Last week, our Twitter fans got to talking about Google + and how they were a little confused about it. Why should I use it? How does it function? Do I really need it? There were so many good questions and I thought what better place to talk about this new social media network than here!
Introduced last year, Google + never really took off amongst bloggers. Frankly, a lot of people didn’t have enough incentive to use it. Not enough users, lack of business integration, and an overall anticlimactic first couple of months led many bloggers to ask what was the big deal. However, the momentum for Google + is picking up a little speed. With impressive networking capabilities, a fun video hangout option and brand pages, it looks like Google + is carving its own niche in the social media world.
But, based on our Twitter conversations, it seems that many of you are still on the fence about it. Let me say that at first I was a little bored by it. I don’t need another Facebook and it will never replace the news-feed feel of Twitter. But, after playing with it more, I realized that Google + has the potential of being a great marketing tool for all you bloggers out there. I know, the layout is a little confusing and getting to know its functionality can be frustrating. Plus, you are probably asking yourself, “Why do I need another social network?” However, here are 5 reasons why you should give Google+ a shot.
1. The power of circles. Let’s face it, we don’t need to share certain information with everyone and their mom. That’s why I love the Google + circles. Now I can separate my friends into specific groups and make sure that the content I post is relevant to that specified circle. That means no more weir conversations with grandma about why I was wearing leather leggings and a fur vest to work the other day.
2. Video “Hangouts” are amazing. Three words for you: group video chats. After doing a hangout with a group of friends scattered across the country, I decided that the Hangouts might be the best thing about Google +. Dare I say, it is even better than Skype?
3. News feed updates with every comment. If you are looking to stay up-to-date with who is commenting on what blog post, Google + is your best friend. With every comment on a Google + post, your post will be moved to the top of the news feed. Hello instant advertising!
4. You can’t escape it. From Gmail to your Google Reader, Google is everywhere which means accessing Google + is easy. You don’t have to open multiple tabs to view your Google + profile because, chances are, you already have at least one Google program running.
5. Easy interface. Unlike Facebook, Google + has a clean, simple interface that makes it easy for anyone to use. There are no hidden settings and everything you need is on one major page. Less head-scratching, more posting!
Do you use Google + already? How do you balance all your social media outlets? Let us know in the comments!
Thanks for this post!
Heh…won’t use it until we can integrate our blog posts with Pages with RSS like you can with Facebook and Twitter.