nick westergaard | branddrivendigital.com
social spotlight
BRAND DRIVEN digital
Google+What to Do When the Search Giant Goes Social

not google’s first rodeo …

too big to fail? (at social)
Photo via Flickr user Robert Scoble

Google+ social spotlight
‣ By the Numbers
‣ How Brands Engage
‣ Things to Remember

By the Numbers
1

consider their mission
To organize the world’s information and
make it universally accessible and useful

100 millionmonthly active users in its first year
in the beginning …

2.2 billionregistered users as its integrated
with YouTube & Gmail
today
Source: Simply Measured

540 millionactive users
Source: Simply Measured
but only

62%of users are b2b marketers
Source: Simply Measured

90%of profiles never posted to the network
Source: Simply Measured

22%of adults that are online, use Google+
at least once per month
Source: Simply Measured

accessibility
& discovery
google+ is FOCUSED ON

-16%google+ activity is down 16%
Year on year
Source: Simply Measured

still ahead of linkedin in brand awareness

overall usage isn’t horrible

use among 12–24 beats linkedIN

and it’s daniel radcliffe’s favorite social network

How Brands Engage
2

87%of top brands use google+
Source: Simply Measured

50%of top brands using google+ actively
post each month — down 24% YOY
Source: Simply Measured

anatomy of a profile

started out very different …

now very similar to Facebook – who copied who?

circles & Hangouts
Circles are more intuitive than facebook, twitter
lists; hangouts provide easy collaboration
key features

circle segmentation

hangouts = convenient collaboration, research

beacons across the social web
Photo via Flickr user cordiaz2000

effectives uses abound
Cadbury
Visual content
ESPN
Conveys emotion
Destinology
Maps, virtual tours
Christian Dior
Exclusive offers

in 2014Google discounted the popular & powerful
Google+ authorship feature

google my business
profile — this connects you with customers
searching on google, Google maps, or google+
google+ Tip:

no adson google+
(but don’t forget about adwords)
today

driving searchand collaborating with customers and team
best uses for Google+:

Things to Remember
3

google+ required
a google+ account is now required
for commenting on youtube

Google+ measurement
‣ Number of users that have you in a circle
‣ Number of +1s on posts (via Google Analytics)
‣ Total brand mentions
‣ Profile views
‣ Referring links on site

‣ The Economist
‣ National Geographic
‣ ESPN The Magazine
‣ Time
‣ Discover
‣ Popular Science
‣ Forbes
‣ Elle
‣ Vogue
‣ Glamour
Top 10 Brands on Google+
Source: Statista

would you bet against google?
Photo via Flickr user brionv

#UIMKTG
@nickwestergaard

nick@WESTERGAARD.COM
Slides at Slideshare.net/nickwestergaard
@NickWestergaard on Twitter, Instagram, and more