(SOCIAL) Google+: Living Up to its Promise?

5-17-2012

So how much are you conducting social marketing on Google+ as compared to Facebook and Twitter? Yeah, we thought so. It's worth remembering that Google's social network has only been widely available to the public for eight months. And it's only been available for use by us brands for six months. Six months, that's it. True, that amount of time seems like a blink. But considering the speed with which technological, and particularly social innovation, moves, it's also "forever."

Google+ made every bit of sense in the world. When you consider the hugely successful products that Google was already running (search, Gmail, YouTube, Google Analytics, Adsense, Chrome, Google Maps, Picasa, Google Earth, Blogger, etc.), being able to leverage all of that by laying a social network over it seemed like it could be?well, a Facebook killer.

But some things got in the way; user adoption, the user experience, poor communication, and what could have been a premature launch.

RJ Metrics looked at the public comments of 40,000 Google+ users:

- About 30 percent of users who make one public post never do it again.

- There's a 15 percent chance a user won't ever post publicly again even after trying it five times.

- While Google+ boasts 180 million users, engagement still lags behind Facebook and Twitter.

- The average post on Google+ has less than one reply, reshare and +1.

- The average time between posts is 12 days for active users, even as the Pew Internet & American Life Project found 52 percent of Facebook users and 33 percent of Twitter users engage with those platforms daily.

- The average number of public posts per active user declines steadily month after month.

- comScore found Google+ users spent an average 3.3 minutes on the site in January vs. 7.5 hours for Facebook.

Google responds to all this by saying the study only looked at public posts, and that part of the beauty of Google+ is that you can post to "circles" and individuals. However, Shiv Singh, global head of digital for PepsiCo Beverages, told Mashable, "I have immense respect for Google. But I think they really messed up the launch of Google+. They launched it as a social network, whereas it's something else."

Google might be surprised to hear that brands aren't seeing it as a social network.

Still, you simply don't write off a company like Google. They are not a company the kind of company that sits still:

- Google News now has stronger ties to Google+, bringing your social conversations right to the Google News homepage.

- They overhauled the Google+ iPhone app to make visual content more front and center, with the +1 button always stuck in the top corner of all posts.

- They're gradually rolling out "Hangouts on Air," which lets you broadcast events live to whomever wants to watch. "Hangouts" can be put on your stream, YouTube channel, or website, and you can monitor views, record the event, and share it. I have to say, of all the functions on Google+, radio stations should be figuring out how to capitalize on this baby.

- The new Google+ "Share" button lets you more easily get visitors to spread your content around to their connections. That's in addition to the +1 button that shows they liked your stuff. Users can share with everyone or certain circles, and they can share it more than once.

So my advice regarding Google+ is what it has been since the launch: Your house won't burn down if you're not lying awake nights obsessing over your presence on Google+. They have some things to work on, and they are. Users have to find reasons to go there and stay there. However, that said, you should keep a close eye on how Google incorporates its products into Google+. The whole package, done right, still has incredible power and potential.

Mike Stiles is a brand content specialist with the social marketing tech platform Vitrue. Check out his monologue blog The Stiles Files and follow him @mikestiles.

(5/17/2012 6:28:24 AM)
Totally agree with that last paragraph and the excitement for radio about Hangouts on Air. There is some serious potential there!

Add a Comment | View All Comments Send This Story To A Friend

View the original article here