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Carsen is a digital marketer by day and a digital DJ by night. He has a great love for travel and adventure, connecting with new people, and spinning out only the funkiest of beats. No matter if he's marketing or DJing, Carsen has a talent for making people smile.

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Google+ (or Minus?)

Google +/-

Google+ has some pretty cool functions built right in so you can put this site to work for you in very unique ways. It’s not all sunshine and lollipops though, there are certain considerations inhibiting the influence of this platform. In this post, I will provide you with 3 pros and 3 cons to Google+ for business.

The Plus Side

1. Talking in Circles

2. Community Service

3. Local+

HiResTalking in Circles

Google+ has a post delivery function called “circles“. With circles, you can create groups of people, which you can then specifically target with your posts.  Perhaps the “moms” segment isn’t interested in content created for “party people”, and so on. This is a great way to target specific interest groups with the aim to maximize value.

Community Service

Communities on Google+ are powerful social business tools as content can be further filtered and targeted to match the audience’s needs. Also, every person that joins a community owned by a business page is automatically added to the page’s +1s. This means that strong community also extends the reach of the master page itself.

Local +

Google+ pages can now be merged with a physical location. This allows for local reviews, which is great if you are a small business with a single location; however, if your business has multiple locations, you will not be able to merge all of them with a single business page. Also, if a user is following your Google+ local page, your Google SERP position will be much better.

Now for the Minuses…

1. L’Oh Canada

2. Too Much Functionality?

3. Google Knows Me Better Than I Do…

L’Oh CanadaHiRes

At present, there is a relatively low amount of Canadian Google+ users. CircleCount suggests there are 5,930,104 Canadian profiles, but this stat doesn’t depict active users. Compared to 15,000,000 active Canadian Facebook users, Google+ has yet to captivate the Canadian market. This has implications for Canadian based business pages, as building a significant Canadian following becomes much more difficult.

Too Much Functionality?

After observing the good, the bad, and the ugly of existing social networks, Google decided to add ALL of the functionality available on other sites. Once learned, these functions can vastly improve the user experience; however, this much functionality translates into a significant learning curve for the platform itself. This learning curve means a lower adoption rate. Lower adoption means less active users on the platform.

Google Knows Me Better Than I Do…

When I first logged into Google+ I was astonished to see most of my personal information, photos, and videos already uploaded into my profile. Google+ is not a standalone social platform. It is more of a social layer on your existing Google products. Still with me? This means EVERY Google product can collect information and synthesize it on Google+. This can be good or bad depending on your comfort level and your overall usage of alternative Google products.

Google + or – ?

Though there are some elements to Google+ that might make you scratch your head, it is still a fantastic social network. Circles and communities allow for highly targeted content and ultimately increase the value of your presence for the audience. The local page category can lead to better SERP results and allows for social reviews. Despite the relatively low Canadian usage, this platform offers a unique social experience with its full spectrum of unique functions.

Are you interested in breaking into this space, but aren’t sure how? Definitely contact us as there has never been a better time. We offer an array of social media services including initial setup, coaching, and consultation. In true social style, feel free to ask questions or comment below. Tell us about your Google plus (or minus) experience!