A bit of a disclaimer before we start: Google+ has only been out for a couple of days. Most things people discuss and predict about Google+ right now are pure speculation.
Will Google+ be a business networking game changer?
For business owners with more of a techy entrepreneurial spirit, Google+ has the potential to be a networking game changer.
Circles let you separate business and personal relationships
Google+ allows us to sort our relationships into Circles and thereby filter content that you read and share. Sending out a new promotion to current leads? Send an update to your Leads Circle. Informally notifying existing clients of a new feature or bit of news? Share with your Clients Circle. Telling your friends that you just got a new rabbit? Share it with your Friends Circle. Circles allow us to keep our communications with different connections completely separate of each other.
How Google+ Hangouts can be used for business
From a business perspective, Google+ hangouts can be used for things like:
- Run a small seminar, introductory talk, or even just a topical discussion
- Communicating with remote employees
- Catching up with remote clients
- Connecting with business contacts you’ve been following for a while
Google+ vs Facebook for business
Sure, Google+ has no business “pages” to create (yet?) like Facebook. However, with Facebook the business aspect of it seems to have almost been tagged on as an afterthought, after Facebook saw that there was demand for it. Facebook business pages may be great for reaching regular folks who use Facebook to talk about their lunch and personal problems, but Google+ seems to have a much more professional environment from the get-go. Certainly this is partly because early adopters tend to be the more tech savvy ones who like testing out new technologies and being ahead of the pack (after all, why would you seriously start investing time in Google+ so early just to talk about your pet chinchilla when you already have a medium for it on your established Facebook profile?). More mature discussions seem to be springing up from Google+ from the get go.
Therefore, which channel you opt to put more effort into for your business may largely depend on your target demographic. Are you looking to connect with everyday consumers (things like clothing shops might be better suited for this, for example), perhaps teenagers, or are you looking to connect with people on a more mature level?
To me Google+ currently has a “Quora” feel – people are generally technology enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, business owners, and online strategists. Of course, as Google+ picks up steam it could very well start attracting more of the every-day non-techy consumer. Right now…well…I’m just finding that a little hard to visualize. And, well…I like not seeing posts like “heyyyy m8 I got so smashed last nite” on Google+.
Do you have a question or comment about Google+? Contact me or leave a comment below.
