There is now a way to automatically post to Google+. When Google+ first started almost 2 years ago, there were hardly any tools to help you manage it along with your other social networks like Twitter or Facebook. Scheduling posts or automatically posting your blog’s RSS feed was impossible with Google+. They explicitly made it not work. I’m not sure what’s changed since then, but there is now a way.
I manage multiple business social media accounts and I was looking for a way to get our blogs automatically posted to the business Google+ pages. There are a few workarounds out there, but none were easy or free. That was until I found HootSuite. I’ve used their platform before and was excited to see this new feature. I haven’t seen them push this feature or make it easy to understand, but once its setup, everything works beautifully.
They offer paid accounts, but a free one should satisfy most people’s needs. The free account does limit you to 2 RSS feeds, so if you need more sources than that, you’ll need a paid account or multiple free ones.
Facebook and Other RSS Feeds
You can feed any RSS feed to Hootsuite. If you grab your Facebook status RSS feed or Twitter RSS feed, you can auto-post to Google+.
For Facebook status RSS feeds, you can try this app: http://fbrss.com/
For Twitter RSS feeds, use this URL and replace the USERNAME at the end: https://api.twitter.com/1/statuses/user_timeline.rss?screen_name=USERNAME
Step 1 – Sign up for HootSuite
You can create a new account or use an existing Google, Yahoo, myopenID, mixi, or openID account.
If you’re wanting to try a pro account that allows for unlimited RSS feeds and Google+ accounts, you can try it for free for 30 days: Hootsuite Free 30 Day Trial
Step 2 – Authorize Google+ Account
You must already be signed in to the Google account you’re looking to feed. Go to “Settings > RSS/Atom”. Click on the “+” button and then the “Network to send feed items to” section. Choose Google+ as the social network you’re going to add and then “Connect with Google+”. Allow access for HootSuite to access your Google account.
Step 3 – Import Google+ Page
Click on the Google+ page you want to import and click “Finish Importing”
Step 4 – Add Feed
Go back to “Settings > RSS/Atom” and click the “+” button. Type in the URL of your feed. Make sure to include “http://” on the front of the URL. Click the “Network to send feed items to:” and choose the Google+ page you already added. Choose the appropriate settings and choose “Save Feed”.
That’s it! You’re RSS feed from your blog, Facebook, or other source will auto-populate posts on your Google+ page.
Note that this only works for posting to a Google+ Page, not a personal profile.