Social media marketing is all abuzz about Twitter and Facebook, leaving the often ridiculed Google + in last place. Here is a brief description of what it is.
“Google+, a social network operated by Google, Inc., launched on June 28th, 2011 with integrations across a number of Google products, including Buzz and Profiles.
One key element of Google+ is a focus on targeted sharing within subsets of your social group, which are what Google calls Circles. Circles are simply small groups of people that you can share to, each with names like friends, family, classmates and co-workers.
Another feature that’s widely discussed is “Hangouts,” Google’s new group chat feature. Instead of directly asking a friend to join a group chat, users instead click “start a hangout” and they’re instantly in a video chatroom alone. At the same time, a message goes out to their social circles, letting them know that their friend is “hanging out.” Friends can then join the hangout as long as they have been placed in a circle that was invited by the person who created the Hangout.” (Freebase)
Though a lot of people are not going to jump the bandwagon, there are reasons why Google + will be good for social media marketing efforts. Here are a few reasons why.
Easier Information Dissemination
There are some bits of news that you most likely want to share with all your followers or contacts but there are times when what you want to say may be of good use to just some of them. This is one way Google + has made it easier for users to segregate their contacts and categorize them.
It Is User-Friendly
Do you remember how flustered and frustrated people got when Facebook rolled out big changes to their interface? Since then, they have been making changes to their site that people have claimed made their lives much more complicated. With Google +, things are kept straightforward. It prevents unnecessary clutter and does not require its users to sift through a virtual avalanche to view what they need. Also, Google + is ad-free.
People Can Hangout
This has been a mainstay in Google + but it can still be said that it is one of the best way to have video chats with a designated circle of people. It takes a bit of technical know-how but is great for meetings when people cannot be together physically.
It Features Communities
This is like the Groups function of LinkedIn or Facebook and a great way to get people with shared interest together under one roof, so to speak.
It is still Google and that is already worth something
It may sound like nepotism of sorts but you must remember that Google is the top search engine in the world and Google + was created by the geniuses behind Google Search. It goes without saying that content that is featured on Google + will show up quickly, and on a more regular basis than other social media platforms. Its users may not spend a lot of time on the page but the fact that the content is on a Google page, your SEO campaign will most likely skyrocket with minimal effort.
Since it is Google’s social media network, it is integrated with Google Search. People with Google + accounts can check to see if someone in their circle has shared any search result. It works the same way recommendations do and are more likely to be read by others since they see that others who have the same interests have done the same. Likewise, Google + now has integrated their social networking service with Google News. Aside from seeing their updates on their actual Google + pages, they can see updates as they appear on their Google News page.