It’s hard to say what the relative positions of Facebook and Google Plus will be in the years to come, but it’s clear that one of Google Plus’s key advantages over Facebook et al concerning video is that Google Plus and YouTube share a corporate parent. You’ll notice that advantage when you start sharing a video on Google Plus.
Sharing a video on Google Plus is easy
If you’re going to be sharing a video on Google Plus, you want to make sure it’s on YouTube first. However, you probably want to make sure it’s on YouTube in any case, because the site is so popular. We also favor YouTube because it allows for easy embedding in WordPress blog posts, and as we’ll talk about in a minute, the equation of blog posts + YouTube works very well with Google Plus.
When you go to Google Plus, you’ll see a box like this:
The option to share a video is right there waiting for you. If you click “Video” you’ll see a screen that makes it easy to find and share your YouTube video.
If you want to contextualize your video in a blog post, sharing both on Google Plus works very smoothly—more so, we would say, than sharing a video on other social media.
Sharing a video and a blog post on Google Plus
Recently we created a video for a post about embedding a video in a pdf. We wanted the pdf to actually animate on our blog, as it would if we were submitting the pdf by itself.
When we posted the blog to Facebook, we posted a link, and the results are certainly pleasing. However, on Google Plus, we were able to post the video, which will play directly in Google Plus, and the link to the blog. It’s a question of this:
vs. this:
Both are nice, but we’d argue that being able to play the video directly in Google Plus made that share a little bit more shareable. Here’s how it works to post the video and the post to Google Plus:
1. Get the video’s URL from YouTube. You’ve probably used this URL already to embed the video in your blog post.
2. On Google Plus, select Video, Enter a URL, and paste the YouTube URL into the box.
3. Click “Add video.”
4. Add the link to the blog post where you’ve posted the video to the text of your post, and text about your post and video that will interest your audience.
Google Plus has other advantages
Of course, the relationship between Google Plus and Google itself may be just as important as its relationship with YouTube. Janrain.com reported that Google Plus has a big slice of social media logins. We’re also seeing signs on our own analytics blog post links on our Google Plus account, including those with video, turn up on Google searches, and thereby drive traffic to our site.
Are you starting to use Google Plus as actively as any other social media? Let us know in the comments!
If MiniMatters can help you with business video, fundraising video, association video, or other video production needs, we’d love to provide an estimate through our online form, talk with you at 301-339-0339, or communicate via email at [email protected]. We serve associations, foundations, nonprofits, and businesses primarily in Washington, DC, Maryland, and northern Virginia.
The option to share a video is right there waiting for you. If you click “Video” you’ll see a screen that makes it easy to find and share your YouTube video.
If you want to contextualize your video in a blog post, sharing both on Google Plus works very smoothly—more so, we would say, than sharing a video on other social media.
vs. this:
Both are nice, but we’d argue that being able to play the video directly in Google Plus made that share a little bit more shareable. Here’s how it works to post the video and the post to Google Plus:
1. Get the video’s URL from YouTube. You’ve probably used this URL already to embed the video in your 
blog post.
2. On Google Plus, select Video, Enter a URL, and paste the YouTube URL into the box.
3. Click “Add video.”
4. Add the link to the blog post where you’ve posted the video to the text of your post, and text about your post and video that will interest your audience.
If MiniMatters can help you with business video, fundraising video, association video, or other video production needs, we’d love to provide an estimate through our online form, talk with you at 301-339-0339, or communicate via email at [email protected]. We serve associations, foundations, nonprofits, and businesses primarily in Washington, DC, Maryland, and northern Virginia.