Google+ Update

A few months have gone by, a couple meetings have been held and more articles have been read about Google+. The more time I spend time developing Google+ business pages, as well as my own, the social network grows on me.

A few internal meetings here at Sundog, I have worked with a team to help me map out the pros and cons of Google+. One difference we see between Google+ and Facebook is where the users are coming from. In Facebook, users came before business pages and were very active.  In Google+, we predict the business pages will draw users to join the network.

The use of the Google+ will initially fall under a SEO strategy for businesses. As Google Search Engine ranks any Google+ page higher than a Facebook or Twitter page in real time data, this will direct users to Google+ prior to Facebook or Twitter; an obvious advantage for Google. A company’s Google+ page will be the first example to the majority of the search community of how a brand communicates with its community in real time. As more and more businesses launch Google+ pages and begin to talk to their communities, users will be drawn to follow and engage in the network. For this reason, we believe that businesses, not personal users, will drive the use of Google+.

Personally, Google+ has become more and more useful to me as a user. I have found valuable, interesting people to follow and pages to circle. I follow company leaders like social media expert, Mari Smith, Kodak’s Chief Blogger and Sr. Social Media Manager, Jennifer Cisney and Global social media lead at Ford, Scott Monty. Though following people has helped me develop my own personal listening strategy, I haven’t figured out my Google+ content strategy. I want it to have its own direction, different from my Facebook and Twitter pages.

To help you develop your personal Google+ account, here are a few other resources for finding interesting people to follow:

Google+ Recommended Users

19 Executive to Follow on Google +

People to follow on Google+