GOOGLE +: A POSTSCRIPT

Earlier this month we put out a post explaining our rethinking of Google +, Google's social media platform. In our post, we explained that we were initially skeptical of the value of Google +, but that as it had developed, its added features and importance in the Google search algorithm made it a social media tool worth using.

However, an article published in the New York Times on February 14, 2014 sheds additional light on Google +, arguing that the benefits to Google far outweigh the benefits to Google + users, many of whom are inactive members.

According to Nielsen data cited in the article, Google + has 29 million unique monthly users on its website and 41 million on smartphones. Facebook, on the other hand, has 128 million users on its website and 108 million on phones. Furthermore, "Google says Plus has 540 million monthly active users, but almost half do not visit the social network."

According to the article's author, Claire Cain Miller:

"Google Plus may not be much of a competitor to Facebook as a social network, but it is central to Google’s future — a lens that allows the company to peer more broadly into people’s digital life, and to gather an ever-richer trove of the personal information that advertisers covet."

The reason is that once you sign up for Plus, it becomes your account for all Google products, from Gmail to YouTube to maps, so Google sees who you are and what you do across its services, even if you never once return to the social network itself. 

Before Google released Plus, the company might not have known that you were the same person when you searched, watched videos and used maps. With a single Plus account, the company can build a database of your affinities."

All of this is true, of course. But just because the balance of value may be in Google's favor, it doesn't negate the value of Google + as a social marketing, and therefore a business development and client relations tool. Google's ability to see what videos you're watching, what maps you use, and what you're searching doesn't diminish the value of using those tools. 

What the article does underscore, however, is the need to be careful and diligent when using Google +. Make sure you have your privacy and other settings and permissions set to meet your needs. That is true of all social media and other sites you use, both personally and for your practice, but it may be doubly important when using Google +.

You can read the New York Times article at

New York Times article on Google + 

OMEGA LEGAL MARKETING is a dedicated, specialty marketing company serving only small law firms and solo practitioners in the metro New York City area. Much more than just a web design firm, we put together affordable, comprehensive marketing programs that enable our clients to stand out from the crowd and grow their practices. 

You can find us at www.omegalegalmarketing.com

  

RETHINKING GOOGLE+

We were extremely skeptical when Google launched their social media platform, Google+, back in June 2011. We saw Google + as a relatively weak attempt to compete with Facebook, with few benefits and little innovation. We were also wary of getting drawn further into the Googlesphere, that cyberworld of products and functions Google uses to collect more individual information they can translate into advertising revenue. After all, who needs to be on a platform that is just trying to out-Facebook Facebook? Who has the time to provide content to both platforms?

As Google+ has evolved, however, we’ve increasingly warmed to it, particularly with the introduction of several new features. 

First of all, it’s important to remember that regardless of how you feel about Google, they are still the overwhelmingly dominant search engine on the planet. They didn’t get there just by being first; they got there by being smart. And by leveraging the enormous power of the Google search engine. 

All of which means that the first reason it is worth being on Google+ is that it helps your Google search results. Google’s search algorithm favors content that originates in Google+ (rather than Facebook or Twitter). Moreover, the Google algorithm gives even greater weight to Google+ posts that have been shared or commented on by others. Like we said, they’re very smart.

The Google algorithm also weighs frequency of posting and whether content is original. When Facebook launched its own self-contained search engine in 2011, it cut off Google’s access to its data. Google+ data, on the other hand, is not only accessed by the Google search engine, it is given value in the algorithm.

For local businesses, like small law firms, the local search features of Google that are incorporated in Google+ are another way to improve search engine results. 

Like Facebook, but unlike LinkedIn, Google+ has been conceived as a platform for businesses, not just individuals. Although LinkedIn offers business pages, they must be connected to an individual LinkedIn member. That is not the case with Google+. Although Facebook allows businesses to independently create and maintain Facebook pages, their model is moving increasingly toward enticing companies toward having to pay for improved visibility and enhanced services. At least for now, that is not the case with Google+. 

Google+ now also incorporates a number of useful features, including

Hangouts on Air      This is a free web and mobile platform for video conferencing, live events, broadcasts, and live collaboration. This is a great video conferencing platform, and because Google also owns You Tube, content from Google+ is integrated with YouTube.

Shared Circles        You can share a circle of contacts you have created, making networking simple and fast. Conversely, the circles concept allows you to access the contacts of those in your circle. Similar to LinkedIn, but it takes the LinkedIn idea a step further by allowing you to create circles of specific groups of contacts, not just with all contacts. Plus, it has all the horsepower of the Google universe.

Live Events              This is a unique sharing solution that makes interaction easy before, during and after the event. These can be public or private and can allow collaborative sharing of documents, presentations, white boards and much more. Ever want to conduct your own webinar? Here’s a free way to do it.

Authorship                 Google Authorship connects the original content you create (on your own site or someone else's website) to your Google+ profile and indexes it in Google search. The same is true for blog posts on Google’s Blogspot.com. 

Google+ also contains its own internal search engine. It’s easy to find content within Google+. After all, it’s powered by the Google search engine technology.

In sum, we’re continually warming to Google+, which has come a long way from being a Facebook wannabe. As Google improves it and enhances its features, and as it grows in popularity and usage, Google+ is becoming much more of a significant component in
marketing strategies. If your firm is not yet on Google+, you need to be.


OMEGA LEGAL MARKETING is a dedicated, specialty marketing company serving only small law firms and solo practitioners in the metro New York City area. Much more than just a web design firm, we put together affordable, comprehensive marketing programs that enable our clients to stand out from the crowd and grow their practices. 

You can find us at www.omegalegalmarketing.com