Google+ was opened to the public in September 2011. Hoping to be the Facebook killer (as Facebook was to Myspace), there was much hoopla surrounding Google’s new venture. It was quickly learned that the general public had no reason to jump ship from Facebook as they, and their friends, already had a place to gather.
Even with Facebook’s privacy concerns, there seemed to be no incentive to start over and build their friend lists again. With 40 million users in only a few months, Google+ is hardly considered a failure (however, compared to Facebook’s 800 million users, they have a long way to go).
Google+ seems to be attracting a business-savvy crowd. If someone’s status update announces what they had for lunch or what their bathroom habits may be, other users are usually quick to jump on them and invite them to return to Facebook. You are easily able to create your circles of acquaintances, friends, family or those you merely want to follow. It also offers Hangouts, which allow up to ten people to video chat — a great tool for business meetings.
To further invite businesses to join the party, Google just opened brand pages. Apparently there are still some bugs to be worked out as it has been shown that creating a fake page is fairly easy. Finding the brand pages can also be difficult, so hopefully Google will remedy that situation. There is a verification process that needs a little work. But in the future, having a Google+ brand page may be as necessary as a Facebook fan page.
So while Google+ hasn’t been quite the success some were hoping for, it certainly shouldn’t be counted out yet. While we understand that a lot of people don’t want one more social media site to monitor, there may come a time where Google+ is the place for your business to be.
Are you or your business on Google+? Let us know your experience with Google+ and whether you think your time there is well-spent.
