Google Plus for Your Process Serving Firm

• August 20, 2012
• by Kimberly Faber

If you’re a process server, you’re probably already on one of the many social networks on the web. Social media is becoming a key tool for marketing, education, learning, networking with colleagues and clients, and even skip tracing and conducting people locates. With Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Yahoo, there are already a lot of channels to navigate, but Google’s social network, Google Plus, has unique features and benefits that make it an important network for process servers to join.

Why should I join Google Plus?

Google Plus is different than other social media sites in its unique features like Hangouts and Circles as well as through benefits like personal branding and local search optimization. A clean and easy-to-use interface makes navigating profiles and posting information easy, and with an educated and tech-savvy user base, Google Plus is already gaining popularity within the industry.

Some of the features and benefits include:

Hangouts

Google Plus Hangouts are a great tool for connecting with people in other areas. Hangouts are online video chats that can include up to 10 people and have options for broadcasting your hangout live, screen sharing, YoutTube integration and more. This makes it easy to connect, whether it’s for a meeting, to discuss industry news, or to bring together process servers from across the country to discuss hot topics and law changes.

Circles

One of the best features in G+ is the creation of circles. Rather than adding a friend, becoming a fan, or following a feed, when you connect with someone on Google Plus you add them to a circle. Essentially, you can compartmentalize your connections into different groups, so you can have separate circles for clients, colleagues, friends, employees, and any other groups. This means that when you share a post you have the ability to make it public or only share it with a specific circle. 

For process servers, having circles means that you can discuss software and industry issues with colleagues without your clients seeing, and conversely offer deals to your clients that your competitors won’t see. Additionally, if you want to share photos of your vacation with family and friends, you can do so without those post overlapping into your professional life. In short, it’s a great way to manage your professional and personal identities separately. You can also filter your home feed too see what's happening within each circle.

Personal profiles and business pages

Much like personal profiles and fan pages on Facebook, Google Plus allows you to run a professional business page through your personal profile. Not only does this provide your business with additional branding and exposure, but it also has benefits within Google’s search results. 

How to set up your account and a page for your business

Here’s a quick video that walks you through how to set up a personal Google Plus account and a page for your business:

First, head to Google and click the +You link in the top left-hand corner. On the next page, click Sign up. After filling out a registration form, you will be prompted to upload a profile photo and continue to your profile. From there you can add people to your circles, hangout, share links and stories, and set up a page for your process serving firm.

To set up a page, click More on the bottom left side of your profile and select Pages. After that, select Create New Page and Local Business or Place. You will be prompted to input your company phone number, which will bring up your local search profile information to verify. Once you’ve verified your address, select Professional Service from the Category drop-down menu, check the agree to Terms and Conditions box, and select Create. Congratulations, you now have a personal Google Plus profile as well as a business page!

Get on the list of process servers on Google Plus!

ServeNow is compiling a list of process servers on Google Plus. Add ServeNow to your circles to let us know you’d like to be included on the list.

Connect with ServeNow on Google Plus!