Google+ is the new social network launched by Google and it’s the fastest social network to take off in history, with over ten million members just a couple months after launching.
It already has over a billion pageviews per month!
What sets Google+ apart from other social networks? And how can it be used to build a business?
There are two main features that set Google+ apart from Facebook: Circles and Hangouts.
Circles: What They Are And How to Use Them
Circles are like friends groups. You choose what groups to put people in without them knowing what group you’ve placed them in.
You can then choose to share things with people in certain circles, without other people in other circles seeing it.
Let’s say you run two businesses, one for PPC coaching and one for SEO coaching.
You’ll be able to put all your students and contacts of each group into their respective groups.
You’ll then be able to share course updates to one group without the other seeing.
Circles also solves another problem many professionals have had with Facebook.
You want to be able to share photos and status updates with your friends, but not necessarily with your professional contacts.
Circles makes this very easy. You can share just about anything with whoever you want and hide it from whoever you want.
Hangouts For Video Conferencing
There are many video conferencing programs online however, by and large every single one of them is paid and often quite expensive.
Google+ changes all that. Google+ makes video conferences completely free, backed by Google engineered technology.
You can have any number of people join a Google+ hangout. You can invite people one by one, or you can open a hangout to an entire group of people who can join at will.
You can share YouTube videos and you can type text into a chat box.
The speed of the service doesn’t slow down no matter how many people you have on it.
In short, the Google+ Hangouts makes it easy to hold video webinars as well as video conferences with co-workers and business partners.
Is Google+ Here To Stay?
Of course, if you’re going to adopt a new social network, you want to use one that other people are actually on and one that’s going to be around for a while.
Will Google+ still be here a year or two down the line? There’s no way to know for sure.
The uptake was much faster than any other social network in history, but users’ number one complaint today is still that there’s “nobody else on it.”
If your customers or co-workers are already on Google+, then you probably should get yourself on Google+.
However, if nobody you know is on the network yet, you might want to wait for a short time first to see how it plays out.
Are you using Google+?
Have an awesome day!
Pam Lawhorne
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Pam
You are right it is very early days for Google+. Lets hope it does not go the way of Google Buzz. My first impression of G+ is that I already rate it far better than Facebook.
I like the circles feature the best. And I am starting to warm to Hangouts.
I’m not exactly sure how it will help my business. So the only tip that I can give to website owners who are reading this is. Give G+ a try
Paul Profitt recently posted..By: money making blog
Hi Paul!
I think Google+ has a little more traction to it but I think it’s going to have a really hard time playing catch up with Facebook. Just my opinion of course!
Thanks for the feedback!
Pam