For big brands, Google+ is probably a good investment — but is Google+ an efficient use of time for small businesses? Google unveiled Google+ brand pages
in November, enabling businesses and brands to join its social network.
Since then, big brands — including Pepsi, Macy's and Toyota — have
jumped on the Google+ bandwagon, creating yet another hub page for their content-hungry fans.
We reached out to our community to better understand how (and if)
small businesses are using Google+. We received more than 50 responses
detailing the merits and downfalls of using Google's social network as a
small business. Below are some of the top thoughts on the pros and cons of using
Google+ as a small business. Read on and add your thoughts in the
comments below.
7 Reasons to Use Google+
A bulk of the small businesses we spoke with said they feel Google+
is an important social platform because it was developed by Google, one
of the Internet's favorite brands and one of the most influential
websites when it comes to site referrals. But small business owners gave
a plethora of reasons for being early adopters of the platform. Here
are some of the top reasons we heard for using Google+.
1. Get an SEO Boost: Bob Shirilla, director of marketing at Simply Bags,
says that his business joined Google+ because he relies on Google
search referrals for sales conversions. "Google+ influences search for
all the people who have included my business in their circle," he says.
"We have also put a +1 button on each product page. This is a great way
to get free promotion from people who like the product to people with
similar interests."
2. Host a Hangout: "Hangouts offer an amazing
opportunity for businesses to engage in a highly personal way with
clients, customers and industry thought leaders," says Roger Friedensen,
president and CEO of Forge Communications.
"Plus, employees in remote locations can hold team meetings to
brainstorm with one another from an interface that affords them
immediate and easy access to share and collaborate on most of the
information materials they might need, such as documents and
spreadsheets."
3. Expand Content Distribution: Phyllis Khare, the social media editorial director of iPhone Life
magazine, says that Google+ is a great platform for expanding the
publication's content distribution. "It took us almost a year to get
1,000 Likes on our Facebook Page, and three days on G+ to get that
number to Circle us," she says. "We are gearing up for Hangouts with
some of our writers in 2012 to answer iOS questions and a few other fun
things with contests and giveaways."
4. Connect with Early Adopters: If your business
falls in the Internet or technology industries, Google+ could be a great
place to connect a tech-savvy audience. "The people that are on Google+
already are most likely going to be early adopters of other
technologies and marketing channels," says Jason Pinto, CMO at interlinkONE. "When we look at what defines an 'ideal customer' for our products, that criteria is certainly high on our list."
5. Segment Your Audience: "The obvious benefit of
Google+ is that it allows us to share select content with specific
audiences," says Chad Udell, managing director of Float Mobile Learning.
Google+ makes it easy for businesses to segment their audiences and
share content directly with those certain groups of followers.
6. Use Google+ to Network: David Greenberg, president of Parliament Tutors,
says that his business does not have a Google+ page, but that he uses
his personal Google+ page to network and gather contact data and
research the "personal side" of relevant contacts, such as journalists
and potential clients, so that he can better create a connection with
them. He adds that the "About" section of a contact's Google+ profile is
usually a great start.
7. Just Explore: Netronic
Managing Director Martin Karlowitsch says, "We currently use Google+
for exploratory purposes. It is still a niche platform, but quickly
growing and with a platform giant behind it. Knowing the impact that
Google has on the way people find relevant information on the web,
Google+ soon can become significant by combining social and search. I
want to start early using this platform to be prepared when this
inflection point arises."
5 Downfalls of Using Google+
While most of the small business owners we spoke with had a very
positive outlook for Google+, we also spoke to a number of skeptics who
identified numerous flaws in the social platform. Here are the top five
reasons that small business owners gave for limiting their engagement on
Google+.
1. Administration is Difficult: "The pages need to
be created from an individual's Google+ account, and you cannot add
admins or any other users to manage the account," says Jason Donaldson,
an account executive at Formic Media.
"Depending on the size of the business, this may not be an issue. For
example, if you only have one or two employees, there probably isn't an
issue accessing the page from a personal Google account. The problem
becomes more exaggerated with businesses that don't have a dedicated
social media manager (unlikely with small businesses), because of the
need to give out personal account information for users to post on the
business page."
2. Facebook and Twitter Reign: Many of the small
businesses we spoke with pointed out that they maintain engaged
audiences on Twitter and Facebook, but most of their customers and
clients don't use Google+. So, the platform isn't much of a priority for
their business. In the words of TwiloPR
President Chris Heuwetter, "The true value is in Facebook, where we see
a nice return on our efforts. Google+ seems like a ghost town [for many
small businesses]."
3. Social Dashboards Don't Integrate Google+ Yet: While more progressive social media dashboards, like Hootsuite,
have integrated Google+ into their products, many social dashboard
services on the market do not enable users to post to Google+. For
businesses that manage their social presences from one central location,
the lack of Google+ integration is a huge barrier to Google+ usage.
4. Google Side Projects are Unreliable: James Beswick manages online marketing for a bar in San Antonio called Drink.
He looked into creating a Google+ page for the bar, but decided against
it, since he's not certain that the social network will pan out.
"Google keeps starting and shutting down products — Buzz, Wave and
Hotpot, to name a few — and I'm not entirely convinced the same thing
won't happen with Plus," he says. "Given the time and cost of engaging
followers, I think the effort is better spent on Facebook."
5. Growth Is Small: Tara Parks, senior marketing administrator at Convergence Networks
says that she sees potential in Google+, but that growth has been small
for her company. "The biggest drawback to Google+ so far is that it's
hard to grow a fan base, since businesses can only add other businesses
to their Circles, and not individuals, the way you can on Twitter (until
they add you, that is)," she says. "It will definitely be a lot more
fun once more people start using Google+."
http://mashable.com/2011/12/25/google-plus-for-small-business/
This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.
