Marketers across the web are starting to ask a big question. Is Google Plus (G+) the future of social media?
Opinions are split. Let’s begin by taking a look at what the facts say. In 2013, Social Media Today published an article starting that Google Plus (G+) was the “one (social media platform) to watch.” While Facebook and Twitter had already established themselves as “go to” social media brands, G+ appeared to be a wild card in the mix as sources across the Internet contemplated just what Google’s social media experiment would accomplish.
Mashable pointed out that, according to research, although Google+ boasts 20 million users or more, they weren’t spending a lot of time on the site. Social Media Today went onto say, “It’s all well and good having masses of members, but it means nothing if they are hardly using the network.”
The Google Plus To Facebook Comparison
The question is: can we accurately compare Facebook to G+? It’s important to note that the G+ platform is different from the platforms of Facebook and Twitter. According to Social Media Today, the G+ platform is a “different type of platform, with a different target audience.” As such, a fine line exists between social media made for socializing and social media made for business.
The biggest Google Plus benefits are for the business users because this is the target audience. It isn’t your typical feed, where you see what type of cookies your sister baked and when. It instead allows you to connect powerfully with a world that could return your ROI—customers, employees, colleagues and peers. AND friends. (We’ll put them last. Not really, but you get the idea!)
Express Writers has seen a huge impact from Google Plus, and it’s the platform type that makes all the difference. We recently connected with Rand Fishkin in a Google Hangout. This wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for the existence of G+.
Will Google Plus overtake Facebook? One argument, extrapolated from the Social Media Today article we referenced at the outset, is that one cannot truly overtake the other because of the platform differences:
Facebook is an avenue for joking with your customers and running competitions or giveaway. It’s a place to build a “cult following.”
Twitter is prime real estate for getting personal and talking directly to your customers.
G+ is a professional landscape, geared toward connecting businesses and professionals with each other, and opening the door to engaging with individuals outside of your usual social circles.
It’s like comparing apples to oranges. But statistically, Google Plus just might have a shot at trumping Facebook.
Facebook’s Response to a G+ Social Media Takeover
Talk about Google’s social media experiment overtaking Facebook goes all the way back to 2010. Facebook published an interesting response to the question, “Are you worried Google will overtake Facebook?” In essence, Facebook pointed out that although Google had repeatedly attempted to build a viable social network, they were continually unsuccessful.
However, since the publication of this response, we’ve seen Google Plus grow in leaps and bounds. As of June 2013, G+ turned 2 years old. And according to Marketing Land, G+ “has seen both solid growth and criticism during these years.” G+ managed to hit 135 million “in stream” users, and although it trails behind the well-established Facebook network, it is undeniably growing and growing substantially.
G+ To Overtake Facebook by 2016?
As Google Plus turned 2 years old, a new study hit with a shocking prediction. Although the two platforms can be dramatically different in terms of target audience and content, a new study predicts a G+ takeover of Facebook by 2016. According to Real Wire, sharing of online content by Google+ users “is set to surpass sharing by Facebook users by February 2016 according to a new US study from search and social analytics specialist, Searchmetrics.”
According to the latest data published by eMarketer, Facebook is the most popular social network. Approximately 51 percent of global Internet users log into Facebook at least once per month. With 26 percent of Internet users’ worldwide, logging into G+, Google comes in second! There’s no doubt that with each passing year Google grows stronger and bigger. But is it enough to overtake the current social media giant?
According to the case study reviewed by Real Wire, “Facebook is growing from its extremely large base to something larger, and is therefore slower.” Although the blue mega network is continually growing, which is remarkable, the “data shows Google+ can catch it if growth rates for sharing activity continue as they are.” As of 2013, “the absolute number of shares for Facebook was over 29 billion compared with just over 2 billion plus ones for Google+.”
The News as Of 2014
In February of 2014, Hot Hardware published an update on Google Plus statistics, revealing that Google+ now has over 1 billion users and is building to overtake Facebook. Popular opinion has it that G+ is a ghost town, hardly frequented by members. Facebook, on the other hand, seems to be a constant buzz of activity.
Just why do people think of Google Plus as a ghost town? It’s primarily due to the platform and target audience difference. For folks who prefer the lighthearted interaction of who’s baking what and when, Facebook will immediately appear much more active than G+. But for businesses and professionals, G+ is bustling with professional activity promoting growth and connectivity with allies and the competition.
As of February 2014, Google Plus houses over 1 billion registered users. Facebook has 1.19 billion. Says Hot Hardware, “It’s true that Google+’s stats are somewhat artificially inflated due to Google integrating accounts for its various services. However, Courtney-Brown [at SiteProNews] says over 540 million Google+ users visit their profiles every month to share photos, update their statuses, post comments, and more. And that +1 button? It’s being clicked over 5 billion times a day across the web.”
Many of G+’s active users are younger, which makes the network an important resource if your business is looking to target the teen and young adult demographics. Google Plus is also highly mobile with 26 percent of mobile users accessing G+ for social reasons from their mobile devices, according Courtney-Brown.
Hot Hardware concludes that “like Facebook, Google+ is what you make of it.” And this is the hard truth of ALL social media platforms. They are only as useful as you make them, and you will only get out as much as you put in. With that in mind, how should you use G+?
How to Best Use G+
Google Plus can be overwhelming to use. The site itself is huge, and it seems like features are being added before you have a chance to master what’s already there—hey, it’s Google, what did we expect? Google is always innovating, and G+ is no exception. So, just how can you best use this social media platform? First, let’s establish its primary uses:
To meet new people
To connect with prospective customers
To deepen relationships with your consumers
Now, let’s talk about how you can use G+ productively. Lucky us, there are a lot of “geeks” out there who have discovered the ins and outs of this platform. And their efforts have resulted in this list of the top 10 tips for getting the most out of Google Plus:
1. Tag people. One of the best ways to get noticed on G+ is to tag people. Tagging can accomplish two things. First, it ensures the person tagged sees your post. Second, it can prompt them to interact with you. Every time you tag a person, they receive a notification (unless they’ve disabled notifications). Tagging is a prime means of being seen.
2. Set up Google Authorship. This is also known as using the “rel=author tag” on your blog. Thanks to Google Authorship, you will see your photo beside your published content in Google search results. Not only does this feature mesh perfectly with Google+, but it’s also extremely important for search engine optimization. You should use the rel=author tag on your guest posts as well.
3. Post on Community pages. This is a tip easily overlooked by a lot of G+ users. According to Blog Tyrant tips on Google+ “You don’t get a lot of traction from just posting ‘public’ unless you already have a lot of followers.” The trick to gaining traction is posting valuable content in relevant communities. Communities are populated by people who have topic specific interests. By posting valuable content to these communities, you can tap into an audience you might otherwise have not realized existed.
4. Cross post to G+. If a topic is trending as popular on Facebook and Twitter, cross post it to your G+ account for those followers who are exclusive to your Google Plus network. Don’t cross post everything, though. You’ll likely have some diehard followers who follow you across all three networks, and they won’t want to see the same content three times over all of the time. Instead, pick and choose the really prime content to cross post.
5. Use Google+ Events to launch products. Google+ Events will automatically e-mail your social circles about a scheduled launch while simultaneously adding the event to any user’s calendar who accepts the event invitation.
6. Use G+ to write long messages, and then tweet the link via Twitter. One of the most irritating things to most people is the character limit instituted by Twitter. One workaround is to use G+ to write a long message, and then tweet the link out via your Twitter account. Not only does this allow you to share more, but it lets your Twitter following know that you’re actively using Google Plus.
7. Incorporate keywords. In 2014, keyword optimization has seen some massive evolution in SEO. But keywords still have a place on G+. You can use keywords in your profile page, which is uniquely effective should you want to be associated with them for either your business or blog.
8. Use images. Images are a great way to generate greater attention. Some of the “geeks” recommend uploading the image separately because it comes up bigger and generates more attention. Create a new title, and subsequently tag the person from the original post for maximum exposure.
9. Use bold and italic text styles. One of the exciting features that sets Google Plus apart from other social media networks is the capability of posting with bold, italic and strike through text. These styles can make your posts stand out while also making them impactful. Take advantage of these capabilities. This image from Blog Tyrant shows you how:
10. Emphasize G+ on your website or blog. G+ is a massively growing social media platform, but a lot of people don’t realize just who is using it! You can show you’re actively using it by emphasizing it on your website or blog. Do this by displaying the +1 button on your posts and pages, and actively promoting your G+ profile link.
The Future of G+
Will G+ overtake Facebook? If we’re looking at sheer numbers, it’s very possibly that by 2016 (or earlier), G+ will statistically overtake the mega social network of Facebook. Fast growth is certainly in Google’s favor, and the resources at this companies disposal makes almost any goal they decide to set attainable.
Is G+ the future of social media? According to QUARTZ, “Google sincerely thinks that Google+ is the future of Google.” Unlike other social media platforms, Google isn’t solely dependent on social media to grow. Says QUARTZ, “Google is turning into a platform on which the rest of Google’s web service are evolving—something that has the effect of making people use Google+ by default.”
G+ is gearing up to be HUGE. QUARTZ reports that “in a revealing interview with the Indian business newspaper Mint, Steve Grove, a Google+ exec who inks deals with content providers and influential figures, makes it clear that this is just the beginning. Grove tells Mint that ‘the reason for that is that Google+ is kind of like the next version of Google’.”
There is no doubt that the future will be an adventurous battle for control of the number one spot in social media. Will Google Plus overtake Facebook and claim the spot? Time will tell.
We’ve shared this stat before, but it bears repeating. A Moz blog on Google Plus reported that “after Page Authority, a URL’s number of Google +1s is more highly correlated with search rankings than any other factor.” Translation: Your business needs to get social on Google+. Now.
As if you needed more numbers and facts to convince you of this social network’s power after that statement, we gathered a few anyway.
A Closer Look at Google+: The Numbers, the Demographics & the Unique Experience
The Power in Numbers
As of mid-2013, Business Insider revealed that Google+ had overtaken Twitter as the second most-used social media platform with “359 million active users.” Ignore the naysayers claiming Google+ is defunct. While it can’t quite boast Facebook’s billion, that’s quite a few users, folks.
The Personality & The Action
Demographics are always an important factor when deciding which social media platforms to really spend your marketing time on. And yes, as you recall, our advice is overwhelmingly, “Go for it!” when it comes to Google+. But we wanted to offer you a closer look at the type of people who help make up that 359 million-strong active community. Because it is also always important to know your audience, too.
Google+ users are:
predominantly male, with the menfolk making up 68% of the community
interested in more professional or tech-centered industries
mature but hip with an average age of ripe old 28
What are their primary social actions?
Sharing both longer, text-rich posts and shorter status updates
Sharing visually engaging posts like pictures and videos
Good news side note: if you’ve been following our advice to create killer content, you and your authoritative, industry-specific posts will fit right in.
One more thing, how do Google+ fans describe the experience?
In his second installment of his three-post series on Getting Around Google+, JR Raphael, Computer World contributing editor, describes the platform like this, Google+ “is a thriving and active community… who regularly comment on posts, follow links and reshare material — a presence that can be valuable both for personal and professional interaction.” Business Insider caught up with photographer Trey Ratcliff, who has claimed nearly five million followers with his picture-showcasing profile. Similarly, the Google+ pro states, “It’s nice to pop into Google+ to discover new things. Facebook is pretty good, but it’s harder to discover new people or have more in-depth discussions around passions.”
Bottom Line
Google+ has a captive audience in the millions
Google+ users are educated and ready to discuss niche topics
Google+ is great for business because it is less about high school sweethearts and your great aunt’s cats than great content. You don’t have to know everyone in your circles. That’s the beauty. In the end, Google+ is really about meeting people with common interests and having in-depth discussions.
Google+ 101: Important Terms
Ok, you know about the users, their behaviors, and their experience. You have everything you need to know to jump in? Right? Ok. If you’re unsure about how to get started, connect with the right people, and optimize your posts and profiles, we’re here to help with your Google+ success.
First things first, let’s define a few terms:
Stream: This is your Google+ homepage. Once you start connecting with folks – this is where you can go to see and interact with all the status updates and posts of the people you follow. Don’t worry, if you’ve used another social platform before, the stream’s functionality should feel pretty intuitive. Just start +1-ing your favorite content.
Location Page: With all the same features as a Google+ company page, the location page option is great for building local business. After you complete the necessary verification of your location via postcard or phone, and you’re ready to reap the benefits of Google+ with the added bonus of location-based marketing.
Creating your local Google+ page is a great way to find and network with people in your community.
You’ll also have access to the Google+ insights feature. Using this awesome tool, you’ll be able to see how many times your business came up in a local search, as well as how many comments and +1s your posts have received.
Circle: This is where Google+ gets interesting. Circles give you a way to network strategically. How? By allowing you to organize the people you follow and the people who follow you into different groups. This unique arrangement allows you to pick and choose which groups — circles — you want to share certain content with. Let’s break it down with an example, shall we?
You’re a computer repair shop owner. Congratulations! When you created a Google+ business page, you also created four default circles:
Team Members: You would add all of your repairmen, customer service reps and admin support staff to this circle. If you have any benefit updates, inclement weather announcements, or Christmas party details, you could share it here without cluttering your customer-focused content.
VIPs: If you want to listen closely to a tight knit group of top customers and colleagues, this would be the circle. We love how this group should also allow you to respond to any requests or complaints quickly and personally.
Customers: Collect customers here and share quality content to build your computer-repair authority. You can tap into the location-based marketing trend by creating separate circles of customers based on their neighborhood, state, or city.
Following: This is a general circle where you can group people who you don’t know, but who post interesting, industry-related content. In your case, you may want to rename this circle “Mac Experts” and create other similar circles like “Microsoft Gurus,” “Dell Repair” and more.
Caveat: If you share something with a specific circle, it will not show up in search engine results. You have to share publicly for full search engine benefits.
Extended Circles: Extended Circles are great because they get your content to people you aren’t directly connected with you through one of your own circles. So, say you share a “How To Debug Your Computer” infographic with your extended circles. Suddenly, people in your circles circles’ may see the content. Exciting, no? While this blurb has a ponderous amount of the word “circle,” rest assured that the further reach your content has the better. So, thank you, Google+!
+1s: This powerful social action is similar to a Facebook Like. When someone +1s one of your posts, people in their circles will see it on their streams and in their Google+ search. As an added bonus, each +1 creates another link to your site, directly boosting your organic search results.
Hangouts: This feature is a great chance to facilitate a little long distance networking. This highly social option will allow you to video chat with up to 10 other users at a time. You can even record a Google+ hangout with a colleague, industry expert or VIP customer and share the conversation later.
For even more key Google+ terms, check out this great post.
Tips for Google+ Success
So how do you put this basic knowledge to the test? Here are 4 tips for starting Google+ for your business. 1. Create Your Perfect Profile:
Custom Information: Step 1; make sure your profile sounds like it was written by a human for human. Keywords, especially industry and location-specific ones, are encouraged, but as always don’t bog down meaning to get one too many keywords in there. It is also key to give your followers good insight into what you’re all about and to help you build your Google Authorship. So use a similar tone as your website. When people go from your Google+ page to your site, you want it to be as seamless a transition as possible.
Vanity URL: Put professional polish on your profile by claiming your custom Google+ URL. This savvy move will elevate your page above inactive users and keep your presence fresh. It will also give you a pretty link to share in emails and on other social media, which will lead to…more followers!
Visually Engaging: Make sure you follow all imagery guidelines for your profile and cover image. Remember to use an image (your logo, perhaps) that will instantly brand your business and build recognition for your readers.
Correct Information: If you go the location page route, make sure to put in the extra effort and verify your address, hours, and contact information.
Connected: Finally, linking your webpage to your Google+ page will help you quickly connect with customers, and it will help Google determine your site’s relevancy – thus boosting your search engine results. You can also take the time to link to your other social media profiles to give people even more ways to follow and connect with your business.
2. Switch up Your Posting Habits:
Fresh Posts: If you’re not currently updating your Google+ page a couple times a day, you are probably not harnessing the community’s full potential. So our first posting tip should be easy: start posting.
Longer-Form Posts: While jokes and quick status updates are always welcome, longer, information-rich posts are also popular on Google+. So, it’s time to play around with this type of content. If you’re ready, make sure to add source links, an image, and an interesting angle (like a how-to article, perhaps?) for the best results.
Bigger Pictures: In an article on how to grow your Google engagement,Social Media examiner shares a cool pro tip from Guy Kawasa. Kawasa, who boasts over 5 million Google+ followers, suggests deleting Google’s default thumbnail and then replacing it with your own larger screenshot. With a host of image tools built in, Google+ is a great place to play with your images to create the most compelling post possible.
3. Build Engagement:
Hashtags: This handy little punctuation mark isn’t just for Twitter. Google+ also uses hashtags to organize hot conversation topics. So add a hashtag to your post to get your content in there with other trending posts. Once people find your posts through your hashtag, BOOM, you’ve got another follower to interact with.
Tagging: Get an industry leader’s attention by tagging them in your post. With the simple addition of a “+” or “@” and then their name, you’re bringing someone else into the conversation. How very chatty of you.
Ask Questions: When posting your own content or commenting on someone else’s, ask questions to keep the conversation going. Again, with Google+’s more discussion-based audience, chances are, someone will weigh in.
Community: As Google+ so eloquently puts it, Communities are groups where you can “Talk about the stuff you’re into with people who love it too.” HubSpot calls these pages “gold mines for engaging, learning, and sharing helpful, relevant resources.” So join a few communities to find like-minded people out there. Here’s the list, browse away!
Change Your Perspective: In an interview with Search Engine Watch, wildly successful Google+ user and blogger Fraser Cain of Universe Today talks about how to create a Google following and says businesses should shift their focus from “How many followers can I get” to “What can I do to make Google+ better?” Some examples of how he and his team did just that:
○ Adding Something Fresh and Fun: To give their Google+ followers something fun to connect with within Google+, they host a live stargazing hangout so people can check out what’s in the night sky. Yes, this will eventually lead people to their site, but they are also taking the time — and the risk — to build something within the social media. How could you apply a similar idea to your industry?
○ Making Introductions: He also helps people get to know each other by sharing his science-centric circle with people he finds posting about science. So take the time to curate niche circles for your industry and share the love! Introducing people to quality content is kind. They will notice and be more willing to interact with you in the future.
Optimization Tips:
Google Badge: Help people connect with you on Google+ directly from your site or blog by adding a Google+ badge.
+1 Button: Make it easy for people to +1 your content directly from your post. Again, this will help boost your SERP. Maybe they should call them +:)s ?
The best way to achieve Google+ success is to get out there and try it. Remember, it’s not about who you know, it’s about what you’re interested in. Find groups of like-minded fans and colleagues and get social!
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