Google +
Google+?
What’s all the buzz about?
As the challenge between Google and Facebook ramps up, the current pendulum has swung in Google’s favor.
Google vs. Facebook
- The new Google is already gaining momentum. For instance, Google’s +1 button is reportedly being served 2.3 billion times a day. More than 1 billion items are shared and received per day in Google+ (or Google Plus).Google+ has also earned over 10 million active in just two short weeks.
- In fact, some predict that Google Plus will become the fastest of all social networks to hit 100 million users.
THE POWER OF CIRCLES
Google Circles
You share different things with different people. But sharing the right stuff with the right people shouldn’t be a hassle. Circles makes it easy to put your friends from Saturday night in one circle, your parents in another, and your boss in a circle by himself, just like real life.
Unlike Facebook which puts the Social Graph into one category and allows you to build friends up to 5000. Consumers want control at their fingertips, not in their settings. That’s where Google+ will shine.
Google has done something that Facebook and Twitter have failed to do, make creating groups of friends visually pleasing and also fun.
Google Circles
Google Brand Pages
Businesses pent up demand, is being put at bay while Google+ develops its early version of its Brand Pages.
- Initially, Google removed business-related pages only to invite them into a test phase that will officially welcome a manageable stable of companies to test and help to improve the experience.
- Brands see this as a tremendous opportunity for direct-to-consumer engagement.
- On Facebook, some brands have earned more than 30 million Likes creating a dedicated brand network not yet seen in previous media.
For example, the Top 20 brands by the numbers on Facebook boast impressive audiences:
1. Coca Cola (31,762,653)
2. Disney (26,613,752)
3. Starbucks (23,574,606)
4. Oreo (21,864,091)
5. Red Bull (21,220,373)
6. Converse All Star (19,880,308)
7. Converse (18,977,840)
8. Skittles (18,386,827)
9. Playstation (16,245,633)
10. iTunes (15,862,234)
11. Pringles (14,765,300)
12. Victoria’s Secret(14,384,903)
13. Window’s Live Messenger (13,926,945)
14. Ferrero Rocher (11,676,898)
15. Monster Energy (11,492,620)
16. Nutella (10,696,260)
17. iPod (10,530,905)
18. Adidas Originals (10,433,947)
19. Xbox (10,388,218)
20. Dr Pepper (9,927,828)
Perhaps Google+ will serve as a reminder that brands must embrace a philosophy of networking with purpose. Eventually, consumers will stop following brands that do not consistently deliver some form of tangible or even intangible value.
Engagement is still the goal of all these Social Media Platforms. In a time starved world, if you wait a minute, things will change, embrace it, plan for it, strategize for it, implement it, but don’t stand flat footed waiting for it to come to you. Shhhh…that’s the sound of the clock ticking. Google+ is here.
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