Google+ For Business, The ‘OTHER’ Social Media Platform- Time To Check It Out?

You know FACEBOOK but meet GOOGLE PLUS— the other white meat! In case you weren’t aware, Google+ is an online social network powered by none other than Google. One can hardly mention Google+ without mentioning Facebook as it is seen by many to be the only real contender. And it is really, as this is no ‘David meets Goliath’ battle by any stretch of the imagination. If you don’t think Google stands a chance, please ask MySpace for a second opinion.

While it’s active users of 100m (registered users 400m) is a far cry from Facebook’s scary figure of over 900m, the real question is whether now is the time for Trinis to take a closer look now that Facebook’s new ‘Pay to Promote’ your posts is creating some fallout with its fan base.

This article is not to explain the inner workings of Google+, a simple ‘Google’ (of course!) would return all the info you need. It’s to put it in the perspective as an alternative platform that could now suddenly get your attention after being dismissed or ignored completely when Facebook provided all the free advertising Trini businesses on small budgets needed.

As you all know by now your posts are not getting as many eyeballs as before because of Facebook’s algorithm (called EdgeRank) that determines whose newsfeed it appears on. Though Facebook says that “Nothing has changed about how your posts are shared with the people who like your Page” if that’s the case then why the need to pay to promote?

It makes no difference anyway for a number of reasons:

• The perception is there that online reach via Facebook is not as before
• Users may look for other options
• Trini’s would love more free advertising avenues
• Google may use the opportunity to take advantage of the disenchantment
• This could accelerate Google+ momentum that would have had to grow naturally and slower otherwise
• Such momentum could theoretically feed on itself for exponential growth

From where I sit in terms of Trinidad web design and having taken a close look at the features of Google+ which offers a multi-layered social network intricately tied into all aspects of Google- the Chrome browser, Gmail, Google Search combined with many unique features like Circles etc., it warrants serious inspection. Around the web there has been mixed views on the potential of Google Plus but things change quickly and this is Google— they don’t play dollycook my Trini friends.

I would therefore be advising my clients to not wait for the bandwagon stage but establish their Google+ presence now and begin learning how to use its interface for business to be ahead of the curve. I’ve already set up Forward Multimedia on Google+ and would be using it to show how it can be used in our T&T marketplace for optimal performance.

For a good reading on Google+ check out this resource: How to use Google+ for business by one of my favorite inbound marketing companies, Hubspot.