things work from my Mac and iPhone.

GTD Times: Cool GTD tip for tracking Waiting For items in Outlook (gtdtimes.com)
Mindjet’s 7-Step Process for Effective Team Collaboration (mindmapblog.com)
Mindjet iOS apps now free, cloud service around the corner (tuaw.com)

What has permission to access your social media accounts?

Courtney Engle — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 21:27:39 +0000

Do you know what sites and applications you’ve given permission to access your social media accounts? You could go digging through the settings of each platform (which I’ve been known to do), or you could just visit one website with a link to the top social media platforms permissions pages: MyPermissions.org.

After logging in to websites like Digg, IFTTT, Pinterest, and more using my Facebook account, I figured it’d be worth a review. Likewise, you should also scan your permissions and delete anything you don’t recognize or no longer use. How often have you read entirely what you’ve given permission for each app or website to do with your account? It’s better to be extra safe about this than sorry later.

Learn how to use MyPermissions:

Have 2 Minutes? Check Out Who Has Access to Your Social Media Accounts (mashable.com)

How To Organize Google Plus Circles

Courtney Engle — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 20:31:49 +0000

To get the most focus and value out of Google Plus, organize your circles. The same could be said of Facebook and Twitter lists as well. There are a few approaches to what works best for you, but I’ll share how I get the best use.

Create one circle encompassing your main area of focus. For me, that’s all things tech. I add in people and brands that are tech bloggers or podcasters, WordPress related, social media oriented, mobile marketing, and location based SEO. These are the people I’d follow professionally no matter if they engage with me or not.
Create a few circles for a variety of purposes. I have Family, Friends (people that I hang out with), and Acquaintances (people I’ve networked with), Clients, Prospects, and Networking Organizations. If I have a specific purpose to post something that isn’t “public”, it’s usually for one of these circles. Only they can see it. I hope eventually to lure my family in as I live 10 miles from my parents but in opposite hemispheres from my sister. One hangout shared among us would be great. I also keep these circles small so that I can see everything these few have shared with me.
Circles for sharing – If I want to share all the great Googlers I follow or WordPress developers, I have them already in my techies circle but need to narrow that down to a specific interest for sharing. Additionally, my techies circle has just under 2,000 people in it – far too many to share. Sharing circles is capped at 250 people per circle.
Engage – I use this circle to follow back the people commenting or interacting on my content or that I’ve bumped into during a hangout. I want to connect with those reaching out to me.
Random – I have a catch-all circle for people I’m following that don’t fit the other circles yet. If they interact, they’ll get bumped into another circle. If not, they are the ones to be uncircled when I am close to my 5,000 following limits.

Do you have any tips for organizing your circles?

Google+ Now Allows You To Share Whole Circles With Friends [News] (makeuseof.com)
Seven ways to use Google+ at work (macworld.com)
How to Optimize Your Google+ Business Page [Free Ebook!] (hubspot.com)

Courtney Engle

How to enable Google+ Hangouts on Air

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