How Google+ Is Trying (And Will) Take Over Social Media For Business

First a disclaimer: When Google+ launched, I was in the "It will never take down Facebook or Twitter" group. However, after reading Chris Brogan's Google+ For Business I have come to the realization that Google+ is NOT just another social network. Every business should be on Google+ and encourage their employees to be on Google+ representing the brand.

On the surface Google+ tries to take the best features of both Facebook and Twitter and mold them into one. And frankly, it does a pretty good job. The platform allows you the option to be very selective with who sees what content (like Facebook lists) and what content you see (like following someone on Twitter). To differentiate, Google+ introduced Hangouts in which a user can video chat with up to ten people. If it weren’t for Facebook being the first-mover in the industry, Google+ has a sleeker set-up.

However, Google+ will succeed in a much more subtle way. On the personal side, Google+ aims to become the backbone of all of Google’s services. One could share a document, check the stock market, secure a transaction, and check their email without ever leaving Google. Google+ is the glue that will hold an Internet user on Google’s servers for hours. Think of the sponsorship/advertisement dollars that companies would pay for 3+ hours in front of the average user?

Granted, Google+ only has 100 million active users as compared to Facebook’s 800 million active users. So why should your business be on Google+ when the majority of your users are on Facebook or Twitter? Chris Brogan makes the argument that one can have more intimate interaction on Google+ and he provides a few strategies to build intimacy with the consumer. However, I do not believe any of his strategies could not be adapted for Facebook or Twitter. While Google+ might be more suited to these types of interactions (being able to follow someone who doesn’t follow you back while being able to comment over 140 characters) I do not believe that this differentiates Google+ enough to take over.

The reason your business should be on Google+ is because the two largest search engines in the world run Google+: Google and YouTube. This means that Google indexes everything that is shared on Google+. Google DOES NOT index Facebook or Twitter. While an individual may not want their personal information to be searchable on Google, as a business you most certainly do! How do you think the most influential bloggers got to be the most influential? They posted blog after blog after blog. In doing so, they created more webpages with their name and information attached. As a business, you can do the same thing with Google+. Each time you add content to Google+ it becomes searchable. The more searchable sites with your business information on them, the higher in Google search results your primary business site will appear.

Regardless if Google+ will ever take down social media giant Facebook, businesses should not sleep on the up and coming social media project from Google. Every business, be it small, online, or multi-national, can benefit from moving up in a Google search (how many of us actually go to the second page of search results?). Google has the power to single-handedly make or break a company with a simple search. The savvy company executive or entrepreneur will take advantage of the growing population of Google+ and will reap many benefits.