So long, Google+
Google announced that Google Plus aka Google+ will be shutting down in August of 2019.
If you haven’t heard of this update, I wouldn’t be surprised, here’s why…
The release of Google+ social network was in 2011, and the intended use for this platform was to “pull all of Google’s peripheral products (Gmail, Google Maps, search, Google Calendar, etc.) into one cohesive network, meant to be as open and as connected as possible, incorporating everything that searchers use at Google into a comprehensive social and content dashboard.” This network was intended to be the next biggest social platform, focusing on transparency in who you are sharing with and how you are interacting. If you want to know a few of the Google+ original features, check out The Beginner’s Guide to Google+.
What’s happened since the platform’s release? To be honest, dwindling popularity and a serious data exposure. As of 2016, 91% of Google Plus accounts were empty, meaning they were likely created either as spam accounts or just to access other Google services. Following in March of 2018, “a software bug was discovered that gave developers access to private profile data of over 500,000 users.” To make matters worse, Google decided to not disclose to those affected by the software bug to try and avoid intense inspections. However, Google did admit to failed “developer adoption” since the social network’s release in 2011. So was it the data exposure or decreased popularity that pushed the shut down in 2019? The data exposure definitely rushed things, but due to the lack of popularity on the social network, eventually, that would have brought things to a close as well.
The mind-boggling piece of this data exposure was one of the original goals of Google+, privacy protection. “Project Strove” an initiative by Google+ released to protect the users and give full control of their accounts data, was tested and supported to eliminate problems like this, obviously this didn’t make a difference. The data exposure as Wired’s, Google’s Privacy Whiplash Shows Big Tech’s Inherent Contradictions article states, “painted a complicated picture… of Google’s commitment to transparency.” This ultimately led to Google+’s failure.
Now that you have some background understanding of what Google+ is and why it is shutting down over a 10-month period. More than likely, you probably want to know why this matters to us. At Optimize Social Media, we hopped on the Google+ bandwagon when the network was released in 2011. However, TWO years ago when we realized that it was no longer a viable platform we migrated our clients from Google+ to Google My Business. We asked Jordan Goggin, our Director of Partner Relationships a few questions about her initiative focusing on this transition.
1. Why did OSM leave Google+?
Google+ really made the choice for us to abandon its use as a platform for businesses. Our focus has always been, and likely always will be Google My Business Listings. However, in the beginning, the Google+ profile was an extension of the GMB listing and acted as an added social bonus. When Google made the decision to completely separate the two they also made changes to the GMB listings that incorporated more of those social aspects without having to have two separate platforms. For example, you are able to post on your listing directly now, there is a FAQ section where you can answer customer questions, and of course, you are always able to respond to reviews which helps keep it more social!
2. What were our hesitations about the network?
It was less about having hesitations and more about continuing to progress with the platforms. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from working here is that as soon as you get comfortable things change, and they change fast. Google made their decisions to better suit their platform and it’s our job to utilize their tools to do the best job we can for our customers so really all we did was make the best decision for them.
3. Why did we switch to Google My Business?
This is a common misconception — we were always utilizing GMB Listings first and foremost and we were also taking advantage of the Google+ offerings while they existed as a cohesive unit. Now that they’re separated Google+ doesn’t offer a business the same benefits and their money and our efforts are best spent fully on the GMB listings and their new opportunities. It’s all about what’s best for our customers.
4. Was this transition difficult for us/our customers?
It wasn’t very difficult — if anything just a little confusing at first. Most of our customers didn’t fully understand the way Google+ was being utilized as most of them did not use it themselves on a social level, they did, however, understand the importance of Google listings because everyone who’s ever done a Google search is familiar with those. It was a relatively easy transition for our team — they continued working with the listings daily as they always had and instead of switching to Google+ to update posts they were able to stay on the listing itself and actually offer MORE of a social presence than ever before by answering questions and making posts that were more visible to our customers customer base.
5. What are the benefits of this social network for our customers?
The benefits of utilizing all the facets of the Google My Business Listings is that they incorporate so much information in one spot that is truly helpful to the consumer and benefits our customers by helping them reach more people and convert more sales. Google is such a large entity that is so widely used and the easier we can make it for the end user to make a decision in regard to a purchase the better, and the more functional the GMB listings become the easier this gets! We’re currently pulling data to show the increase in GMB Listing traffic since these changes have been made in our program and we’re already impressed with the numbers we’ve seen so we CAN’T WAIT to show our customers how impactful it’s been for them. Stay tuned!
P.S. if you haven’t heard the recent news, Google+ went through ANOTHER data leak and now may be shutting down four months earlier. Impacting 52.5 million users, Google+ has admitted to the leakage of data and immediately informed their users of this bug. If you want to learn more about this new data leak, check out:
https://fossbytes.com/google-plus-will-be-shutdown-4-months-earlier-due-to-another-data-leak/
Maybe it’s for the best that Google+ will be shutting down sooner than expected. RIP Google+
Optimize Social Media provides social media & reputation solutions that evolve with our clients. As social media experts we manage Facebook, Twitter, Google, Yelp, YouTube and Instagram accounts for our clients on a daily basis. We help the modern business owner implement a specialized social media strategy so that they can make more money in real life. Enjoy our blog.
