Why Google+ Isn’t Ready for Business
Have you you heard of Google+? As in the new social network offering from Google? So far it’s the best effort we’ve seen from Google in the social networking space. They’ve already hit 10 million users in the first few weeks. It took Facebook considerably longer to reach that milestone.
To be fair, things are much different now, social media is more mainstream than when Facebook first came on the scene. By comparing the meteoric rise of Google+ to Facebook is an apples to oranges one.
But that’s not what this blog post is about.
The question is can I use Google+ for business?
The answer? Not yet.
It’s amazing. The number of business jumping in the fray, without a single thought to strategy. It’s understandable. They somehow feel as if they’ll miss the boat if they don’t jump on early. The thinking however, is flawed.
Google+ is not ready for your business. This comes directly from Google themselves. The social network was designed to increase social interaction for individuals. Not B2C or even B2B. No doubt that Google+ for business, scheduled to launch later this year, will be a great product. But beware, if they catch your business profile, it will be removed (see above link)
Early adopters don’t want to interact with your small or medium sized business on Google+. They don’t want real estate agents 800 miles away or lawyers they’ll never speak with clogging up their shiny new network with profile pictures that are logos.
For example a real estate agent in South Dakota decides to set up a profile for his agency, adds hundreds of peoples to circles regardless of location (cause hey it’s marketing), then proceeds to push out posts about his business and latest blog posts. He then wonders why there is no feedback. The reasons for the failure:
- He’s pushing instead of interacting
- He’s going after the wrong market
- He hasn’t convinced anyone to be added to a circle
- He’s using a conversation tool for broadcasting (same as number 1)
You are not Ford, TechCrunch, or Forbes. Take a step back. Sign up as a human being. Spend time using the tool as it was intended, as a social network. Learn the lay of the land while developing a sound strategy for the launch of Google+ for business.
The number one reason Google+ isn’t ready for your business? Circles. They are a beautiful thing. It allows you to dictate what you share with who. It also allows you to filter out the noise that is common with Facebook and Twitter. Which means it’s much easier to ignore your small/medium business.
What are your thoughts on Google+? Don’t be shy we would love to hear from you.