While it can't directly compete with Facebook, Google Plus should be part of every social marketing plan, Forrester senior analyst Nate Elliott has argued.
Based off some survey results, Forrester has suggested that Google's social network come single source sign-in play, has as many users as Twitter. In a new report, 'The Case for Google Plus', Elliott also states that it generates twice as much brand engagement.
The self-reported survey of 61,000 online US adults asked which of the three sites they visited monthly. Seventy-two percent said Facebook, while Google Plus and Twitter both scored 22%.
"While Google Plus can’t match Facebook for either number of users or intensity of usage, it offers marketers the opportunity to build deeper social relationships than you might think, especially when compared with Twitter," writes Elliott.
Forrester studied the social profiles of 50 leading companies and found on average, they had collected 90% as many Google Plus followers as Twitter followers.
And on average, 0.069% of brands' Google Plus followers engaged with each of its posts – 'liking', sharing or replying – nearly twice the engagement rate of brand posts on Twitter.
According to Forrester, while the SEO benefits of having a Google Plus page were "overstated" – 46 out of the 50 top brands analysed already featured a 'Knowledge Graph' panel on the right-hand side of search results – many social marketers are still using Google Plus as an SEO tactic rather than a social tactic.
Despite Google telling brands they should develop a distinct voice and content plan for Google Plus, syndicating Facebook posts across both networks is fine, Elliott says – but brands should do more to prominently promote their Google Plus page alongside Facebook and Twitter.
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