As I mentioned to a group of people this morning, I would class myself as a ‘social media geek’. As a company we live and breathe this stuff every day – we’re passionate about it and the potential it has. We don’t know everything there is to know – it changes fast and things happen within the social media world every minute – but we do like to make informed decisions about how we use social media.
One thing that we do have in abundance is opinions. And ideas. And strategies. And we put those to the test everyday.
So the latest social media new kid on the block now is Google+.
We don’t profess to know everything about it but we do like to be in on things from the early days and figure out for ourselves how best these tools can help us, our business and our clients meet their objectives. Because that’s what social media should do – help you to achieve goals; not be a constant source of distraction.
So this is what we think about Google+ so far.
Google are right that search doesn’t work efficiently.
At the moment when you search for a phrase such as ‘Hairdressers in Oxford’ you get the following – ads, sponsored results, Google Places, followed by a list created from websites who have invested time and money by way of SEO to be there.
Now, with Search, plus Your World, the new way Google will organise search results, on that first page you will also find the hairdresser than your friend really thinks is great. Search results are becoming personal, tailored and based on positive recommendations. Not just filled with the brands that paid to be there. This is achieved when people +1 a page which is similar to liking something on Facebook.
Small businesses can compete for stand out
This new strategy means that the average small business that found it incredibly hard to get up onto page 1 of Google, can now achieve that. By people clicking the +1 button on their page (if they are savvy enough to add it), their website secures a better place in Google. For the business with lots of money to spend on SEO but with shocking customer service, well, they’re going down the rankings (because people are unlikely to +1 that page).
It’s another method of communication to explore
Yes there’s a voice in one ear which says ‘why do we need another way’ – but don’t knock it until you try it. If this gives you a new opportunity to talk to someone that you wouldn’t have been able to make contact with before, then great.
You can talk to different people in different ways
The social networking element of Google+ is based on the format of ‘circles’ whereby you can sort people into different circles – clients, suppliers, bloggers for example. This way you can share different information with those separate groups depending on the relevance.
Profiles and Pages
Much like Facebook, you can set up a personal profile as well as a page for your business. Build circles in your profile, and attract people to add your page to their circles as well. Google+ was launched to focus on individuals connecting with each other. Pages for businesses and brands came second.
It’s simple
On first inspection you kind of feel like you’re missing something. But really, you’re not. It’s simple. A news stream down the middle, links to your circles and your profile and that’s about it.
We don’t know where it will go
Google had two failed attempts at launching a social media platform with Wave and Buzz. In all honesty, I don’t know where this is going. Initial take up seems good – whether it overtakes Facebook like Google (obviously!) suggest it could, who knows. For now though we see the benefit in the personalised level of search as the biggest change from Google, ever. And we look forward to seeing the creative and innovative ways that global brands utilise it. And of course we’re brainstorming our own ways too! It really does change everything.
Please do leave a comment with your views.
p.s. with the group video chat capabilities of Google+, maybe Skype should be worried?
