Google + has overtaken Twitter in the social media race and it looks as though it is closing in on Facebook. With an impressive 343 million active users in only 2 years, Google Plus has proven it is a force to be reckoned with.
Active Users vs Users Who Are Active
What we must first ask is: what do we define as an active user? If we think about Facebook and Twitter I would say it's someone who regularly logs in and likes content from time to time -- at a bare minimum. Now on Google Plus I would say the same but Google uses one log in for all of their products. This means that if someone has created a + account, and goes to YouTube for example, comments or likes a few videos, they are being counted into being an active user because it is integrated within the network.
While it is possible that the stats we are given are 100% representative of the network when taking a look at my own contacts -- anecdotal, I know -- I have over 500 people on my Facebook, from my family to old class mates. When I look on Google Plus, only a handful are actually on the network and no one is active and I'm assuming this is the case for a lot of people.
Even though I sound very cynical about the network, there is no doubt that Google Plus is the better social network -- it just doesn't have all of my friends on it. It still has a huge audience, bar my above ranting; there are a lot of users that we can engage with.
Google+ Search Marketing
At the present, Google Plus, amongst other social networks are proving their importance in SEO. This is set to only increase in time and if we look at how Google Plus is growing when compared to Facebook it's a probable statement that Plus is going to come out on top.
If I were to pick out one key feature of Google Plus that makes it a better tool for marketers and businesses, it would be Communities. The best part of this is that you can join a Community that is relevant to your business or target audience. This way you can display your content to people that are interested in what you have to say but are not yet part of your online audience. Using Communities can help bring a large audience to your page in a short time if your content is good enough.
Facebook lacks any feature like this and requires other tactics in order to gain a following. The process of gaining a fan base on Facebook can be painfully long and bring in a somewhat irrelevant audience whereas the followers you receive from Google + Communities are targeted and have an active interest in your brand.
Conclusion
We all know that Google + is becoming an important social network and that we should embrace it and evolve with it. Now is the time to develop strategies for Google + to help integrate it into your overall marketing strategy.
- Read more: Should we be on Google+?
I really wish people would stop saying that Google is more popular than Twitter, Facebook, or whatever.
The only reason it is getting “so popular” is because they are tricking people into signing up during the gmail process (as well as their other products.)
I am a fan of G+ and hope it is here to stay.
Nevertheless, good post.
Hi Patrick,
I have to admit the popularity contest is becoming a little tiresome.
I do think G+ is the “better” social network, it’s just a case of waiting fo everyone to switch over.
I think you nailed it on the point of active users. I would go a step further and pose the question is your network made of real people at all?
Great article.
DocLou
Hi Louis,
Tat’s a great point actually, i know myself i have two plus accounts, not because i lead a double life, but because i manage pages through one account. But i am sure people make extra accounts for the sake of having multiple GMail accounts.
A very good point, this could mean that the real number of active users are greatly lower than what we expected.
[…] to their larger social networks. YouTube’s only natural sharing backbone is Google+. While Google+ has made great strides, it lacks Instagram and Twitter/Vine’s engagement levels. Consequently, YouTube does not […]
I am unsure as to why people are comparing google+ and others, google+ is not designed in a way to have usability with people that are not up to date with technology, facebook is constantly adding ui updates to make it cleaner and easier to follow. I will point out that google+ allows gifs, where facebook doesn’t.
Great post and keep the competition going it only builds a better social network for the end users.
Hi Nick,
Glad you enjoyed the post,
I think Google + is definitely comparable to other networks such as Facebook and Twitter, I believe this is due to their similarities but at the root, the fact that they are the biggest social networks.
I don’t think that G+ was designed for the tech savvy, but I do agree that they were one of the first demographics to flock to the network. Facebook seems to be upping its game to keep up with G+ and prevent the inevitable migration to G+.