In case you missed it, topping the 2017 American Customer Satisfaction Index, which evaluates how users feel about internet social media companies, was none other than Google+—that’s right, Google’s “failed” social network, which many people are unaware still exists.
Launched in 2011, Google+ was Google’s attempt to compete with Facebook, Twitter and other rising social networks by allowing its users to create “circles” of friends, engage with community pages and create posts.
Evidently, there are still people reaping benefits from maintaining a presence on Google+. However, in recent years, most brands have moved on from Google+ to focus their efforts elsewhere—like on social networks with much bigger audiences. And while Google+ may have been a sad, expensive failure, it was far from Google’s last attempt at creating a successful social network.
In 2014, Google launched Google My Business, a service that allows businesses to manage how their information appears in search. But more recently (and quietly), Google rolled out a new feature for Google My Business users that has the potential to put the search giant back in the social networking game.
Enter: Google Posts
Google Posts were first introduced under the name “candidate cards” in January 2016, and they were exclusive to political candidates looking to boost their search presence. A few months later, Google rolled out Posts to a small number of businesses—mostly sports teams, museums, musicians and movies. And as of July, the feature is now available for all businesses.
According to Google, 82 percent of people turn to search engines to find local information, and a brand’s Google listing is the ideal place to showcase everything a brand has to offer.
70 percent of people look at multiple businesses before making a final choice, and now, with Google Posts, businesses can share timely, relevant updates right on Google Search and Google Maps to help them stand out to potential customers.
