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The whole concept of social media marketing is nothing new, but social media services do continue to evolve. Take Google+ for example, not only is it the latest edition to the family of social media services, but it’s also the fastest growing social media network of all time.

How Much Is Google+ Impacting New Marketing Strategies?

There’s no denying that there has been a huge shift taking place in online business practices as a result of massive social media impacts occurring. Customers, or potential customers can no longer be shrugged off as a nuisance or inconvenience like so many companies have been doing for many years.

Even long before the Internet existed, word of mouth has always been the most effective form of advertising, this has never changed and likely won’t change, the only difference is the rate at which customer comments, feedback, remarks and recommendations travel nowadays. A brand can be instantly bashed or praised, how you treat your customers will effect which side of the spectrum your business ends up landing on.

Can You Afford to Ignore Your Customers?

Let’s rewind a bit. Before social media marketing became popular it was common for a lot of business’s to view their customers as being annoying and a waste of time & money to deal with. They treated them as such and barely felt any negative ripple effect from it. Sure, bad word of mouth traveled and it did ultimately have some sort of impact, but nowhere near to the extent it has today. Companies were able to treat their customers poorly, fraudulently, with disrespect and worst of all get away with it. This was all very unfortunate for customers, but luckily tables are turning more in favor for customers of the modern age.

Another common mistake that simply won’t fly by today’s standards is how business’s would interact with customers more from a financial standpoint rather than putting themselves in the customers shoes and communicating with them on the same level. Being blinded by dollar signs simply won’t cut it anymore. You must sincerely empathize with your customers and honestly see things from their perspective in order for good feedback & reviews to follow.

If you treat your customers poorly or simply view them as some sort of bank machine they will notice and within seconds your poor service can be broadcasted to countless millions of people worldwide. The last thing you want to do is underestimate the rate at which information travels with social media services, not to mention that rate continues to get faster and grow larger each year.

Customers are a lot more educated and savvy these days. If your company slips or provides poor customer service they can easily find a similar or even better product or service somewhere else, and quickly. There’s certainly no shortage of options or resources available these days for customers to find what they need. Let’s face it, more people are starting to turn to social media services to seek desired products or services. When your company or brand comes up will people find stories relating to encounters with your company that were unpleasant and backed up by being +1′d by hundreds or thousands of other Google+ users? Or, will your company be on the list of those who are trustworthy and dependable?

Are You Keeping Up With Current Google+ Trends?

I’ve briefly discussed how dangerous social media can be for poorly managed business’s, but flip the coin and there are also endless benefits for respected and deserving companies with the help of Google+. Along with the rise of Google Plus comes a whole new world of opportunities for you to promote your brand.

Google+ offers an exciting new way for your company to advertise and be heard. It’s a social media service that enables you to showcase products and have it shared across thousands of different circles, especially if your product meets or exceeds today’s customer expectations.

Love it or hate it, Google+ is here to stay and it’s popularity is growing at an exponential rate. It’s also expected to surpass Twitter in less than one year to rank as the world’s second largest social media service. In other words, it would be a huge potential loss if your company didn’t implement some sort of Google+ marketing strategy to help your business grow and rise to the next level.

You can also use Google+ to gauge what’s currently popular and trending. This can help lead your company in the right direction so as not to be left behind by what was popular by yesterday’s standards. It can help you plan your marketing and business strategy better with the most current and up-to-date trends accessible to you at any given moment. This in fact can be a huge advantage.

Conclusion

I’ve barely scratched the surface regarding how much of an impact Google+ is having on the business and marketing realm, but I hope there was at least some insightful information covered in this article that you found helpful. A lot of marketing principles do remain the same, however, modern and newly innovated social media services such as Google+ as well as new tactics really can make or break your business. With that said, ultimately you still have the power to decide what direction your company will go from here.

What’s your take on all that was discussed today? Do you agree, disagree, are you perhaps still a bit confused by Google+ and the way new age marketing is evolving? What are some of your experiences so far with social media marketing?

About

Darryl

Darryl Burma is the founder and editor of GPlusGoodies.com and has a passion for marketing, design, creative writing and social media.