The confusion stems from the fact that several years into its existence, Google+ has yet to establish a clear identity—a killer value proposition—that a majority of marketers (or users for that matter) can understand. Yes, it has a nice design. Yes, it is exceedingly cool that you can host no-cost video chats with multiple people thanks to its Google Hangouts feature. But seeing as Facebook has exponentially more users and engagement, we can legitimately ask:
Why do we need another social network in our lives?
Google’s SVP of Engineering, Vic Gundotra (@VicGundotra), answers this question by stating simply:
“Google+ is Google.”2
Vic’s point is that Google+ is not a standalone social network, but rather the next stage in Google’s evolution as a whole—Google 2.0, if you will. Viewed in this fashion, Google+ is important to marketers in a number of ways that are significantly different than Facebook:
1. Search influence. As search industry veteran Danny Sullivan (@DannySullivan) states, “Being on Google+ means you’ll rank better on Google.”3 Google+ avatars appear next to search results from authors with linked Google+ accounts. This makes such listings more prominent and boosts CTR. Also, when you are logged into a Google product, your Google+ connections influence the order of the results displayed.
2. Google+Sign-In. Facebook pioneered social sign-in as a convenience for consumers sick of remembering different passwords. Google+ takes things further, rewarding sites that offer its social sign-in option with greater search visibility.4
3. Content Recommendations. Google uses +1s and shares to determine content recommendations for users across multiple devices and platforms (Google, Google+, YouTube, etc.).5
4. Community Building. With its strong adoption among developers, Google+ is a valuable source of interaction within tech communities. In fact, open source technology provider Red Hat (@RedHatNews), counts Google+ as its most important social network.6
5. Google+ Hangouts. This free, multi-user video chat feature was made famous by its commercial featuring The Muppets (@MuppetsStudio), but marketers are using it as a way to create video interviews, online coaching, launch presentations, and more.7
If you’re sensing a trend here, you’re not alone. Google is using is market power in search (Google), video (YouTube), and mobile (Android) to increase Google+ adoption. This is why your company may not be able to ignore Google+, even though it adds “one more thing” to your list of responsibilities. While the proprietary FOLLOWERS you can build with Google+ right now may be of limited value, their value as AMPLIFIERS who help you capture more SEEKERS is undeniable.
If for nothing else than the potential growth in SEEKERS, Google+ is a Proprietary Audience Development channel worth evaluating for your company. It may not sound fair to players like Facebook that built their user base without benefit of the world’s biggest search engine, video streaming site, webmail client, and mobile operating system—but all’s fair in love and marketing.
A Search Insider’s Take on Google+
Rand Fishkin (@randfish) knows a thing or two about Google. As CEO and founder of Moz (@Moz), he has been analyzing the search giant for years in order to provide advice to marketers on how to improve content, links, and overall SEO.
When it comes to Google+, he’s active—but in a manner more akin to LinkedIn than Facebook. Because Google+ draws a tech-savvy audience, Rand finds it a great place to find AMPLIFIERS for Moz content as well as direct access to INFLUENCERS. Moreover, because of the high signal-to-noise ratio, he sees a CTR on Google+ around two times that of his Twitter FOLLOWERS.8
At present, Rand’s top five marketing tactics for Moz are: website, blog, email, Twitter, and Google+ (with Facebook narrowly missing the cut). As for whether Google+ will move up in importance in the coming years, Rand just smiles. He knows better than to bet against Google.
SNAPSHOT: GOOGLE+
LAUNCHED: June 28, 2011
PROPRIETARY AUDIENCES: FOLLOWERS as well as SEEKERS and AMPLIFIERS.
EFFORT REQUIRED: Moderate to high depending on volume of content production.
WHO OWNS THE DATA: Users own their content, but grant Google an unlimited license to use it. FOLLOWERS are yours, but not directly portable to other channels.
USERS WORLDWIDE: Est. 343 million active users as of December 2012.9 However, other stats suggest only 135 million active users out of 500 million accounts.10
SKILLS REQUIRED: Copywriting, authenticity, responsiveness, modest coding/design.
GATEKEEPERS: Google and users.
STRENGTHS: Free to create company page, post updates, build audiences, and interact with consumers. Near frictionless sharing through ubiquity of “+1s,” Comment and share features both within Google properties and via social widgets installed on websites across the Web.