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Google initially saw a large uptake in people signing up for the new service, but reports soon followed that users weren’t logging in regularly and that even Google management weren’t using the service.
Personally, I like Google+ a lot and prefer it to Facebook, which I feel has become a bit cluttered with too many services and has taken on a bit too much of a childlike appearance. By comparison, Google+ is clean and professional, with an easy interface to manage.
Last month Google opened up their Plus service to anyone who wanted to sign up (previously, you had to be invited by another user to sign up) and last night they launched a new Google+ service for brands and businesses; it’s their attempt at taking on Facebook’s hugely successful Page service for businesses.
If you’re already on Google+ as an individual, setting up a Google+ Page for your pub is simple: just go to https://plus.google.com/pages/create and follow the onscreen guide. It’s so easy you’ll have a Page up and running in minutes; it’s up to you then what content you are going to share on it. If not, you’ll have to set up your own individual profile page first – and if you just tutted in despair and thought ‘well I can’t be bothered to do that’, it’s extremely easy and exactly what you had to do with Facebook, too…
The question is: should you bother? There is no denying Google is doing everything they can to take the fight to the established social media giants Facebook and Twitter but, to me, their message is becoming confused. After all, I already have a Google Places page and a Google Profile page configured to be found when people search for local businesses on services such as Google Maps.
In their desperation to be the best out there, their legacy products are muddying the waters. It would be more beneficial if Google took a step back and looked at what they’re offering and then merged the existing Places and Profile pages in to their Plus pages. I suspect that’s not something that’s going to happen very quickly, however.
In the UK, too, uptake of Google+ profiles by individuals who would be our target customers has been slow and many Facebook users have been reluctant to make the transition. This is a shame – Google+ offers them everything that Facebook does, apart from Farmville. That said, Google have added a Games section to Plus and it’s growing slowly.
Overall, the experience as both an individual and a business is much neater and easier than that offered by Facebook, but it’s still going to be a while before it picks up real pace. In the meantime, I’d suggest setting up a page and getting some information on there. It does, of course, mean duplicating some of the work you’re already doing over on Facebook, but the one ace up Google’s sleeve is searchability.
Plus Pages will undoubtedly benefit from Google’s huge search and analytics services which will be of value to the pub trade when our ultimate goal is getting customers to find us and walk through our door, and although Facebook’s Insights service, which provides analytics on how your business page is performing, is good it is no match for Google Analytics.
Google+ for brands and businesses will be a success in America; expect it to pick up traction here soon after – especially if Google tidy their house up a bit.
Mark Daniels is the licensee of The Tharp Arms in Chippenham, Cambridgeshire
