INTERNET
By Joe Dysart

Why Every Business Needs to Stake a Claim on Google+

Web security experts are urging companies to set up shop on Google+ to ensure that their company names are not snapped up by competitors or some ne’r do well—in much the same way that squatters appropriated the brand names of global corporations during the dawn of the web. And Internet marketing analysts say that some of the new social network’s more innovative features, such as “Hangouts”—which enables a group of people on Google+ to video chat simultaneously—make Google+ too promising to ignore.

The social network, which was launched this past summer, is Google’s answer to Facebook, which now has more than 800 million members and represents an ominous threat to Google’s advertising revenue base. But there are marked differences between the two animals, even though their core missions are the same: to provide a virtual meeting place where millions of people can socialize using chat, posts, photo and video exchange and other web communications tools.

Businesses, of course, continue to be rabidly interested in how activity on social networks can be parlayed into increased sales and brand recognition. They’re also fixated on the ways they might extract the most mileage from the word-of-mouth product and service recommendations that pop up across social media in the millions.

On Facebook, for example, legions of members have been signaling their endorsement of a product or service by clicking a “Like” button—a nod that became immediately coveted by businesses the moment it surfaced on the network. On Google+, members offer the same kudos by clicking a “+1” recommendation button.

Ali Husayni, founder of Master Google (www.mastergoogle.com), a search-engine marketing firm, said that Google’s +1 recommendation button makes creating a business page on Google+ “absolutely essential.” Husayni indicated that besides seeing marginally improved search-engine rankings in the short term, businesses using Google+ may very well see significant sales gains as Google+ grows beyond its critical mass and more and more people begin using the +1 recommendation button to exchange recommendations for goods and services on the network.

“If I’m looking for a dentist and a few of my friends in my town have +1’ed a particular dentist’s site or Google+ page, then that website is going to rank better than its competitors on my search results,” Husayni said. “As a potential customer, I’m more likely to consider him than other dentists who rank well on Google but have no recommendations from my people in my networks.”

Husayni said that Google’s increasing reliance on word-of-mouth recommendations when it comes to page rankings could even dramatically alter the way company webpages get found during the next few years. Instead of seeding company webpages with carefully selected keywords and key phrases to attract traffic, SEO experts will need to find ways to ensure that their clients have as many recommendations from Facebook, Google+, Twitter and other social networks as possible.

“My initial thought is that Google is shifting the power from SEO companies toward networks and circles,” Husayni said. “It’s kind of like the past, when word-of-mouth was more important than anything else. We’re almost moving in that backward direction, but on the virtual world of the Internet.”

Meanwhile, web security experts said that businesses that take a wait-and-see approach to establishing a presence on Google+ may easily get burned. Currently, anyone can stake a claim to a business name on the Google+ social network—whether or not that person is in any way associated with the company. Bank of America is still smarting from that hard truth after pranksters quickly put together a parody page of the brand in early November.

The rogue Bank of America page openly mocked homeowners facing foreclosures as well as those who would come to their aid. The unauthorized Google+ presence went up complete with the Bank of America logo, links to the company’s real website and legitimate address and telephone info. One snarky post made in the name of Bank of American hissed, “Big company party in foreclosed house #2340087 tonight!” And another dissed the Occupy Wall Street movement with: “You will sit down and shut up, or we will foreclose on you.”

Google is enabling companies to formally verify their presences on the Google+ network. (Here is an excellent tutorial on how to verify that a company page on Google+ has in fact been created and maintained by your company). But like many things web, it’s still the Wild West on Google+.

	Google’s CEO Larry Page is betting big with Google+—Google’s answer to Facebook.

For web video marketers, being able to take advantage of Google+’s Hangouts feature is reason enough to ensure that your brand has a page on Google+. With just a webcam and a typical computer, users can quickly join a Hangout chat with a group of friends, colleagues, business partners or customers. In practice, the video chat appears on the user’s PC screen as a giant image of a chosen participant displayed front and center. Smaller thumbnail videos of others participating in the chat run along the bottom and can be swapped in and out of the main video stream at will.

One of the most famous initial users of Google+ Hangouts was the L.A. hip-hop group The Black-Eyed Peas, which hosted a widely publicized backstage Hangout last fall during one of its concerts. Only 74 people actually attended the cyber-video event, but hundreds of thousands more heard and read about it via mainstream and other news media—a public relations coup.

For everyday businesses, uses for Hangouts will probably include video-chat customer service, video-chat focus groups and other more traditional company-to-customer communications that can be greatly enhanced by real-time, interactive video.

“For you and me, this means we can now hang out live with the local bike shop or discuss our wardrobe with a favorite clothing line or follow a band on tour,” said Vic Gundotra, vice president of engineering at Google. “For businesses and brands, Google+ pages help you connect with the customers and fans who love you. Not only can they recommend you with a +1 or add you to a circle to listen long-term, but they can actually spend time with your team, face-to-face-to-face.”

Fortunately, the logistics are painless if you’re looking to set up a Google+ page for business. If you’re the type to plunge in and see what all the fuss is about, simply sign into your free Google account, then click to http://tinyurl.com/google-com-business and follow the prompts.

You can also find a webinar from Buddy Media on how to get the most from a business page Google+, although the tutorials include a pitch for the company’s social media product, Conversation Buddy.

And SEO Inc., a web marketing firm, has put together a fairly thorough white paper on maximizing Google+ for business.

Bottom line: There’s really no downside to establishing a business presence on Google+—only opportunity and potential.

Joe Dysart is an Internet speaker and business consultant based in Manhattan, New York.
Contact: 646-233-4089
joe@joedysart.com
www.joedysart.com

INTERNET
By Joe Dysart

Why Every Business Needs to Stake a Claim on Google+

Web security experts are urging companies to set up shop on Google+ to ensure that their company names are not snapped up by competitors or some ne’r do well—in much the same way that squatters appropriated the brand names of global corporations during the dawn of the web. And Internet marketing analysts say that some of the new social network’s more innovative features, such as “Hangouts”—which enables a group of people on Google+ to video chat simultaneously—make Google+ too promising to ignore.

The social network, which was launched this past summer, is Google’s answer to Facebook, which now has more than 800 million members and represents an ominous threat to Google’s advertising revenue base. But there are marked differences between the two animals, even though their core missions are the same: to provide a virtual meeting place where millions of people can socialize using chat, posts, photo and video exchange and other web communications tools.

Businesses, of course, continue to be rabidly interested in how activity on social networks can be parlayed into increased sales and brand recognition. They’re also fixated on the ways they might extract the most mileage from the word-of-mouth product and service recommendations that pop up across social media in the millions.

On Facebook, for example, legions of members have been signaling their endorsement of a product or service by clicking a “Like” button—a nod that became immediately coveted by businesses the moment it surfaced on the network. On Google+, members offer the same kudos by clicking a “+1” recommendation button.

Ali Husayni, founder of Master Google (www.mastergoogle.com), a search-engine marketing firm, said that Google’s +1 recommendation button makes creating a business page on Google+ “absolutely essential.” Husayni indicated that besides seeing marginally improved search-engine rankings in the short term, businesses using Google+ may very well see significant sales gains as Google+ grows beyond its critical mass and more and more people begin using the +1 recommendation button to exchange recommendations for goods and services on the network.

“If I’m looking for a dentist and a few of my friends in my town have +1’ed a particular dentist’s site or Google+ page, then that website is going to rank better than its competitors on my search results,” Husayni said. “As a potential customer, I’m more likely to consider him than other dentists who rank well on Google but have no recommendations from my people in my networks.”

Husayni said that Google’s increasing reliance on word-of-mouth recommendations when it comes to page rankings could even dramatically alter the way company webpages get found during the next few years. Instead of seeding company webpages with carefully selected keywords and key phrases to attract traffic, SEO experts will need to find ways to ensure that their clients have as many recommendations from Facebook, Google+, Twitter and other social networks as possible.

“My initial thought is that Google is shifting the power from SEO companies toward networks and circles,” Husayni said. “It’s kind of like the past, when word-of-mouth was more important than anything else. We’re almost moving in that backward direction, but on the virtual world of the Internet.”

Meanwhile, web security experts said that businesses that take a wait-and-see approach to establishing a presence on Google+ may easily get burned. Currently, anyone can stake a claim to a business name on the Google+ social network—whether or not that person is in any way associated with the company. Bank of America is still smarting from that hard truth after pranksters quickly put together a parody page of the brand in early November.

The rogue Bank of America page openly mocked homeowners facing foreclosures as well as those who would come to their aid. The unauthorized Google+ presence went up complete with the Bank of America logo, links to the company’s real website and legitimate address and telephone info. One snarky post made in the name of Bank of American hissed, “Big company party in foreclosed house #2340087 tonight!” And another dissed the Occupy Wall Street movement with: “You will sit down and shut up, or we will foreclose on you.”

Google is enabling companies to formally verify their presences on the Google+ network. (Here is an excellent tutorial on how to verify that a company page on Google+ has in fact been created and maintained by your company). But like many things web, it’s still the Wild West on Google+.

	Google’s CEO Larry Page is betting big with Google+—Google’s answer to Facebook.

For web video marketers, being able to take advantage of Google+’s Hangouts feature is reason enough to ensure that your brand has a page on Google+. With just a webcam and a typical computer, users can quickly join a Hangout chat with a group of friends, colleagues, business partners or customers. In practice, the video chat appears on the user’s PC screen as a giant image of a chosen participant displayed front and center. Smaller thumbnail videos of others participating in the chat run along the bottom and can be swapped in and out of the main video stream at will.

One of the most famous initial users of Google+ Hangouts was the L.A. hip-hop group The Black-Eyed Peas, which hosted a widely publicized backstage Hangout last fall during one of its concerts. Only 74 people actually attended the cyber-video event, but hundreds of thousands more heard and read about it via mainstream and other news media—a public relations coup.

For everyday businesses, uses for Hangouts will probably include video-chat customer service, video-chat focus groups and other more traditional company-to-customer communications that can be greatly enhanced by real-time, interactive video.

“For you and me, this means we can now hang out live with the local bike shop or discuss our wardrobe with a favorite clothing line or follow a band on tour,” said Vic Gundotra, vice president of engineering at Google. “For businesses and brands, Google+ pages help you connect with the customers and fans who love you. Not only can they recommend you with a +1 or add you to a circle to listen long-term, but they can actually spend time with your team, face-to-face-to-face.”

Fortunately, the logistics are painless if you’re looking to set up a Google+ page for business. If you’re the type to plunge in and see what all the fuss is about, simply sign into your free Google account, then click to http://tinyurl.com/google-com-business and follow the prompts.

You can also find a webinar from Buddy Media on how to get the most from a business page Google+, although the tutorials include a pitch for the company’s social media product, Conversation Buddy.

And SEO Inc., a web marketing firm, has put together a fairly thorough white paper on maximizing Google+ for business.

Bottom line: There’s really no downside to establishing a business presence on Google+—only opportunity and potential.

Joe Dysart is an Internet speaker and business consultant based in Manhattan, New York.
Contact: 646-233-4089
joe@joedysart.com
www.joedysart.com

EVENTS
By Carr Winn

Opinion Leaders Flood Social-Media Channels During the 2011 SEMA Show

	Enthusiasts selected to serve as opinion leaders at the 2011 SEMA Show spent between eight and 16 hours posting real-time updates directly from the Show floor.
	The Opinion Leader Program provides valuable data and consumer insight into trends and products that will be in high demand throughout the year. Look for an overview of the 2011 Program’s comprehensive report in next month’s issue of SEMA News.
	As part of SEMA’s third annual Opinion Leader Program, these lucky gearheads and shade-tree mechanics suddenly found themselves not only inside the Show, but actually participating in covering the event

The SEMA Show is a trade-only event, exclusive to those working in the specialty-equipment industry. For consumers, this means that catching a glimpse of the Show floor is possible only by scanning the latest newspapers, magazines and webpages for articles filed by attending media. During the 2011 SEMA Show, however, a special group of enthusiasts were granted access to the Las Vegas Convention Center on Thursday, November 3. Invited by SEMA to participate in a social-media campaign, these attendees had a special mission—identify at least five hot, new products and broadcast their opinions across the Internet.

As part of SEMA’s third annual Opinion Leader Program, these lucky gearheads and shade-tree mechanics suddenly found themselves not only inside the Show, but actually participating in covering the event on behalf of the thousands of people in their social networks. And for enthusiasts, such as Philip Weaver, it was a dream come true.

“I really enjoyed seeing all the new products that are coming to market,” said Weaver. “I was also able to meet some of my heroes, such as Chip Foose and Walker Evans. The entire experience was mind-blowing.”

Adding to the excitement this year, enthusiasts such as Weaver were also allowed to attend the Show on Friday, provided they arrived on time Thursday and completed their assignments. In addition to updating their social networks with real-time coverage from the 2011 SEMA Show, Opinion Leaders also submitted a handwritten list of five products that they would place at the top of their “wish list.” This data created a buzz online and provided content that will be complied into an upcoming report. SEMA’s Tom Myroniak, vice president of marketing and member services, explained the value in collecting this special type of feedback.

“The information that we gathered from the program will give SEMA-member companies a better understanding of their end users, which will help them make better-informed business decisions,” Myroniak said. “It will also raise the visibility of their products and, we hope, help them sell more.”

In selecting their top five products, the opinion leaders essentially cast ballots for the types of products and applications that they would willingly open their wallets to purchase. While exhibitors have a direct interest in receiving this type of feedback from their customers, this unique group was actually able to “testify” on behalf of manufacturers by uploading pictures and comments to their networks of followers.

This type of exposure is incredibly impactful, especially because the social media platforms allow users to share information from “trusted” sources. Given this type of dynamic, the messages that opinion leaders delivered using social networks therefore represented powerful endorsements as they spread the word about their initial impressions from the Show.

Social-media channels, including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Flickr, were bombarded with countless updates as Opinion Leaders explored various sections of the 2011 SEMA Show—especially the Ideas Alive: Featuring the New Products Showcase area. Between the products, vehicles and celebrities, many participants also built up a healthy archive of photos to share when they returned to their local communities.

“I truly loved the experience,” said opinion leader Chad Dandron. Logging a full 16 hours in the convention center, Dandron couldn’t put his camera down. “I took more than a thousand photos as well as wrote down a large amount of information to share with people on forums, e-mail as well as locally.”

Distributing photos, opinions and updates has never been easier with the continual integration of social media into almost every handheld communications device. And while everyone has a unique profile within various online communities, participants were allowed to register their Twitter accounts on one of SEMA’s own websites, EnjoytheDrive.com. In this way, every Tweet received further syndication, and every message that included #SEMAShow represented an entry into a drawing for Amazon gift cards and a Sony PlayStation.

Between the giveaways, prizes, free T-shirts and access to the 2011 SEMA Show for two days, most Opinion Leaders had only one additional request: Can I do this again next year? While registration for the 2012 program is not yet open, questions can be addressed to SEMA Market Research Special Projects Manager Megan McKernan.

For SEMA members interested in the upcoming Opinion Leader Report compiled by the SEMA market research team, stay tuned to next month’s issue of SEMA News. In the March edition, SEMA Senior Manager of Market Research Gavin Knapp will unveil statistics and data based on the opinions delivered via social networks, in feedback surveys and during special focus groups. The goal of this project is to synthesize the Tweets, Likes, posts and opinions that flooded social networks and identify consumer trends. The upcoming article will serve as an overview of the report and offer complete details for obtaining the entire publication.

Customized Dodge Charger and Avenger Sold on eBay

Hurst, Street Scene Equipment, Dodge and SEMA teamed up with a group of industry-leading companies to build two custom Dodges—a Charger and an Avenger. Both vehicles were auctioned on eBay, generating proceeds that will benefit the SEMA Memorial Scholarship Fund (SMSF). The Charger sold for $45,001, while the Avenger sold for $21,605.

Each year, the SMSF distributes between $100,000–$150,000 in scholarships to deserving students who plan to pursue careers in the automotive industry. The distributions include awards for vocational schools and two-year, four-year and post-graduate work, with a percentage designated for the families of employees of SEMA-member companies. There is also a Loan Forgiveness Program to help repay student loans for employees of SEMA-member firms. This year, the two eBay auctions contributed record-breaking awards to the SMSF. In addition, a premium engine was displayed at the SEMA Show and then auctioned, further enhancing this year’s fundraising activities.

The Avenger features best-in-class V6 fuel economy (19/29 mpg) and is one of the most affordable V6 midsize sedans available today. The Charger features all-new modern, heritage-inspired design and a best-in-class combination of power and fuel efficiency from its 5.7L V8 Hemi, which boasts 370 hp while achieving 16-/25-mpg fuel efficiency. The Charger was built in the Hurst/Aria facility, with Aria Design serving as the design engineers and artists for both vehicles. 

The Charger was the only Charger that Hurst customized this year. The vehicle features a custom paint scheme by Aria. Hurst supplied the wheels and tires, and a Katzkin Leather interior features red-and-black Hurst logos in the headrests. The suspension is an Eibach setup, plus the car has a Flowmaster exhaust, Hurst shifter and badges for the interior and exterior, Hurst floor mats from Star West and a Grant steering wheel. 

Mike Spagnola at Street Scene Equipment built the Avenger. It features a custom paint scheme by Aria, a Street Scene Speed Grille, Nitto tires, Lorenzo wheels, embroidered Hurst-logo headrests and Star West mats with a Hurst logo design.

“Dodge, Hurst, Street Scene Equipment, eBay and the other sponsors provided their products and services at no charge,” said Joel Ayres, chairman of the SEMA Scholarship Committee. “That means 100% of the proceeds from the auction will go to the fund. Those contributions will go a long way toward helping deserving students to achieve their goal of working in the automotive and specialty-equipment industries. All of the participating companies deserve our thanks and the recognition that they are helping to build our future.”

For more information about the SEMA Memorial Scholarship Fund, visit here. Members are urged to encourage qualifying students to apply for a SEMA scholarship.

	This Ed Pink 302 was displayed at the 2011 SEMA Show. Eighteen sponsoring companies contributed to its successful build and subsequent eBay auction benefitting the SEMA Scholarship fund.

Also to benefit the SMSF, legendary builder Ed Pink assembled a very special engine using premium-quality, high-performance components from leading manufacturers in the automotive aftermarket. All are SEMA members. The engine sold for $8,200 at auction, and the proceeds will be added to the fund, which provides assistance to students seeking careers in the automotive industry.

This is not your ordinary crate engine, as absolutely no factory-stock parts were employed. The engine was based on the popular small-block Ford design, and a roster of the components includes:

• Dart 302 Ford block and Pro 1 aluminum cylinder heads
• COMP Cams hydraulic roller camshaft, lifters and valvetrain components
• Scat 4340 forged-steel crankshaft and H-beam connecting rods
• ARP chrome-moly head and main studs, rod bolts and polished stainless-steel fasteners
• Milodon oil pan, oil pump, drive and dipstick
• ATI Super Damper and flexplate
• Crane Cams distributor, coil and ignition box
• Moroso “Blue Max” sparkplug wires, separators and hold-down
• Fel-Pro high-performance gaskets
• Champion sparkplugs
• Edelbrock intake manifold, carburetor, valve covers, water pump and air cleaner
• Speed Pro bearings
• Joe Gibbs Driven lubricants
• Manley Performance valves and pushrods
• Powermaster alternator and starter
• Mahle pistons
• Total Seal piston rings
• Hedman Exhaust headers

The engine, meticulously blueprinted and assembled by “The Old Master” and technicians at Ed Pink Racing Engines, produced 404 hp at 5,900 rpm and 403 lb.-ft. of torque on the dyno under Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) testing parameters.

The Global Tire Expo—Powered by TIA Comes of Age

Designed as a free-standing tire industry event, the GTE is set apart from the rest of the SEMA Show with its own branding, entrance units and color scheme. It is open to all sectors of the tire industry—automotive to commercial, retreading to recycling. For 2011, there were more than 190 booths displaying the latest tire technology, giving tire-manufacturing exhibitors a high degree of prominence.

The GTE is also proving a growth incentive for the tire industry. At their annual general membership meeting held in conjunction with the event, TIA officials reported that association membership had climbed by 620 new members over the past year. They also noted the GTE’s increasing popularity among SEMA Showgoers: For 2011, more than 51,400 SEMA Show registrants had indicated interest in the tire segment and related products upon their sign-up, making tires one of the top three product draws for SEMA Show attendees.

Meanwhile, SEMA Show officials reported that new tires and related product entries also increased in the 2011 Show’s Ideas Alive: New Products Showcase, and overall attendance at both the SEMA Show and the GTE set record numbers this past November. GTE exhibitor numbers alone were up by nearly 20%.

Hailing the huge success of the co-located Shows and especially the GTE’s positive effects on his industry, TIA President Larry Brandt said: “The record attendance in Las Vegas demonstrates that the networking opportunities and educational seminars that TIA stages provide true value to independent tire dealers.”

Indeed, the GTE—Powered by TIA was more than an industry showcase. TIA membership also used the event to tackle some serious business, introducing new association officers and passing three important resolutions at the general meeting: one in support of the U.S. government maintaining the longstanding use of “last in, first out” as the accepted means for inventory accounting; a second calling on Congress to tackle lawsuit abuse; and a third supporting H.R. 2082, the Returning Heroes Tax Credit. There were also a number of TIA special events associated with the GTE, including an exclusive Tire Industry Honors reception along with TirePAC political action committee fundraising activities at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas hotel on Monday, October 31.

As Brandt noted, TIA has also long dedicated itself to world-class member education, and the 2011 GTE underscored this commitment by adding more seminar content, including a new Green @ Noon track of environmental sessions. The conferences featured best practices for the proper handling and recycling of all types of materials as well as expert panel discussions on embracing the green movement within the tire industry.

“We’re pleased with the collaborative efforts that continue to make the Global Tire Expo—Powered by TIA a boon to the tire industry as well as SEMA Show attendees,” said Chris Kersting, SEMA president and CEO. “By introducing performance industry buyers to tire industry exhibitors, we’ve created a unique business synergy that is benefitting both industry sectors.”