Do we need to choose?
Everywhere you look on social media sites and groups there is lots of talk about Google+ taking over from Facebook.
Princeton has published a paper this month that states by 2017, 80% of Facebook users will be gone.
Facebook have hit back stating that Princeton will have only have half its current enrollment by 2018 and by 2021 no students at all. Yes, it’s the usual online bickering, but have Princeton got a point?
What is Google+?
One of Facebook’s competitors is Google+. Google+ are doing things differently, they are providing businesses with choice. Scary as it may sound businesses can now decided which platforms best suit their audience be it B2B or B2C. Google+ not only adds to that choice it also enables users to direct post, pictures or videos to a set group of target audiences. These can be as direct as old customers, new customers or potential customers through ‘circles.’ Circles, which can be split into old, new and potential customers – so that marketing, can be direct.
How can this help my Business?
Another major plus point in Google’s favor is the issue of search engine optimisation (SEO). Facebook cannot compete with this it is one-way traffic, with over 90% of people searching via Google. Posting on Goggle+ enables a quicker and better route to being higher up the SEO.
At present there are no adverts on Google+. Not only is this a benefit to the customer, but also to the business. Businesses will be faced with a cleaner interface, which de-clutters the brands message.
What is the biggest difference?
When businesses post on Facebook only 12% of their ‘liked’ followers will be able to see their posts, due to ‘Insights’ set up by Facebook, unlike Google+ where 100% of followers/friends will be able to see their posts. (2012, Kawasaki, G – What the Plus! -Google+ for the rest of us).
For Google+ to succeed it will need more users. As of 2013 it already had over 400 million users, with Facebook having roughly 1 billion.
Facebook is winning the war on users, but Google+ is creeping up with 925,000 new users joining everyday (leveragenewagemdia.com). For Google+ to succeed this increase will need to be consistent. It makes sense that businesses would benefit and be ahead of the game by being there waiting for when their customers arrive.