Feel positive about Google+: Part 2 – The Players

In the second of three articles, about how businesses are using Google+, SBC’s Sam Cooke looks at the who and how in terms of which brands are (currently) the kings of Google+, and how they are best utilising the social tool. Read part 1 here.

Who are the current frontrunners?

Some of the best in the game right now are Toyota, H&M, Playstation, Cadburys, Pepsi, Sephora, Nike and even NASA. This highlights the versatility of the type of brands which use the page for promotional purposes. Whilst the automotive industry is the one which has the biggest fascination with the network currently (BMW, Mercedes and Ferrari are others amongst the top Google+ brands), it is by no means limited to this or any specific set of industry types.

Moreover, regardless of industry, all brands use it in ultimately the same way; providing high quality engaging content and offering interactive user opportunities.  It is these who have realised, as much reiterated by the company itself, that Google+ is just another layer of Google overall.

 

A brand-specific guide on what type of campaigns have been executed well on Google+ can be seen below:

1. Cadbury

Cadbury was the first to launch a brand new product via Google+; the Dairy Milk Bubbly in 2011. The visual basis of Google+ ensured they were able to create much hype around the product, and Cadbury continue to use the page to much the same effect.

Jerry Daykin, former Social Media and Community Manager at Cadbury, explained how; “The ‘What’s Hot’ section on G+ is almost entirely dominated by visual topics, photographs in particular, and while text only updates can get a good response on other platforms on G+ they rarely cut through.”

“For a brand like Cadbury this is a great opportunity to share our wider content, but we’ve also been sure to create simple G+ specific imagery”, he continued.

After all who doesn’t love pictures of chocolate?

Followers: 3,415,939

2. Toyota

The team at Toyota are Google+ masters. They’ve created, and maintain, a visual page which is full to the brim with innovative and interactive features. Their ace in the hole is the Toyota Collaborator feature which, using Hangouts, allows users to design their own Toyota with a team of up to five collaborators. Even the interior of the car can be viewed. Most magically of all, the feature then allows you to take the car for a virtual test drive using Google Maps. A superb way to make the most out of Google+ and other linked Google features.

Followers: 3,575,682

3. Playstation

One of the fastest growing Google+ pages at present Playstation must be doing something right. Delivering content in the form of pictures, video clips and news articles based on forthcoming games releases they receive a great deal more engagement than other brands’ Google+ pages.

Followers: 4,251,894

4. H&M

Fashion brands have begun to assert themselves on Google+ and it is H&M who are the best at it. By showcasing collections such as Beckham Bodywear and interspersing these post types with videos from designers, and numerous posts of new looks featuring several different accessories and clothing items put together by a stylist – H&M have amassed almost 4m followers.

Followers: 3,983,810

5. NASA

In terms of having the option to post exclusive and intriguing content NASA are more fortunate than most. They do not disappoint too, from links to hand picked articles concerning space and technology, to photos and videos of space flights and even Hangouts with scientists and astronauts Google+ does not get much cooler than this.

Followers: 1,339,362

6. Pepsi

Whilst not the most frequently updated page, the mantra of good things come to those who wait seems applicable here. Posts tend to be in the form of promotions, giveaways and competitions, often fronted by a celebrity ambassador such as Beyoncé.

Followers: 970,376

In addition to these some other examples of posting exclusive content and campaigns are commonplace such as tutorials by Clinique, the Eat Happy project by Tesco and Cadbury’s #CremeEggBake in which it gained much success via engaging with the baking communities on Google+.

So what are the rules of establishing a Google+ page which delivers consistently high traffic?

• Be visual – high quality pictures, videos, whatever, make it count – the importance of this cannot be stressed enough, this is a platform wherein just text posts tends not to do so well. Make the page attractive.
• Offer exclusive and knowledgeable content with a mind to your target audience
• Include features from celebrities, and/or experts, where possible
• Be engaging; Hangouts are an excellent way but in general maintaining a presence in relative communities and circles is just as important
• Try to stick roughly to the 80/20 rule – essentially do not spam and do not hard sell. Be interesting, attempt to ensure 80% of content is shareable.