Marketers are rioting in the streets, overjoyed that Google+ has finally graced us with business pages. Oh, wait, that wasn’t really the reaction at all, was it?
By now, most marketers have heard that Google+ rolled out Pages, a way for brands to use the social network. The reaction among Team MarketingProfs was a little something like this: “Meh.”
It’s not that we don’t like Google+ or that we aren’t excited to develop a MarketingProfs presence on the site. The announcement just seemed to fall a bit flat. Maybe it’s because the initial G+ hype has died down. Maybe it’s because many of our circles have more tumbleweeds than engaged users. But this announcement didn’t have us as excited as I first imagined the branded pages rollout would be.
I sent Ann Handley a Skype message seeking her opinion on the launch. Her response was: “I’m not really sure how I feel about it yet.”
So, being the social marketers that we are, we decided to ask our Twitter community:
And, of course, they responded in force! Their reactions could best be divided into two camps.
Group 1: Reasonably excited and curious
Group 2: Meh
So, marketers, tell us! How do you feel about Google+ Pages? Have you already launched your branded page? Are you in the “excited and curious” group or the “meh” group? Why?
Chime in right down there in the comments section or jump on Twitter and use the hashtag #googlebiz to join the conversation.
P.S. We’re now on Google+.
Tags: Google, Marketing, Social Media
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It is too early to brand Google+ pages as ‘Meh’. Since every marketer is heavily involved in facebook centric marketing, it is yet another tool to learn, master, promote and deploy; it will take a lot of efforts and hence the hesitation. I guess once the momentum picks up, everyone will follow enthusiastically. We have to wait and see if it picks up momentum:)
With Google indexing these pages, at the very least you will need a presence for SEO etc. Besides, I would like to see + become a serious alternative to facebook.
Agree with you, Eli – there are big benefits for joining the network that we are excited about. I suppose the sentiment was we just weren’t feeling as excited as we thought we’d feel when we first thought about the possibility of branded pages when G+ first launched. Maybe simply because the hype has died down over time.
I try to avoid being cast as a Google groupie but to me it would be negligent to ignore Google+. At the very least it is another free business listing to count towards your overall SEO goals.
I think the launch was a little flat because of the delay. There was some buzz around the likely launch of business pages a few months ago when Google+ first launched but I think they missed an opportunity. That said I’m sure it is going to gain momentum.
If anyone would like to follow a small Aussie agency then check out https://plus.google.com/u/0/107972819380891646971 – I haven’t posted from the page yet but i’ll get there.
I’m put myself in the mildly excited category. Google+ has some potential for organizing information.