What is Google+?

Google+ is a social network much like Facebook. Once launched, users’ Google Profile will become their Google+ page, with the addition of an activity stream where users share photos, videos, links or their location with friends, family and colleagues. 

 

Unlike Facebook’s system of adding friends or building relationships through a business page and gathering “likes,” the Google+ system allows users to create “circles,” where participants can drag and drop contacts into categorized groups such as family, friends, business contacts and customers. You can create and manage as many circles as you wish, along with posting to and viewing the activity streams within those circles individually.

 

I find this a pleasant escape from the methods that Facebook, MySpace and Twitter use, as the activity streams are much more organized and focused according to the circles created. In addition, the streams are not cluttered with notifications such as “Bob just bought a cow in Farmville” or “Jane answered a question about you playing Friend Quiz.” The streams in Google+ are narrowed down to online activity and sharing between users within your circles, allowing users to focus on content and target multiple audiences.

 

Profiles on Google+ are similar to those on other social networking sites, but one main difference is in the way the site relays information. For example, Google+ lets users organize contacts in “circles” to separate personal and professional contacts. The author sees this as an advantage because activity streams are said to be more focused and organized.

Photos and group video chat

Much like other social networks, a photo tab takes a user to all of the photos they have shared or have been tagged in. In addition, Google+ includes an image editor complete with photo effects, privacy options and sharing features. And, on the heels of Facebook’s recent launch of their video chat feature, Google+ has already integrated this capability into their network. This function allows participants to chat with an optional video feed as well as to create “Hangouts” that allow up to 10 users to join in on any conversation. 

 

I see this as a huge opportunity for marketing to groups of people. For example, online tutorials, demos or even product Q&A could reach out to a targeted audience as if they were visiting your booth at a trade show. And who knows how to present products and services along with closing a sale better than you?

 

Sparks and +1 buttons

To encourage sharing, Google has added a recommendation feature called “Sparks” and “+1 buttons.” You may have noticed that +1 buttons are now appearing in Google’s search results as well as on web pages and blogs, usually grouping the button beside other sharing functions such as the Facebook “Like” button and the “Tweet This” feature for Twitter. When a user presses the +1 button, that action goes viral in the Google+ community through users’ circles as well as their Sparks. 

 

Creating a Spark generates a collection of articles, videos, photos and other content grouped by interest. For example, a “T-shirts” Spark will have a listing of recent and relevant content for that topic based on information from Google Search as well as what is being shared through Google+ and through the new +1 buttons.

 

Be sure to add the +1 button to business websites and blogs as soon as possible. Through these features, sharing and distributing your own content becomes not only a viral method of exposure, but one that can be focused on any target market and without the need for gaining likes, friends or followers as other social networks require. Also, dropping your products, services and announcements into the Google stream through Sparks will reach an audience much further than your own circles, reaching as many Google+ users who share the same interest. It’s almost as if you’re dropping your content right into the search results page—a big plus one for Google on that!

 

Summary

While the social-networking giants duke it out for the title belt, the differences in the users’ experiences will likely result in some interesting online activity when it comes down to where your target market might wind up. My mother, for example, joined Facebook for the simple reason it makes it easy for her to follow the grandkids and stay in touch with family and a few friends. But she has always been unhappy with all of the clutter, notifications, ads and other activity. In her case—and likely millions of others—Google+ may be a much simpler choice for social networking. I sense that Google+ and Facebook might begin to see a change in activity according to demographic and, for many of us in the industry, no demographic should go ignored.

 

Jump into Google+ as soon as it is launched and make it a part of your online marketing efforts. In addition to the exposure, we are talking about Google here… and the more Google knows about you, your products and services, the better. 

 

(Editor’s note: At press time, there was no official launch date for Google+. If it remains in beta testing, the author suggests for readers to send an email from their Gmail account to -stitch.com; which will enable the author to send an invite to participate in the beta testing. Also, follow his Facebook page at Rags To Stitches Productions for future announcements, blogs and info regarding Google+.)