Since its launch in 2011 Google Plus has been fighting to become a strong social media toolkit. The following are pros and cons of using Google Plus as a marketing tool for your business:
Pros of Using Google Plus
-
First and foremost as a business owner you should keep in mind that all companies small and large alike must have a strong online presence. According to marketing psychologist Martin Shervington, using Google Plus can give you an advantage on search rankings. If your company’s Google Plus page is constantly active, updated and read it’s more likely that it will appear on a person’s search for your area of expertise and or product.
-
Part of having Google Plus is being able to create “hangouts” and “circles.” Hangouts enable communication with your audience; you can video chat or instant message each other without having to leave the Google Plus page. Be it present or potential clients as well as business partners, Google hangouts give room for a more personalized online relationship.
-
Circles on the other hand facilitate finding and reaching your target market. When you make a circle, you’re putting people into a specific group that you create. For instance, NuZoo might create a circle for affordable housing or telecom, both industries that we serve. But we might also create a circle for video professionals so we can share info and communicate with other video producers. The key to using circles is controlling what posts you see from each circle you make; as the creator you are able to put a limit on how many posts from each circle appear on your company’s stream page. This is search engine optimization at its most basic: the more content with your key words in your circles — even from other people in your circle — makes it more likely that someone searching Google will find you.
Cons of Using Google Plus
-
According to the DMR (Digital Marketing Stats Resource Center) only 13% of small businesses use Google Plus and an unknown number of business pages are also present. Meaning you might not be able to measure how much you’re being found, and how big the market on Google Plus is for the products or services that your company provides.
-
Google Plus boasts of having a network of 540 million active users (statistic which has not been updated since 2014). But Google owns YouTube, and everyone who wants to comment or post on YouTube appears on Google Plus, whether they are active or not. DMR 2015 research shows only 4 to 6 million users have actually made a public post.
-
Last but not least is how complicated Google Plus can be; just because it can have an extremely good effect on your company’s organic searches doesn’t mean the end result is going to be a positive one. In one place there are tools for photos, messaging, streams, videos, groups and hangouts. But if not used correctly or consistently Google Plus can turn out to be a waste of time and effort.
Google Reputation
On a final note something that can be both a pro and con about Google Plus is every company or person has their very own “Google reputation.” This includes the comments you post on YouTube videos, your blog posts, and comments on other blogs make up a profile of you.
Google uses this information to create an image of you (person or business). It then uses this to identify who you are regardless of what tool you use.
Depending on your online activity, Google might conclude that your company and page is trustworthy or not, and whether or not it should appear in its search results.
Whether you choose to use Google Plus or not you must always be careful and smart about using social media.
Contact NuZoo Media for more information