Google+ for Business: First Impressions

So Google+ is finally available to the masses. Having limited the number of invites they were provided out, Google has successfully had everyone we know go crazy over trying out the new social media platform. Part Facebook, part Twitter, part Gmail, Google+ has the potential to be the best social media experienced available today. After spending a week playing with it personally, it’s an interesting and refreshing environment that’s great for personal use, but currently misses, or even rejects the notion of social media for businesses.

One of the main allure’s of Google+ is the simple, clean organization of its UI.

Google+ looks a lot like Facebook (minus the obvious blue menus). Your ‘stream ‘ (aka Wall) run down the middle of the page, and various options, such as your friend circles, links, people you know and subscriptions all appear on the side menus. However, the reason the Google+ interface is so simple and clean is because it lacks the advertisements and additional interactions found on Facebook. Google+ is what Facebook was 6-7 years ago, before businesses found it as a place to advertise. It will be interesting to see how or if it decides to implement advertisements, while maintaining the clean, non-cluttered look it’s praised for.

The main drawback I see for businesses wanting to enter the Google+ space, besides the obvious fact that there are no dedicated business/organization pages available yet, is the people who are on there now. Unless you own a very personable business, such as consulting or providing useful information on a regular basis, the current crop of Google+ users are releshing in the clean, personal environment. If a business does decide to create an account, and use it to promote their services, it is sure to be avoided by many of the current users. As Google+ grows, it may be possible that businesses will become more welcomed, and new avenues will be created to allow services and businesses to promote themselves.

For now, Google+ is a great platform to explore and connect with people. Unless your business is dedicated to providing helpful information regularly ( ex. Rand Fishkin from SEOmoz.org), your best option at this point is to use it as individuals, and connect with people one-on-one.

If you’re lucky enough to have an invite, go ahead and give it a try. If you’re looking for an invite, feel free to contact us!