Over the weekend, I got a Facebook note from my friend Garry Trammell.
He wrote:
” Have a couple of questions for you, when you have time to respond. I suspect you have been spending some time with Google + and I wonder what value you find with it. I’ve not had time to explore it yet, and that is one of the main drawbacks for me. I can’t really keep current with corporate expectations, family time, FB and Twitter connections, serving in the church, etc.
Do you think G+ will catch on, and even if it does, what lasting value do you believe it has, that has stark advantages over FB.
I guess I need someone to offer me compelling reasons why I should make the time to interact on an additional SM site.
Your thoughts?”
Garry is not the first person to have expressed this concern about time management and one more social media platform.
Maybe you have had these questions, too:
How will I find the time to integrate G+?
Do I need to find the time to integrate G+?
Is G+ worth my time investment?
Let me say first, to Garry and to all of you who may be asking these questions, that I cannot answer those questions for you.
Instead, I want to give you 12 questions to consider when deciding whether or not G+ is worth your time investment. In my next post, I’ll give you a suggestion about an experiment you could try as you make your decision.
12 Questions to Consider When Deciding Whether or Not to Try Google+
- What are my goals for using social media?
- How much time do I have to invest in social media?
- What social media platforms are my core customers (or friends) using?
- What social media platforms will my core customers (or friends) be using in the future?
- What do I most enjoy about my current social media interactions?
- How important is it to me to stay on the cutting edge?
- What would I have to give up to spend time on another social media platform?
- Am I willing to give up time spent on something else to engage in a new social media platform?
- What would I hope to accomplish through involvement on another social media platform?
- Can I meet my goals for social media involvement without G+?
- What do I want to do?
- What might I be missing if I choose not to try G+ now?
A few final thoughts for Garry:
Yes, I think Google+ will stick around.
Yes, I see value in Google+. It offers a flexibility and potential for depth of interaction that exceeds both Twitter and Facebook.
And… this might not be the right timing for you to try Google+. If it is, I look forward to seeing you there. I hope you’ll add me to your circles.
I am the founder/CEO of the Weaving Influence team, the author of Reach: Creating the Biggest Possible Audience for Your Message, Book, or Cause, and the host of the Book Marketing Action Podcast. I’m a wife and mom of three kids, and I enjoy running, reading, writing, coffee, and dark chocolate.
Totally agree with you. Google+ is here to stay … we just all need some investment time to build it up and determine its usefulness. I like it already, just have to find the time as you point out. Jim
Jim,
What are you enjoying most about G+ so far?
I offer some tips about how to manage the time thing in a post that will go live here on Thursday. I hope you’ll come back and check it out.
🙂 Becky
Hi Becky,
You ask some good and important questions. I don’t seem to have a good answer to several of them.
Perhaps your next two posts will help me out: your experiment as well as “how to manage the time thing.” I imagine you’ll have a lot of interest in both!
Wendy
Great post and questions! I’m looking forward to your next post. It is important for me to stay on the cutting edge, and for that reason alone is worth a time investment. How much time remains to be seen. I’m in the middle of redefining my purposes for each of the four platforms I’m involved in, to get the maximum value for the time spent. Value for me professionally and personally, and then how that perceived value trickles down to my family and friends. Thanks for the post, and the mention within it!
Becky, this sums up G+ for me: “Yes, I see value in Google+. It offers a flexibility and potential for depth of interaction that exceeds both Twitter and Facebook”. I fully agree with you hence my investing in G+ now. It’s a Tet Match, not a One Day game (I thought I would throw in a cricket analogy given we are so global these day). So I am in it for the long haul and see G+ much more integrated in having the facebook and twitter ability in one for my Social Media strategy needs. Great questions to ask yourself before taking the plunge.
How about using Google+ as it was intended – as a “social” information platform, as opposed to only seeing it as a business marketing opportunity? Google’s algorithms already know about your business if you’re online presence is SEO orientated and your content is both original and regularly updated. Seeing Google+ as purely another marketing opportunity will ultimately flood streams with promotional material which will only turn people away. Plus is simply adding a social experience to Google’s established data mining facilities. It should not be viewed as another billboard to fill with adverts.
As a social media Mentor and Navigator, people ask me this question all the time. Time seems to be a premium for most people and since Google + is not as “in your face” as Facebook, they “forget” about it and have difficulties posting in yet another arena. You make a good point – are your clients there? If so, you need to be there, too. I’m subscribing to your blog to keep abreast of your answers. Nice post!
Thanks, Laurie! I’m glad you found this post to be helpful and I look forward to getting to know you and your work, as well!
Thanks for facilitating this subject- this is helpful as I’ve been rather apprenhensive about investing in yet another SM site. I think I will be getting more involved with this pretty soon.
Let me know if I can help at all, Scott!