Successful or Not, Google Plus Pages Reveal Mistakes in Social Media Strategy

The verdict is still out on Google Plus Pages. As with the very concept of Google Plus itself, there remains a general sense of worry that the Pages offering, though compelling in some respects, does not offer enough new value to truly supplant Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter as a haven for corporate social media.

Yet the high-profile integration into Google’s dominant search engine cannot be ignored, and so even though Google Plus’ registration rate slowed and the broader company has a questionable track record of expansion into the social sphere, no one is going to automatically assume failure.

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The "one hand, other hand" breakdown of the features can go on forever. Integration of Google Plus’ "Hangouts" feature? Great. On the other hand, a ban on directly hosting sweepstakes and contests through the network? Not so great—especially in the wake of news that customers’ primary motivation for connecting with brands on social media is to access promotions and discounts.

But businesses considering connecting with customers on Google Plus should not consume themselves strictly in the debate over whether or not the network will be relevant in five years. Instead, for as long as it does exist, they need to determine Google Plus involvement based on how well it fits into their overarching customer management strategies.

In his recent blog post, CMIQ advisor Joakim Nilsson gets at the heart of the issue for businesses: "Rather than trying to figure each tools out one by one, start with figuring out what you want to do in the first place as a business. Then figure what tools & technologies you need, not the other way around."

Too often, businesses are reactive to social networks and technologies. They learn of a new network or of a new app, and they immediately hop on that bandwagon, feeling as if every bit of growth in the reach and power of social media will translate into benefit for the business. Unfortunately, that sentiment is neither consistent with reality nor the right basis on which to develop a social strategy.

The fact that many celebrities and brands immediately jumped on Google Plus Pages has been hailed by most of the media as a positive sign, but it actually underscores the extent to which marketers, customer managers and PR firms have yet to fully understand or appreciate the value of social media. They feel compelled to develop a Google Plus presence simply because it exists, which is not the kind of philosophy that yields substantially greater awareness and engagement.

Worse, it often runs the risk of diluting the brand’s social reputation, as the customers exposed to the brand’s page simply see a "presence by obligation" that offers no additional value.

Instead of getting on Google Plus because it’s the "new thing" and because they want to make sure they have as many "connect with us" icons on their website as their competitors, companies should make their decision based on how Google Plus strengthens or weakens their objectives for social engagement. Once those objectives are defined and the current state of social engagement is measured, companies can use three lines of thinking to analyze the impact of developing a Google Plus presence:

• Who is on Google Plus? How does that audience differ from the audience we are reaching with our existing social media accounts?
• Why are users on Google Plus? What kind of content and interactions are Google Plus users demanding that they do not (or cannot) demand from Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn?
• What substantial gaps in our social customer communication can be plugged by Google Plus? What about our Facebook and Twitter strategies will be improved by Google Plus; what will be more costly/less costly to manage?

Given Google Plus’ low reach in comparison to Facebook, it is very possible some brands will walk away from this sort of analysis without a compelling reason to invest in the new network—and that is okay. Between their traditional web presence and existing social network involvement, few companies are sacrificing a significant amount of "awareness" by not registering on Google Plus for the Hell of it. Few have a reason to believe that the lack of a Google Plus Page will make it impossible for users to find the brand online.

Yes, the likely "favoritism" Google will afford its social network in search results might make Google Plus pages more readily-accessible than brands’ Facebook and Twitter pages, but if the company garners no specific value from driving customers to a Google Plus page, why should it care? If someone types in "McDonald’s" and is directed to a thinly-supported Google Plus page instead of a Facebook page that is far more pimped out and far more saturated with ongoing discussions, that is actually bad, not good.

The value, therefore, is not going to be defined by "eyeballs," at least not in the short-term. Value could, however, exist if Google Plus enables companies to connect with certain, relevant customers in a way that is particularly-beneficial and aligned with the company’s overall customer management strategy. Those brands are the ones that should be worrying about Google Plus, as it currently exists—not the celebrities and retail companies that just want another domain on which they can syndicate their Tweets.

While this analysis undoubtedly reads as critical of the new value Google Plus brings to the market, it should actually speak to a much broader problem with the way companies and individuals go about initiating their social presence.

To the extent that many potential customers use social networks as their "home bases" for online connectivity, it is probably not wrong for all customer-facing businesses, brands and entertainers to have some role in the world of social media. Report after report shows that corporate websites remain better sources for driving actual business, but from an engagement standpoint, those hubs lack the promise of humanity and personalization that social media has made users come to expect from businesses and celebrities.

But the extent of that presence should be based on a tie to customer experience objectives, not to the marketing and tech teams’ ability to rapidly rollout new social pages. If businesses have social media objectives deeper than merely "being on social media," they need to strategize with those objectives in mind. They should not chase after social pages like Pac-Man chasing after Pac-Dots; they should be determining which networks—and what tools and strategies on that network—will enable them to best communicate with customers on terms that get the businesses what they want out of such interactions.

If providing comprehensive customer service is a value point for a company, and it turns out Google Plus is where customers congregate for customer service inquiries, that company needs to get involved. But if Facebook allows it to reach the entirety of its target audience with the message it wants to deliver, it is hard not to see Google Plus as superfluous.