Lately I have been reading that some people consider Google+
to be something of a ghost town. I beg
to differ. Not only isn’t Google’s
social network a has-been, if anything it has been growing both in popularity
and functionality. Especially now that Google
has folded Google Local into the mix, G+ should not only be a vital part of any
optimized marketing mix, but it also offers a number of nifty features that are
lacking in other networks.
Google Plus reports having generated about 100 million users since
opening to the public in September. Depending
on whose figures you use, this number could easily be more than 250 million
users since anyone with a Gmail account has instant subscription access
to G+. While
being a far cry from Facebook's roughly 900 million accounts, that’s still
nothing to sneeze about.
Google+ Full Featured, Powerful
and Easy
First and foremost, Google+ is full featured, powerful and easy to use. Unlike Facebook, learning how to operate and feed G+ is relatively straight forward and intuitive. Everything from adding and organizing your contacts any way you want to communicating with them is extremely simple. Once added, your contacts are accessible in Gmail, linkable to your Google Calendar and Docs, chat and YouTube. Even better, for those seeking to become G+ wizards, Google offers Google+ University which provides an extensive knowledge base.
What does +1 mean to
you?
Everyone knows that the best kind of advertising is word of
mouth. Well, by hitting the +1 sign on
any Google search, you are in essence giving it your seal of approval. This not only provides the site owner a boost
SEO-wise, but it also shows the public who endorsed the site when they search the
term on Google. More importantly, you
can also mouse over the +1 and share the same item with your friends on
G+. And you can also embed the +1 button
onto your website, which makes it convenient for people to point, click and
recommend you as well. So the +1 is your
first, best and easiest way to add SEO value and word of mouth marketing to
your website.
Features, Features
and More Features
Anyone who uses G+ will immediately notice how feature laden
it is. Everything from photo to video
sharing is a point and click away. Games
too. Many people will quickly say, “So
what. I can do that on other social
networks.” And they would be
correct. That’s because when Google
created G+, they emulated the best features found on other social
networks. But they didn’t stop there Want to search locally for the best coffee shop or Chinese
restaurant? Click on the Local button
which contains ratings from Zagat. In fact, you can search the entire Google
Local database by entering a query in the dialog box at the top of the page. Try finding that on other social networks. Want to video conference with up to 25 friends at once for
free? That’s what the Hangout button is
designed to do. Once activated you can
either email or point and click on any of your friends who are Google+
members. An invitation will be
automatically sent out and they can join the discussion at will.
Even Small Features can
make a Big Difference
Google+ has also paid attention to many of the small details that other social networks have ignored. For example, they have made it
extremely easy to embed videos, pictures and links to any posts. More
importantly they have made it possible to edit, delete, link, block comments
and lock the post even after your post is published. I don’t know about you, but
being able to edit posts after the fact and control comments is a useful feature that I would like to see all social networks embrace.
It just keeps getting
better and better.
Remember, Google+ hasn’t even reached its first birthday,
which means that it is still experiencing growing pains. As time passes you can expect Google to add
apps and yet more features that not only make the G+ experience an A+, but that
also communicate with and through the world’s most popular search engine. If that doesn’t make the public go gaga over
Google+, then I don’t know what will.
Do yourself a favor and make sure you include Google+ as
part of your overall social media marketing strategy. Leaving it out would be a
big mistake, especially since Google owns 60+ percent of all internet traffic!
That’s our opinion, we would like to hear yours? (Don't forget to hit the +1 at the base of this article.)
Since 1995, Carl Weiss has been helping clients succeed online. He owns and operates several online marketing businesses,including http://wsquaredmediagroup.com and http://jacksonville-video-production.com and the SEO Club http://clubwcubed.com
He also co-hosts the weekly radio show Working the Web to Win every Tuesday at 4 pm Eastern on http://blogtalkradio.com/workingthewebtowin
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