With the number of brands on Facebook reaching the 15 million mark, according to Venture Beat, Facebook looks to have yet another demographic firmly in the bag. Its main competitor, Google Plus, still lags behind in users, and it may always be second favorite. However, with powerful business integration and search integration as part of its design, Google Plus is something every business should consider using. Even in second place, Google Plus may be as useful to your company as Facebook.
Number 2
Facebook still reigns as king of social networking, but Google Plus has made some surprising strides in the past year. It is now in second place in social networking, with 359 million users, according to VLogg, which should make any business marketer take notice. Fortunately, there are more reasons to embrace Google Plus.
Business integration
One of the most exciting aspects of Google Plus for business is the way Google has integrated multiple services into its social media platform. By getting your company and your employees on board with Google Plus, you can begin using all these services in a seamless way — no more switching between multiple programs to accomplish work goals.
A great example of this is Google Hangouts. If your company uses something such as Webex for webinars, you may find Hangouts useful. It gives users the ability to communicate in online chats with up to 10 people, and is integrated flawlessly into Google Plus. In fact, AndroidCentral predicts Hangouts will eventually eliminate many webinar services. It is just too easy to use, and too integrated into everything else Google does.
Of course, to use any webinar service, you will need a certain level of bandwidth. Fortunately cable, DSL or fiber all offer enough bandwidth. DSL does offer the advantage of higher speeds during high traffic periods, says www.dsl.com, but any will do for online conferencing.
Another example of integration is Google Docs. No, Google Docs does not beat out Microsoft Word as a word processor. What it does do, however, is keep all company documents in a safe place on the cloud, and allow for endless cooperation between employees.
If all of your workers have Google Plus accounts, they can quickly move in and out of programs such as Hangouts. Using Google Docs will become second nature.
Search integration
Google Plus is great for the internal workings of a business, but it is also extremely important for marketing purposes. The Google search algorithm considers Google Plus pages in every search, making it vital to have a Plus page for your company. If you want to be seen as an authority in your area, you need to rank on Google. Having a Plus page will help with this.
If you are a business that relies heavily on reviews, having a Google Plus page can also be hugely beneficial, due to its integration with Google Maps. Your Plus page can be a major selling point when viewers begin searching Maps for places to go.
Google gives businesses multiple reasons to create an account. It is free, and gives your company better, more efficient ways to conduct business. It also increases visibility to potential customers, which should be enough on its own to sign up.