Google Plus is popular among technology-oriented consumers and companies use it for various reasons. It appeals particularly to young males interested in technology. Companies in industries where visual appeal is important, like automotive and fashion, use Google Plus to showcase new products. Small, localized businesses also leverage Google Plus to improve their online presence and drive local customer traffic. Google Plus integrates with other Google products and provides various features for customer engagement, segmentation, and analytics.

1. Shannon Pickering

2. Shannon Pickering
Technology-OrientedConsumersandCompanies
Google Plus isusedbyeclecticmixture of organizations forvaryingreasons.Intermsof consumerusage,
it hasa reputationforbeinghighlypopularwithyoungmaleswhoare veryinterestedintechnology,and
adoptersof newtechnological innovations.Evidence of the appeal of Google Plustothisconsumer
segmentis illustratedthroughGoogle Plus userdemographics. Google Plus userstendtobe young,with
29% of its usersbeingfromgenerationZand28% of usersbeingmembersof GenerationY.Additionally,
25% of Google Plususersworkin IT (Mims,2013), a statisticwhich demonstrates the popularityof
Google Plus amongthose interestedintechnology.Consumerswiththisdemographicand
psychographicprofileenjoy GooglePlus becauseitislessnoisy, andoffersmore opportunitiesfor
compellingdialoguethenothersocial networks (Mims,2013).The type of consumersdrawnto Google
PluspromptscompaniessuchasAndroidandSamsunguse Google + to share new technological
innovations andproductswiththeircustomers.
ProductswithSignificantVisual Appeal
Google Plusisverypopularwithorganizationswhere aestheticappeal isanimportantelementof its
productofferings.A wide varietyof automotivecompanies,includingToyota, BMW,and Ferrari use it to
highlightnewproductsandinnovation.ClothingcompaniessuchasH&Malso use Google Plus toexhibit

3. Shannon Pickering
theirlatestfashiondesigns. Thesebrandscanhostvideochatsand eventsto engage customersand
provide information onnew products,atactic oftenusedby Ferrari and H&M. Furthermore, Google Plus
encourageshigh-qualityvisualimagerythrough AutoEnhance,where minoradjustmentsare
automaticallymade toimprove photoquality,andGoogle Plus Creative Kit,anonline photoeditor.
Organizationscanalsopostlinksas photosusingstandardsizedorlargerphotographs,whichdrawmore
attentionandtrafficto linksandposts, while additionally offeringopportunitiesto visually display
productofferings.
Small, localizedbusinesses
Google Plus isalsowidelyused bysmall,highlylocalizedbusinesses. ThroughGoogle Plus usage,
organizations canimprove theironline presence anddrive consumertrafficbybuilding aGoogle + My
BusinessPage orhavingtheircompanyfeaturedon Google Plus Local. Google Plus Local recommends
local businessestocustomers inthe same geographicareausinga five starratingsystem,while Google+
My BusinessPage providebusinesseswithavarietyof optionsforbuildingapage to create local
awarenessof theirorganization. Brickandmortar companieswithaphysical locationcancreate a
StorefrontMy Businesspage,whichwill showsthe physical locationof the companyandprovides
directionsusingGoogle Maps.These organizationscanalsocreate interiorvirtual toursusingGoogle
BusinessPhotos,whichisavailablethrough Google Plus local. Companiesthatservice aspecificlocation
by goingto the customercan create a Service AreaMy BusinessPage,whichwillallow themto display
the area theyservice usingGoogle Maps. Inbothcases,Google Plusprovidessmall businesswithsearch
engine optimizationbyhavingtheirbusinessinformationappearonlocal Google searches.Withthese
features, Google Plus allowslocal businessestocreate bandawarenessandassistpotential customersin
findingtheirbusinessbothonline andgeographically.

4. Shannon Pickering
IntegrationwithOtherGoogle Products
Google Plus provides avarietyof marketingandbusinessbenefits.Manyof itsservicesare available free
of charge,whichhisparticularlyforsmall businessesornew businesseswithrelativelysmallmarketing
budgets. Asa componentof the “Google ecosystem”Google Plus integrateswithavarietyof Google
products,includingYouTube,AdWordsandGoogle Docs.Thisintegrationisespecially advantageous
withGoogle beingthe world’slargestsearchengine,since Google’ssearchalgorithmsfavourcontent
createdinGoogle Plus (Ochman,2014). Use of Google Plus leadstosearchengine optimizationfor
Google Plus pagesandan enhancedonline presence.Google Plus Reviewsalsoappearinsearchengine
results, givingorganizationsthatprovide ahighlevel of serviceanopportunitytoenhance SEOby
encouragingcustomerstowrite Google Plus reviews.
CustomerEngagementandAcquisition
Google plusisrenownedforease ininteractingwithandengagingintwo-way conversationswith
customers.One way Google Plus encouragescustomerengagementisthrough Google Hangouts,which
isa videoandinstantmessagingplatform thatfostersandenablesconversation.UsingHangoutsonAir,
organizationscanhostlive eventsandcreate broadcaststoengage consumers. Thisapplicationcanbe
utilizedinanumberof beneficial ways,including providingonlinedemonstrations,streaminglive events

5. Shannon Pickering
and forpresentations.Furthermore, organizationscanalsouse Google Hangoutsto engage in one on
one conversationswithcustomers throughonlinechatandvideo conferencing.An addedbenefitof
Hangoutsis increasedconvenience andefficiencyforbusinesses,whichmayalsouse Hangoutsforvideo
conferencingandreal-time collaboration. Additionally, online communities are availablethroughGoogle
Plusona varietyof topics.They functionasan online forumwhere like-mindedpeople orpeople with
similarinterestscanconnectand share information.Organizationscancreate andparticipate in
communities abouttheirorganizationorindustry.Communitiesalso providebusinesseswith
opportunitiestonetworkwithpeers, influencers, andpotential customers. Organizations mayuse
communitiesforsocial listeninganduncover relevantinformationabouttheircompetitors,industry,
customers, andbrand sentiment.
Market Segmentation
Google Circlesallowsbusinessestoorganize theircustomersinto circles,orgroupsforinformation
sharingusinga drag and dropinterface.Userscan choose toshare specificcontentwithchosencircles,
or make informationpublicallyavailable. UsingGoogle Circlesabusinesscouldsegmentits customers
intogroupswithcommonalitiesforsharingrelevantcontent.Bysegmentingtheircustomersusing
Circles, theyare onlysharingthe content thatis relevantand interestingtothat particularsegment,
insteadof spammingcustomerswithcontenttheymayfinduninterestingorirrelevant. Additionally,
segmentationmetricsare availablethroughGoogle Analytics,whichallow organizationstosegment
website visitorsbasedoncertaindemographics(forexample,country) andkeepstatisticsonthese
segments. Google Analytics isalsobeneficial inconductingmarketresearch.Itallowsorganizationsto
obtaininformationaboutvisitors,suchaswhere theyare comingfromand whytheyare visiting the
company’s website.

6. Shannon Pickering
+ 1 Button
The Google +1 buttonis SimilartoFacebook’s Like button.Itallowscustomerstoendorse online
content,providingorganizationswithawayof measuringcustomerengagement. Additional+1
endorsementsresultinimprovedsearchengine optimization,therebyimprovingthe website’s rankings
insearch engine results.Throughthe resulting searchengineoptimization andimproved rankings can
become anothermethodof measuringthe long-termsuccessof the Google Plusplatform.
Google Ripples
Google Ripplesprovidesareal-time datavisualization of publicre-sharesof aGoogle Plus post.The re-
sharingsequence isillustratedbycircleslocatedwithinlargercircles,andthe size of any givencircle
indicatesthe numberof re-sharesoriginatingfromthatshare. The size of the circlesallowsan
organizationtofindpotential influencersandbrandadvocateswhoare supplyinganorganizationwith
earnedmediaby frequently re re-sharingcompanyposts.
Google Analytics
Google Analytics gathersinformationbyusing"page tags",whichis aGoogle Analyticstrackingcode.
The tracking code runs inthe clientbrowserwhenthe clientbrowsesthe page, collectsvisitordata, and

7. Shannon Pickering
sendsitto a Google data collectionserver (Google Analytics,2014). The collectionof thisinformation
allowsGoogle Analytics userstocreate customdashboardswiththe metricsmostrelevanttothe
objectivesof the organization,andprovidesreal time dataonthese metrics. A wide range of metrics
available forbusinessestouse,includingnumberof websitevisits,wheretrafficiscomingfrom, how
longtheystay onthe website,howlongor oftenusersperformspecificactions. Additionally,
organizationscanuse Google Analytics tocreate customizeddatareports, whichprovidemore in- depth
informationandanalysis onthe metricsusedbythe organization.Google Analytics alsoallow
organizationstomeasure the successof specificmarketingcampaigns byutilizingmetrics thatthe email
opensandadvertisingclicks.