Google+ to Facebook & Twitter

Below you will find an easy means to setup a system so that when you post to Google+ it will automatically update both Facebook and Twitter.


For example:
Here's a post I made on Google+...and screencaps of the updates it posted to Facebook and Twitter:

Original post on Google+

Same Google+ post sent automatically to Facebook profile

same Google+ post sent to Twitter

Background:

One of the first complaints I had about Google+ was that it meant having to manually input items multiple times as Google+ was isolated from the other social sites. Facebook and Twitter, despite competing in the same general social space, played nice and allowed one to easily sync their accounts: you update in Twitter, it can can automatically update your Facebook page (and vice-versa).

But with Google+, that isn't the case.

They do give you the option to "share" on Facebook and Twitter, which most of time would be enough.

But if you're anything like me, you might not want that manual effort each time and instead want it done automatically.

Luckily, there are some ways to make your life easier, freeing you from having to copy/paste across multiple platforms.



Setup Google+ to Automatically Post to Facebook, Twitter, etc:

Step 1: Get Your Google+ ID Number
Goto your Google+ profile and retrieve your ID number. When you open Google+ via your browser, you should land on your "home" page if you are logged in. If you need to, login, and you'll be on your "home" page.

Click on you profile link, which will appear next to your profile image.

You should now be taken to a page with your profile ID number.

For instance, my profile URL is https://plus.google.com/108882330602277495551 so my profile ID number is https://plus.google.com/108882330602277495551


Step 2: Creating your Google+ RSS Feed
Using a nifty little piece of code from Plusfeed, simply copy this url address below:

http://plusfeed.appspot.com/

Take that code, http://plusfeed.appspot.com/, and at the end, append your Google+ ID number. So adding my Google+ ID number, it would look like this:

http://plusfeed.appspot.com/108882330602277495551

You can give the link a click and you'll see it's an RSS feed for my Google+ profile.


Step 4: Syndicate your RSS Feed
The next step is to setup a means to take your Google+ RSS feed to automatically update Facebook and Twitter.

There are a few ways of doing this. You can use your custom Google+ profile RSS feed and build out a more detailed feed using FeedBurner. In fact, since Feedburner is a Google property, you can signup or login using your Google account, the same one for your Google+ profile.

So the easiest step here is to visit http://feedburner.google.com and create your feed. When you enter the page, you'll see a section where you simply need to paste your Google+ RSS url and click "next".

Upon clicking "next", you'll then be taken to a page where you can give the feed a unique name, something like "Your-Name-Google-Feed".

As you'll see, Feedburner adds a few bells and whistles right away.
You can view my Google+ RSS feed at http://feeds.feedburner.com/GooglePlus-MattPeloquin
and compare it to the code-only display from the original posted above via the plusfeed.appspot.com url.


Step 4B - Optional Step - Socialize via Feedburner:
If you have your Facebook and Twitter accounts set to sync already, then you are just about done right here. After creating your Feedburner feed, you'll be taken to your Feedburner setting page.

From here, you can click on the "Publicize" tab and on the left column, you'll then find an option called "Socialize".

Just click on "Socialize" and it will take you to a page where you can add your Twitter account.

So if you have your Twitter and Facebook accounts already synced up via the Facebook App for Twitter, then you're all set.

Going forward:
1) Each time you post to Google+, it will
2) update your Feedburner RSS feed, which will
3) update your Twitter account, which will
4) update your Facebook profile.

What you will get will be the 1st 140 characters of your Google+ post sent to Twitter and a 140 character, text-only, identical post on Facebook.


But if you're looking for more options in sources your Google+ posts will cross-post to, or more display options such as thumbnails in your automatic Facebook posts or for your posts to appear on a Facebook Page, then go ahead to Step 5.


Step 5: Setup Feedburner Feed to Dlvr.it

The final step here is to now connect your Feedburner feed with another free service, Dlvr.it.
Dlvr.it goes beyond what Feedburner does for syndication and gives you many more options.

So visit http://dlvr.it/ and signup.

You'll then be taken to a page of your feeds...which you'll have none.

Click "Add Route" and paste your Feedburner URL. For this example, I needed to only paste my url, http://feeds.feedburner.com/GooglePlus-MattPeloquin and click submit.

There are some options there that you can use if you feel the need, but it is fine as is.

Next, you'll need to add "Destinations".

Click on "Destinations" and select your options.

For the process shown in the images at the top of this article, the user would need to chose "Facebook". You'd then need to connect Facebook to your new Dlvr.it account and verify it. If you are already logged into Facebook in another window, it's as simple as a a couple clicks.

If you have Facebook pages connected to the Facebook account as well, beyond only your profile, you will be given the option to choose them as well.

Once complete, you save, and can add another "Destination".

Following the same process as with Facebook, you can choose "Twitter". It's just as simple, just as fast.

You'll also find options for Google Buzz, Myspace and other social platforms.






So there you have it.

Now when you post to Google+, it will update your Twitter and Facebook profile or page. Using the full 5 steps, your Facebook profile will include a thumbnail and all the correct links. It's not an exact science though. Note that in the coming weeks, Google+ will have "brand" pages. So until the specifics are known as to how they will work, it's unknown if it will be as simple as having multiple Google+ brand pages to a single Google+ user. Google+ might also go ahead an create an easier system for automatically sharing across all social platforms. And since this system relies 100% on the Plusfeed.Appspot.com code, this system will work only as long as that service is running. If they go dark (or get blocked), the automatic cross posting is dead.