There’s been a lot of talk this year about the rise of
Google+ as a social network. It is now the second largest, behind only
Facebook. Experts predict that by May 2016, it will overtake Facebook in the
social sharing kingdom – a staggering consideration when you think it currently
accounts for a measly 2% of the global sharing (onlinemediadirect.co.uk).
What’s so great about Google+ then? It seems that almost
nobody I know personally uses it as a social network.
Well, having done lots of research on the platform for work,
it appears to me to be one of the most underrated options out there for
marketers and brands.
It pins together a lot of the features of its competitors
(and tweaking them, it is worth adding) and adds its own unique features to
create a user experience that is actually pretty fantastic.
Of course, there’s also the additional feature of Hangouts,
a video platform in which, from a marketing perspective, a company can hold
live Q&As or open forums to gather opinions.
The simple fact, ladies and gentlemen, is that Google+
simply just isn’t big in this country. Across the pond, its fantastic potential
is being realised and we need to follow suit and get on there before it becomes
the “thing” that every business automatically does.
Remember, also, that with Google+, you can link all Google
products under one account, a rather neat move by the online giant. There just
seems to be something really smooth about the way you don’t have to log in to
each account and can share your thoughts from Youtube automatically on G+.
“Circles” is also a slick way of grouping your contacts and
allows you to ensure that your content is seen by a specific group, rather than
a generic audience. This allows you to filter which content goes where,
maximising the relevance of your content to its audience.
Facebook, of course, is still the biggest platform. The
focus of my research for work has been kind of “Facebook vs Google+.” My
perspective? Why not Facebook AND Google+?
There’s certainly the attitude that “Facebook is dying” or
that it is past its peak. Be that as it may, it is still by far the largest
platform and has a rather frightening dominance in the social media realm. This
simply can’t be ignored, whether the company be big or small, private or public
sector.
So, which should you be on, if you HAD to choose just one? Both
platforms have their benefits and their drawbacks and it all really does depend
on what you want out of social media. Perhaps this a rather sketchy analogy, but
allow me to refer you to my main man José Mourinho, following criticism from
his Man City
counterpart that Chelsea
were overspending. He said that Man City were building a team for now, to succeed whereas
Chelsea were
building a team for long term success in the future, even if it meant failure
in the immediate term.
My opinion? Man
City is Facebook, where
the audience are now. But if you want to
get ahead of the game and build a social media platform that is yet to
establish itself, you need to get on Google+ (and also start supporting Chelsea . Just saying).
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