When Google+ launched in 2011 tens of thousands coveted the invitations needed to sign up and then found the experience akin to turning up at a nightclub too early. There wasn't much going on, it was all too bright and sparse and the lack of friendly faces meant people created accounts and abandon them soon after. To date millions of people have created and abandoned accounts with the intention of returning once the party gets started. The good news is that the party is well and truly underway, and what a fun party it is!
As a digital marketer and a fan of social media I had been interested in Google+ and its possibilities for a while. Just like any social media platform a little time is needed to understand its inner workings fully, but after taking that time, I can truly say I think I’ve found my social media spiritual home. Google + has certainly attracted more of a crowd since 2011, and although it operates sufficiently differently from Facebook for it not to fill up with holiday and food pictures, the marginally more tech-savvy are likely to jump from Facebook to Google+ in 2014. Why? It is beautiful, has extreme functionality for a social network, it can be closed or open dependent on how ‘public’ users want content to be, and users are completely in control of the content they share. This is a crucial difference from Facebook in light of recent changes which have restricted visible content, particularly posts from businesses. Google+’s Hangouts on air - similar to Skype - is connected to YouTube has impressive flexibility (both incredibly insightful and fun items like snow or twinkly lights for images) allowing for groups of people to connect, live stream or watch later or have a public broadcast. Another liberating factor is the content flexibility – unlike the limiting 140 characters of Twitter, your post lengths are not restricted (or 100,000 characters for the pedants ).
So, I hear you ask – what can I gain from being visible on Google+? Once you have familiarised yourself with how it works – and there are no shortcuts to do this in an hour – there are many benefits to be gained. As getting your content recognised and shared requires authentic circle building – an earning of online ‘respect’ if you like, nothing can be bought, faked or embellished on Google+. Gaining the ear of an audience as a respected thought leader will take time, but once an individual or business has built their own Google+ following there are huge possibilities for its use to build respect and have a voice - akin to combination of LinkedIn and Twitter, but far more functional.
So what’s the knock-on business impact? As Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt admitted the search engine giant’s biggest mistake had been “failing to anticipate the rise of the social networking phenomenon ”, now it is on board, it is going to make sure its social media platform really counts – especially following the disastrous Google Buzz which flopped in 2010. In the wake of Google’s content and link improving algorithms Panda, Penguin and Hummingbird , Google+ has been instrumental in verifying authorship and publisher status – a central element of its mission for facilitating semantic search and eliminating spammer manipulation of search results.
In addition to authenticating authorship and publisher status, Google+ is also able to gather clear signals about how much engagement content receives; is it being shared, +1’d (Google+’s ‘like’ or endorsement). These signals are collected by Google, and in the spirit of Google’s mission to improve content and search, will almost certainly form a strong component of its analysis of social signals in the future. Not only does this mean that businesses and individuals would be well advised to get up to speed with Google+ to help improve their position in search results, but also the growing integration of Google+ with platforms such as YouTube and the increasing pressure towards having a Gmail or Google Chrome account means Google is gathering more information than ever about users to assist with accurate search result.
In the ongoing mission to improve traffic through search results, businesses should be employing every tool at their disposal to achieve this. Quality content including infographics, online tools, digital apps, guides and whitepapers is key, as is ensuring sites are optimised for multiple platforms including mobile and tablet, and building real traction with social media. Social media can help create two way engagement with customers, prospects and influencers, and feedback gained can provide useful inspiration for quality content. Google+ especially looks set to have a huge impact – even more than its social media peers – in improving traffic for those that use it effectively. I firmly believe that all the signals point to 2014 as the year that Google + makes its impact felt, and those that neglect to join the party early enough will find themselves out in the cold.
By Kath Dawson, Creative Director at Strategy Digital.
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