Why Google+ Is NOT (yet) a Good Place to Market Your Business
Over the course of the last month, the launch of Google+ has generated an unprecedented amount of buzz and an equally frenzied groundswell of people trying to get invitations to what was initially launched as a very exclusive beta test. If you are an ostrich whose head is firmly buried in the sand, or if you happen to have been stranded on a desert island for the past month, allow me to enlighten you … Google+ is Google’s answer to Facebook. It is a new social network designed to combine the best of Facebook and Twitter with the power of Google’s search engines to create the ultimate social networking powerhouse.
The only problem? Google+ is still closed to the general public. Like many exclusive clubs, you have to KNOW someone to get into Google+. Lucky for me, I know someone and was able to get on. I’ve been on Google+ for a little over a week now (a downright “Johnny come lately” compared to some of the initial invitees!) and it is awfully lonely there. While so many social media bloggers are tripping over themselves to review Google+ and make proclamations about its usefulness as a marketing tool, I’ve been scratching my head wondering how they could possibly conduct a useful test with so few people on board. It’s like reviewing a cruise ship with 10 passengers – not a very accurate test of the ship’s capability to serve a full house OR a very reliable test of the experience that the ship will ultimately provide. Right? Right!
So I’ve held off on rendering my judgment on Google+ until anybody who’s anybody can get on. The populist in me just doesn’t feel right. While I’ve been holding off, Google+ did another interesting thing – it began removing business profiles from its ranks. The initial Goolge+ beta was designed for individuals to test out personal profiles and Google spent a lot of time and energy discouraging companies and brands from creating a presence. Nonetheless, many companies (or their agencies, perhaps?) forged ahead and did so anyway and now Google+ is slapping them on the wrist. Bad, bad companies!
What does this mean for you? If you are lucky enough to get an invitation to Google+ (a golden ticket!), create your account and play with it, but don’t get too excited because you, like me, may find that it is a very lonely place to spend your time. Do NOT get tempted to put your brand or business on there until Google gives you it’s official nod – otherwise, you may risk losing all of your hard work to the whims of delete-happy Google executives.
The long and the short of it? Right now, Google+ is NOT a good place to market your business. End of story.