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Gini Dietrich

The Future of Google+: Social Network or Search Enhancer?

By: Gini Dietrich | November 15, 2011 | 
90

I’ve been thinking a lot about Google+ since they launched their business pages last week.

You see, it was announced at the same time that Joe Thornley, Martin Waxman, and I were recording Inside PR. So we all happened to be on the page watching it happen in real-time.

Google+ announced at 1 p.m. CT and, by 1:11 (yes, just 11 minutes later), Toyota already had more than 3,000 followers.

We asked one another the question, “How is that possible?”

While we talked, I began to dig. The Muppets had more than 6,000 followers and Pepsi was nearing 2,000.

Sure, it makes sense that a social network with 41 million users could attract that many followers. But these are brand pages. And they collected their followers in less than 15 minutes.

Slate had something to say on this in their article, “Google+ Is Dead,”

Considering Google’s marketing muscle—it hasn’t been shy about directing Web searchers to Google+, and everyone who’s logged in to a Google account sees the Google+ toolbar at the top of every Google page—it would be a surprise if Google+ didn’t have so many users.

Here is what I think is going on:

  • Google has been working with companies, behind the scenes, to build their brand pages and collect followers through search and employees, so at launch the perception is everyone is flocking to Plus.
  • Google has paid brands (both company and personal) to jump to Plus and bring their networks with them.
  • Google is less concerned about having a social network and more concerned about improving search and giving us, as individuals, customized information.
  • Google is counting “users” as those with Gmail addresses and not necessarily those who have signed up for Plus.

The interesting thing is, after more than a week, Toyota and Pepsi have both stalled in their growth.  The Muppets have nearly 30,000 followers, which isn’t surprising when you can Hangout with Miss Piggy and Kermie.

Google+ isn’t dead, nor is it a Facebook killer.

Google+ is built for search and, the best way to do that, is to invite us into a social network where we post information about ourselves that the behemoth can then use both for good (for marketers) and for evil (for consumers).

They can’t crawl Facebook, but they sure can crawl their own social network.

So now it’s up to you to decide how customized you want your web experience to be and, based on that, what you +1, search, and post online.

Always be cautioned: The web is not Vegas…what happens here does not stay here.

About Gini Dietrich


Gini Dietrich is the founder and CEO of Arment Dietrich, a Chicago-based integrated marketing communications firm. She is the lead blogger here at Spin Sucks and is the founder of Spin Sucks Pro. She is the co-author of Marketing in the Round and co-host of Inside PR. Her second book, Spin Sucks, is due out in November 2013

88 comments
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missmims1
missmims1

Unfortunately, I don't think that Google+ will be the next big thing in social networking. I think that it will simply evolve as a search engine. For its field I think this is a great opportunity because no one else has really thought about revamping a simple search engine. I think this will mean big money for Google.

MichaelBesson
MichaelBesson

Very interesting opinion. When G+ first came out I was of the impression that it would overtake Facebook in a very short amount of time. But as I continued to watch I was none too sure, yet G+ was still growing. I agree with what @ginidietrich says, "Google+ isn’t dead, nor is it a Facebook killer." I also have trouble getting over there to post and consider myself a big 'Facebook Buff,' yet after reading this I will be far more careful! Thanks for the insight.

AmyMccTobin
AmyMccTobin

So glad I checked in and read this. Perhaps I'm naive, but if your bullet points are accurate I have huge Integrity issues with it all.I'm still in G+, but I have to FORCE myself to remember to post in there - it seems so irrelevant to my clients.

ExtremelyAvg
ExtremelyAvg

I still think G+ is better than FB. I like G+...though not enough to actually use it more than once per week. I still use Tweetdeck and Twitter as my main social media platform.

Latest blog post: Henry Wood: Edge of Understanding Ch 56

ginidietrich
ginidietrich moderator

@ExtremelyAvg Oh see. I love Facebook. Almost as much as I love Twitter. G+, to me, just isn't addictive yet.

Latest blog post: Social Media Charlatans Are Like Wile E. Coyote

AmyMccTobin
AmyMccTobin like.author.displayName 1 Like

@ginidietrich@ExtremelyAvg Me too!!! It's become cool to hate on Facebook and here's my theory:If you're a Big Time Social Media Star and you make your money off of loads of followers who fall in love with you it's a problem on FB, because so much of what makes FB work is Genuine Interaction - not pre-scheduled Tweets.It doesn't surprise me that some of the Kings of Twitter can't make it on FB. It's not a place to just shill your stuff; it's a place to really connect.

ExtremelyAvg
ExtremelyAvg

@AmyMccTobin @ginidietrich I don't dislike FB per se, but like some of my friends on Twitter, I use it for people I've known for years. My FB connections are not very into SM and as such, don't interact as much as my Twitter buddies.

I am a firm believer that the platform which provides the most frequent random acts of cuteness wins. I am powerless against videos of cats unleashing adorablness upon the world.

Latest blog post: Henry Wood: Edge of Understanding Ch 57 pt 2

DanielMWood
DanielMWood

I haven't spent enough time on google plus.But I think anything that will help people find relevant quality information is good. I am glad every time they knock down on poor quality sites, like the panda update - it increased my traffic by about 10%.Hopefully they will keep sorting it out and more quality sites will show up higher in the results.

damian.dayton
damian.dayton

I just need to add this au contraire to your last line. I use this as a word of caution to my clients all the time:

"What happens online, stays online...FOREVER"

usually only if you don't want it online. Put an embarassing picture online, and try to erase it, I dare you.

The internet is best described not as a bunch of computers talking to each other, but as a giant copy machine.

But thanks for the ideas on G+ I haven't quite figured out my relationship with it yet. I find that if I engage in too many networks, I don't use any of them effectively.

MSchechter
MSchechter like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

I'm so struggling with the G+ Pages. I set up our page like a dutiful little SM junky, but have wanted to take it down since before I even set it up. Yet somehow (and likely the search bit) I can't bring myself to take it down either. I still see G+ as us SM geeks. I just dont see my customers there yet.... Stupid Google...

AmyMccTobin
AmyMccTobin

@MSchechter Abso-freakin-lutely Michael. SM/Tech geeks and photographers...I'm setting up clients "just in case."

ginidietrich
ginidietrich moderator

@MSchechter Why do you want to take it down?

Latest blog post: Five Tools to Make Your Day More Productive

MSchechter
MSchechter

@ginidietrich Just gets to feel like too little butter spread over too much toast. We do our social on our own, we have a limited amount of resources and to a certain extent I can't help but feel our efforts to speak to humans who might buy our products are better served on FB and Twitter. That said, the need to speak to computers is very real and keeps me from killing it.

I can see some interesting use cases for Hangouts, but for the most part, it doesn't fill a need, it just gives me another thing and another thing isn't always a good thing. In fact, it rarely is...

MSchechter
MSchechter

@ginidietrich I'm really surprised they didn't do it off the bat, but that seems to be the MO. Launch, then integrate.

MSchechter
MSchechter

@ginidietrich For the minute, but I'm not sure how much time and resources I'm going to dedicate to it and wonder if that is worse. Am I better off with a crappy place holder or a hole... Would have been far more excited if this brought Places and Pages together (then again, I'm betting it will at some point soon). Just would see more of a use...

KenMueller
KenMueller

@MSchechter haha. I did the same thing. Built my page, and then sat there and said "Now what?". LIterally said it out loud to myself. Posting content there isn't as easy as it is on FB. Do I post duplicate content? Or what? So...I've done nothing with it. But I worry less about that because I don't see anyone really there to look at it.

Latest blog post: Small Business Tip Tuesday: Your Business is the Sum of Its Parts

AmyMccTobin
AmyMccTobin

@KenMueller@MSchechter As soon as I posted on my Brand page one of my photog. friends asked if I'd still post personally... but of course I can't duplicate.It's one more chore for me now.... and I don't have time for more chores. FB is incredibly important to my business, and Twitter is where I get to have exchanges, both fun and business oriented.... I have no clue how G+ fits in.I'm still convinced that we have entered the Age of Filtration... I'm down to reading 5 blogs ONLY. I want to stop adding and be more focused.

MSchechter
MSchechter

I don't know that I'm struggling to figure out what to do, I'm just struggling with what I want to do that wouldn't perform better elsewhere. I feel like this is bet hedging rather than focusing in on what's working...

Suzi_C
Suzi_C

What I find is that I'm learning more from people on G+. Facebook is for personal interactions with friends, and G+ seems to be where I stumble upon folks who are friendly peers wishing to share knowledge with each other.

I've also read that G+ is more like "internet glue", meaning it allows its users to collect and discuss information readily and without a lot of interruption.

As for me, I'm having fun learning.

NIUBusiness
NIUBusiness

@ginidietrich Thanks for a great and fresh POV on #Google+ ... it's makes a lot of sense and is well thought out.

bdorman264
bdorman264 like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

Oh Lordy, we know what happens when you start thinking a lot............it either gets you into trouble, or some pretty amazing things come out of it.

What? You mean whatever I write here other people might be reading this as well. I don't recall that being in the terms of agreement. If that don't beat all.........

I'm sorry, I can't stop it; I really don't have anything intelligent to say (I know, like that's a shocker). Yes, I'm signed up on Google + and I'm sure there is a practical use in there for me somewhere; but I'm ok being just ambitious enough to exist on twitter and a blog only. Everything else sounds like work and I try to avoid that at all costs if possible.

Maybe @skypulsemedia will let me tag onto his comment because it looks like he actually something good to say.

Have a good one.

Howie Goldfarb
Howie Goldfarb

Curious how many of the 'followers' did so for intelligence purposes. Long ago I followed and fanned many brands on Twitter and Facebook, not to ever interact but soley to see what they do and what works and what doesn't.

How many of the Toyota followers are employees? I mean they have what 200,000+ workers world wide? What if 2500 were employees? Or people in the Ad Industry/Social Media Industry. When they came out there was a post by Google highlighting some of the new pages. Fox News was one. Wish I had taken a screen shot. They immediately had 10 negative comments for every one positive comment. The moderator was saying 'Ok you are being blocked and you are being blocked and you are being blocked' And I laughed because none of the comments were nasty or foul language. Mostly comedy.

And I thought how for a big brand only having one person able to use the page could seriously be suicide. The Fox News example? TOO MANY COMMENTS TO REACT TOO! LOL Even funnier you don't have to add a Brand to a circle to comment.

I see good things here. G+ is much more conversational than Facebook. I think it will be a much better marketing platform over all. Time will tell. I am already miffed there is no choice for PR/Advertising/Marketing for business type.

ginidietrich
ginidietrich moderator like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

@HowieG But how can they get that many followers in 10 minutes? I feel like Google is trying to pull the wool over our eyes. I'm like you - i'll follow brands for competitive reasons and to get good ideas. But in 10 minutes?

You like G+ because you hate Facebook.

Latest blog post: Five Tools to Make Your Day More Productive

Howie Goldfarb
Howie Goldfarb

@ginidietrich@KenMueller curious how many people are on G+ solely because they hate facebook. I myself did not leave Facebook for G+. Lots lacking there still.

But yes in 10 minutes that is pretty crazy. Maybe there is some shifty biz going on?

There is a conference today and I saw a tweet for me that Facebook Brand Pages for big brands had a 0.14% CTR for links posted. The person who shared that with me has had many email exchanges over the accuracy of 'impressions' which is way way inflated. And I guess Facebook was inflating the CTR the same way.

Brands will only leave Facebook for G+ if they have a higher ROI of some measurable sort. When I look at Agencies like Vitrue and Likeable and see what they show for work, they never ever give numbers for success (or failure) on Brand pages. So curious how many APPs are working for Brands if at all. Considering the average user uses one new APP every 40 days probably not a very big driver for businesses. Starbucks had a cool one where you could have a jackolatern with your face for Halloween. But no idea if 500 used it or 1 million.

So while the bar might be really low....I doubt G+ is close to leaping over it yet.

KenMueller
KenMueller

@HowieG@ginidietrich I know a lot of people who WANT Google+ to succeed because they hate FB, and would rather be somewhere else. Though I think they forget how much they used to hate Google. And I don't know if the impressions were inflated, so much as people not understanding the definition of impressions. It's like a billboard. They calculate impressions based on the number of cars that drive by, and the average number of people in the cars. It's merely "potential" eyeballs. No way of knowing how many people actually did see it. Same with newspapers. If it loads on the page, even below the fold, it's still an impression. Which is why I just don't like impressions as a metric at all.

But, what brands need in order to leave FB for Google+, before they can measure ROI, is to know that there are actually people over there. I often use my family as a benchmark. I'm the only one on Google+. Four others are on FB. One other on twitter. My wife and kids have no interest in Google+. In fact, I'm not sure they would even know it exists if it weren't for living in the house with me and I mention it. They see no draw. They are the general public. They are the consumers. If they aren't there, the businesses won't go there.

But again, kinda what I alluded to in my post for today, I think the ROI of individual platforms is really tricky, and less important than looking at the big picture.

Latest blog post: Small Business Tip Tuesday: Your Business is the Sum of Its Parts

Trackbacks

  1. Inside PR » Blog Archive » Inside PR 2.78: The plusses of Google+ says:
    November 24, 2011 at 11:31 am

    [...] of weeks later, and we thought we’d take a closer look. Gini kicks it off by referencing her blog post on the topic. She calls out Google’s transparency in admitting they helped several companies [...]

  2. | MY PALETTE says:
    November 24, 2011 at 11:40 am

    [...] later, and we thought we’d take a closer look. Gini kicks it off by referencing her blog post on the topic. She calls out Google’s transparency in admitting they helped several [...]