How Mashable is growing with Google+

Mashable is an independent news site devoted to digital culture and technology and was one of the first publishers to join Google+. Since joining, Mashable has been building their audience on the platform, growing Google+ into one of their top 10 sources of referral traffic. We chatted with Mashable�s Community Manager, Meghan Peters, about their first few months on Google+ and what�s made them so successful.


Mashable has used their Google+ page to expand their audience and deliver content in new ways. As Meghan says, �A lot of news organizations I think fall under the trap of just seeing social networks as broadcast platforms for their content... With Google+, I think that we have a lot of opportunity to take advantage of the cool features that the platform has, and really do more engaging projects rather than just posting our stories.�

For example, Mashable has been using Hangouts, a live multi-person video chat tool, to meet their audience face to face, creating deeper interactions. �I haven�t seen anything else like Hangouts in terms of crossing that barrier of really making a connection,� Meghan says. �I feel like it�s the deepest connection you could get.�

Hangouts has also connected Mashable employees with each other. With their headquarters in New York City and editors scattered across the U.S. and Europe, Mashable now uses Hangouts as a virtual meeting tool. The screenshare feature even helps Meghan train remote staffers who can follow along with her presentations.

Mashable has learned by doing, and that all started by creating a Google+ page. �We tried a lot of things early on, and were able to catch on quickly to what was working and what wasn�t, and have been able to shift our strategy pretty well from there,� Meghan says. Some of what she�s learned is below:

• Be active Meghan credits Mashable�s success in part to its strong and persistent presence on Google+. �We�re pretty hands-on. We have someone in there posting and moderating every day... which I think has been really important for us to maintain a presence there.�
• Add Google+ plugins When Mashable added the Google+ badge to their homepage, they increased their Google+ page audience by 38 percent. Mashable also uses the +1 button on articles and across the site to empower sharing to Google+.
• Co-create Another key to keeping Mashable�s fans engaged is its innovative approach to audience interaction and brand co-creation. A contest run via Mashable�s site to design their Google+ page sparked a wave of enthusiasm. As Meghan recalls, �We got really good feedback once we posted [the winning design]. A lot of people thought it was really cool � not only that the design was good-looking � but also that we did a contest like that and let people have the opportunity to participate.�

We think people can learn a lot from how Mashable has built a strong audience on Google+ through its use of in-depth posts, interactive Hangouts, and creative promotions, including the Google+ badge and +1 button. As Meghan notes, �Our community was very excited about this network, and we told them, let�s connect and let�s figure out...how we can both, you as a user and us as a brand, get the most out of it.�

Follow Mashable on Google+ and download the full case study here.

Posted by Rico Farmer, Product Marketing Manager

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