A bloomfield knoble Opinion: Google+

What is the Impact of  Google+ for Businesses?

Overview:
bloomfield knoble, inc., continuously provides its clients positions and recommendations on the latest trends in social media, focusing on how best to implement those tools for their benefit.
Executive Summary:
Google+ is a social networking tool geared toward individuals making connections and communicating with each other, much like Facebook.

 

Position:

Google+, currently in invitation-only trial mode with approximately 20 million users, shows promise as a major social media destination in the future. It is bloomfield knoble, inc.’s, position that it will take at least one full year to build a user-base that can threaten Facebook’s dominant position in the market.

Reasons Google+ is likely to attract users: Deep integration with the entire Google ecosystem and one-click access from Google home and app pages Unique features like group video chat Circles — Easy-to-use friend groups +1 Button (analogous to Facebook’s Like button) Strong interface design

Reasons users might stay away: Non-desire to set up another social network from scratch No “killer” apps such as games (Farmville, etc.) to keep users coming back Turbulence in social media use (i.e. the rise of Twitter) Too much overlap with Facebook

 

Google+ is not as feature-rich and is less engaging due to the limited number of users and ways to use the service relative to Facebook. There currently are no Business Pages, but according to Google, that feature will be added sometime in the fall of 2011.

 

Large enterprises, like most of bloomfield knoble’s clients, will receive no benefit from Google+ until the user base reaches critical mass. Some of the tools that Google has integrated into the platform — such as the friend groups known as Circles — may provide value to a business once there are enough users to make it worthwhile.

 

The +1 Button is of immediate benefit though, as it is simple and inexpensive to implement and easy for users to show an affinity for the brand.

 

Recommendations:

1. Given the likelihood of Google+’s success — based on the preview available now and, most importantly, the ubiquity of its parent company — it will be wise to become an early adopter. (A successful and popular new social media site that replicates the functionality of the existing leader is not a welcome event. Businesses will need to develop strategies and monitor market place changes as Google+ grows, causing additional internal management and execution.)
2. Wait for Google to launch their promised Business Pages for Google+ before setting up a presence on the platform, but do so as soon as the feature is available.
3. Immediately integrate the +1 button on clients’ sites in order for users to publicly give their stamp of approval and share that approval with others on Google+.

 

Check our blog for updates on this opinion as Google+ evolves and matures.

 

About bloomfield knoble, inc.

Since 2005, bloomfield knoble has developed a successful approach to marketing, following the philosophy of partnering with our clients to build their businesses through a focused process — discovery, strategy, execution and analysis. Our firm’s belief is that the key to every successful communication is our complete comprehension of the product, service or offering. Additionally, developing keen insight into the target market and consumer mindset allows us to develop successful campaigns and effective solutions to further our clients’ business goals.