Google’s social network, Google+, has been the subject of much discussion in the small business community. Some people love it, some people hate it, but the reality is, it’s Google and you can’t ignore it.
Or can you? A few weeks ago, the news broke that Vic Gundotra, the Google employee behind Google+, was resigning. Since then, there’s been tons of speculation that Google is “giving up on” Google+, rumors that Google+ staff is being moved to new projects in droves, and vehement denial by Google that Google+ is in danger of becoming extinct (check out this TechCrunch piece for the basics).
If, like many busy small business owners, you already feel overwhelmed by how many social networks you need to manage, you might rejoice at this news. But should you – and can you afford to let your Google+ account rot (or not even start one)? Not so fast.
While Google+’s audience of users is, admittedly, much smaller than Facebook’s (with which Google+ was trying to compete), it’s also very passionate. Here’s some of what Forrester Research reported in a survey of 60,000 social media users earlier this year:
So—do you need to be on Google+ or not? As with every social network that you consider using for marketing your small business, this really depends on your customer base.
If so, then you need to join them.
If they’re not on Google+, if their interaction there is just half-hearted, or if they have accounts but never do anything with them, then I’d advise you to hold off and see what the next phase of Google+ brings.