Google+ is one of those funny old networks that you know you should be exploiting as a marketing channel, yet somehow feel reluctant to do so.

When it first appeared, Google+ was rather scornfully regarded by the masses as a poor Facebook wannabe, and, as such, it became somewhat fashionable to berate. However, a social network powered by the judge, jury and executioner of the internet itself was never going to be completely ignored – especially by marketers.

Indeed, last year it’s reported that 64% of content marketers used Google+ as a means to distribute content – so there’s obviously still a use for it.

In fact, Google+ is quite heavily populated by professionals. It’s not quite got the professional exclusivity status that the likes of LinkedIn has, but nonetheless it’s still used as quite a “serious” platform, that’s not particularly well placed for the sharing of silly photos of drunken nights out (and perhaps that’s why it’s not considered a first choice by the masses).

Even so, we’re told that the network has a total of more than half a billion active monthly users – which is still plenty of people to market to, even if it doesn’t quite reach the dizzying heights of Facebook, which is fast approaching the 2 billion mark.

So, how to market on this funny old network?

It’s unlikely that it’s going to go anywhere any time soon, and with its largely professional user-base, as reluctant as we may or may not be, we shouldn’t ignore its possibilities in 2016 and beyond.

So we’ve put together 3 tips for growing your audienvce on Google+ that will hopefully inspire you the revisit the network and bring you great success as we head towards the new year.

3 Quick Tips for Growing Your Google+ Audience

1.     Optimise Your Posts for Google Search

Google wants to promote its social network, and so it prioritises posts made by its members in search results, so long as you’re following them and they’re following you.

Let me explain. Let’s say you’re in the business of making and selling strawberry jam. When one of your Google+ followers performs a Google search about strawberry jam, it’s your posts with your profile pictures that turn up at the top of Google’s search results.

You are not afforded this search privilege and such high rankings when those who are not following you perform the same search – and so if you need encouragement to start growing your Google+ audience then surely this is it.

2.     Make the Most of Google+ Communities

Google+ communities, I fear, are a largely unexploited avenue for marketers. But they shouldn’t be.

They work in much the same way as LinkedIn Groups, but you have more flexibility. Indeed, you can use either your personal or business profile to create and participate in Google+ communities, and when you do so with the latter, the community will always be featured on your business page’s About tabs and Posts.

This will encourage all of your followers to join in with your community, giving you better chance of stamping your authority in your industry discussions on the network – especially since you will always be featured as the community creator.

You should also make the effort to participate in other communities as well, as the more exposure you can create for yourself the better, as is generally the case with all content and social media marketing.

3.     Use Google+ Collections

Google+ Collections is the network’s sort of Pinterest-esque feature that allows you to organise your Google+ content into various collections that are arranged by topic – sort of like Pinterest boards.

Indeed, much like Pinterest boards, if users don’t want to follow you, they still have the option of simply following one of your collections. So, for example, if you are in the catering trade, some Google+ users might only want to follow your vegetarian collections, rather than the real meat of your output.

If you’ve got a lot of output in heavy rotation – say, for example, you produce and possibly curate a lot of breaking news articles that cover a vast array of subjects – then it’s a big help to your followers if you organise these articles into collections for easy browsing and consumption. Indeed, this is a sure fire way of attracting lots more followers to your account, for it’s an ideal opportunity to position your brand as a font of all relevant industry information, neatly organised and easily searchable for all your dedicated fans.

So there are three quick tips for growing your Google+ audience and increasing your exposure on Google search. The network is by no means dead, and it’s unlikely that it will ever completely disappear – at least not in the near future. So, revisit this site, get to grips with these three simple tips and start growing your following today – only good things will come of it.