My Google Top Contributor Experience: First take-away - Empower then Improve

During my Google Top Contributor experience at the Top Contributor Summit 2013, I had the opportunity to participate in breakout sessions. One of my take-aways happened during my first breakout session when Community Manager +Natalie Villalobos encouraged us to empower then improve when brainstorming.

Basically, she suggested that for every one improvement we come up with for someone else's idea that we should be open to empowering others at least three times. So what does this look like? According to Natalie...

"When creating your next solution try thinking in terms of 10X not 10%. Incremental improvements won't get us to that world-toppling solution for a huge problem, so we gotta think big. REALLY BIG. In order to 10X your idea you might need to bring in a group of collaborators that will make your idea brighter as well as help you reconsider the details.

To help get the most out of the discussion tell your group to use the 2/3 ~ 1/3 principle. Coined as such by the Solve for X team at Google (solveforx.com), this principle allows for ideas to be built upon instead of destroyed. Have folks say "Yes, and..." to your ideas and to their own contributions 2/3 of the time. Everyone loves when their ideas are recognized and multiplied! For the other 1/3 of the time, try saying "Yes, but..." as a way of acknowledging their idea but with a dose of something new for them to reflect on.

No one likes it when their ideas are shot down or not considered, so try your best not to do that. This 2/3 1/3 principle thus is an opportunity to develop on ideas together - growing ideas to new heights simply by listening and saying yes."

How to Empower & Improve your Google+ Business Strategy

Applying this simple rule to your Google+ Business Strategy can help you structure your content to empower your target customer in a positive way. Just think, if they felt that you want to empower them more than improve them, it could help to build a solid relationship between you and them.

Some of the ways that you can Empower are...

• Create a survey and ask for their opinion.
• Establish a customer loyalty group who give you feedback regarding your products and services.
• Join a MasterMind group with like-minded business owner who can give you feedback.
• Ask actionable questions on your social media profiles that will encourage your connections to give you feedback.

A few ways to improve your Google+ Business Strategy...

• Know the keywords that you want to use to reach your target customers.
• Define who your target customer is and share content that appeals to them.
• Participate in Hangout by hosting them or joining hangouts that you are invited to.
• Connect with your peers or industry leaders by commenting on their post, +1ing them or resharing their post.
• Become known as a knowledgeable resource in your industry communities on Google+ by answering question or providing helpful tips. Find communities by visiting: http://smarturl.it/gplus-communities

Just know that the more you drawn in people to have a buy-in or opinion the more likely they are to support your products or services. How can you empower and improve today?