I was invited to Google+ by one of my coworkers at Epicom before I left for vacation. At that point, Google+ was still full/completely closed. Yesterday, I finally registered my account.
Most of the Google+ articles I read discuss Google+ as Facebook’s rival. And Google is Facebook’s rival. However, the real loser in the launch of Google+ is LinkedIn.
LinkedIn‘s Jeff Weiner, who recently complained that both social networks could not “coexist.
Based off my first experiences, I believe him.
The brilliant part about social media is that it allows the company to interact with the consumer at every stage of a company’s development. However, the practices that work extremely well for B2C most of the time don’t hold up as well for B2B.
Before the launch of Google+, many people I know complained about LinkedIn. For a social network that is based around the idea of connecting professionals or social media for B2B, it does a mediocre job.
Most of the LinkedIn profiles are not “as complete” as they could be.
Most people do not check their LinkedIn accounts as frequently as they check Facebook, Twitter and their mail.
It is easy to build a network on LinkedIn, but for social media, LinkedIn offers such limited ways to interact with people. Google+ new marketing tool known as circles puts LinkedIn ages behind.
I am more than likely not the first person to note the benefit of circles for professional connections, targeted B2B and B2C marketing for small businesses.
- Google+ circles allows users to put professional connections based off of certain criteria in specific groups. Why LinkedIn loses, users can interact with their best friends and their boss on one platform.
- Circles allows smart small businesses to target certain campaigns and group customers into would like this or would like that groups. Small businesses can define the customer characteristics and launch campaigns fitting the customer’s buyer persona. This is B2B and B2C.
- Video conferencing creates a new stage for interaction. Where LinkedIn’s discussion boards are filled with sales pitches and not-to-active conversations. Video conferencing with Google+ works for answering customer concerns, virtual board meetings, and of course, talking to friends.
These three things make Google+ better than LinkedIn for B2B and social media for professionals. Even if Google+ doesn’t usurp Facebook, Google+ for business is looking promising.
