Google is no stranger to the world of social networking. It has tried (and unfortunately failed) at least nine times in the past to develop successful social networking sites. Despite its numerous failed attempts, Google refuses to stay down.
In 2011 the company launched Google+ (also known as Google Plus and G+), a multilingual social networking and identity service. Many have already written off Google+, with some even calling it “Google’s version of Facebook”, but it is still going strong with over 500-million users of which 135-million are active daily.
Even though Google+ seems to combine elements of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, it has a whole lot more to offer than just social networking.
So what exactly is Google+?
Google+ borrows its core elements from Facebook (enabling users to post detailed status updates which will show up in other users’ news feeds) and Twitter (users can follow anyone they want to without having to wait for the target to accept a “friend” request). But the site is not all made up of borrowed parts, and it has its own unique features – such as circles.
Circles are a smart way to organise personal connections and include the option of choosing with whom you can share pictures, updates and news. It’s one of the most customisable social media audience separation tool, and it also ensures better privacy.
More than just a social network, Google+ is also a recommendations engine that’s being integrated into the search results of the world’s most popular search engine: Google, of course.
With the ability to connect your Google+ account to other Google products such as YouTube, Blogs, Google Maps, Images and more, why wouldn’t you want a Google+ account?
Google+ is good for business
Google+ is not just a great information and social networking site; it also has amazing benefits for businesses. Having a Google+ business page can do wonders for your company, benefiting both consumers and businesses.
Here are a few main reasons why Google+ is the bee’s knees for business:
Firstly, using a Google+ business page will naturally get you indexed into Google’s search results, helping more people find your business faster. And since millions of people already use Google products, having a Google+ business page makes business sense.
Secondly, with features like hangouts and circles, businesses can build stronger relationships with their customers.
Hosting hangouts – which allow videoconferencing for up to 10 people, and broadcasting using live streaming – enables businesses to interact with consumers on an unprecedented level and increase brand loyalty. Talk Radio 702 very successfully used a hangout recently, during its coverage of athlete Oscar Pistorius’ bail application.
The circles feature means you can segment your consumers in order to share relevant information and target specific information that benefits chosen consumers, which helps build your brand.
Thirdly, Google+ offers a clean experience. Internet users are very quick to abandon social networks and websites that are too complicated to understand, and too cluttered for them to know what’s going on.
Lastly, the Authorship feature gives you the ability to claim authored content produced anywhere on the Web. Author Rank is another useful feature and rates your credibility as an author according to how many articles and blogs you have written, as well as on the richness of the content you produce. The higher your ranking, the more often you’ll appear in the relevant search results.
One of our clients, South African Tourism, has already jumped on board the Google+ bandwagon.
Project manager Gail Cameron says South African Tourism wants to get a head start and become one of the first South African companies to utilise (and perfect) Google+. Since the platform is still in its early stages, businesses that start building a Google+ following now will earn greater Google search authority in the long run.
For a company that aims to attract the international market, Google+ has provided South African Tourism with a perfect platform with which to engage with people worldwide.
Google+ has the potential to become the number one social networking and information-sharing platform in the world, especially since it has the power of Google behind it. Considering how many users it has gained since first being launched about two years ago, it should be safe to say by now that the future of Google+ is looking bright.