TECH Extra
Lawyers: Don’t Be Late to the Google+ Party
By Steve Matthews | Aug.01.11 | Communicating, Daily Dispatch, Innovation, Marketing & Business Development, New Products, Technology
Google+, the search engine’s recent entry in the social networking sphere, is set to make a big impact on the legal-web ecosystem. You would be wise to jump ahead of the curve and begin testing now, rather than wait to see how things pan out.
Why? Because this time it’s different. This isn’t Google Buzz, Google Wave or Google’s other social network, Orkut, which remains popular in Brazil. And it’s not just Google trying to compete with Facebook or Twitter, as some have speculated. This is an all-out offensive push by Google to reinvent itself, and it will work because billions of dollars in Google advertising revenue are at stake.
I know there are naysayers out there: “It’s too early to tell,” or “These are still early days,” they say. But let me say it clearly: They are wrong. I expect Google+ to quickly move beyond just social network status, and to socially entangle almost every Google web service under a single unifying umbrella. It will be big, and it will affect how every business operates online—lawyers and law firms included.
Why Lawyers Should Care—and Start Experimenting Early
Here are a few factors worth considering that might push you toward becoming an early adopter.
- Google search affects your business. First of all, recognize that Google search remains critical to sending traffic to your law firm website. Go ahead and check your metrics if you like, but there are few exceptions. Sharing content on Google+, along with the rising adoption of +1 buttons on blogs and websites, will allow lawyers to leverage their online networks for better rankings and traffic exposure—the lifeblood of a well marketed law firm online.
- G+ Business Profiles will create a unifying hub. Expect G+ business profiles (set to launch later this year) to deliver a better context for business searching. Within two years, G+ will be showcasing most of the commercial services Google now offers. Consider how Google altered local search in 2011 with Places—and that happened without a legitimate mobile check-in function. If Google embeds Places listings in its upcoming G+ business profiles (not to mention the larger G+ social network), law firm networks (or “circles”) will add an entirely new set of metrics for Google to consider—metrics by which Google can gauge online trust and, more notably, rank websites in its search results.
- G+ is more “business” than Facebook, more “personal” than LinkedIn and more “substance” than Twitter. Arriving late to the social engagement party may put Google+ behind with respect to the adoption curve, but there are definite benefits to watching the successes and failures of the competition. Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter each have gaps in their coverage or functionality making their alignment with business interests difficult.
- Remember the Adwords advantage. Not only does Adwords give Google a proven monetization strategy, it’s an advertising method based on sending visitors to business websites. Whether the goal is to increase product sales or to increase exposure for professional services, most marketers will tell the same story—direct website traffic is still the key to conversions. Google isn’t going to abandon that philosophy for Google+, and that’s good for business.
- Google will extend “Circles” to target legal audiences. This is one area where I think Google+ could really shine. We often know far more about our existing relationships than we ever document. Midsize and larger firms use customer relationship management (CRM) software to detail client interests, but how do we do this at a personal level? Audience segmentation may require extra work, but the value of sharing the right information with the right groups is invaluable. Google Circles simplifies this process better than any of its predecessors, and like CRM software it shares the workload throughout the organization.
- You can gain the first-mover advantage. If your firm is struggling to gain “likes” on Facebook, or drowning among the Twitter sound bites, you’re not alone. As the masses join the latest trendy web service, participants often struggle to stand out. First movers not only get the jump on the competition, but they have more room to experiment, and just as important, to make mistakes.
Why Google+ Is the “Next Big Thing” (And Where to Start)
Google has wanted to socialize its services for some time now. Early in July, it lost access to its one social toehold: Twitter’s real-time feed, along with the embedded links and topic trends. Competitor Facebook has similar contextual data, but Facebook won’t be providing that to Google anytime soon. Google, on the other hand, maintains one of the few proven tools for generating business online: search. But it needed to make a play for social relevance. Google+ is that play, and I believe it will have a direct impact on publicizing and marketing lawyers’ services online.
So start your experimentation early. Learn what Google+ is and how it works—first as an individual, and later as a business owner or marketer. Google+ is still in limited field trial, but you can set up your Google profile and if someone sends you a Google+ invite, accept it.
The early days of any web tool are best used to establish relationships and share interests, and are non-commercial in nature. During that period, expect Google to integrate business applications slowly. Watch for what vehicles Google provides to distribute content. Law firm business profiles are a given, but what about practice groups? How about online communities for practice commentary? Perhaps Google’s web video “hangouts” could serve as an interactive webinar platform? Only the future will answer these questions, but this much we know: You must participate to find out.
We all keep hearing about the “Next Big Thing” online. This is it, folks.
Steve Matthews, founder and principal of Stem Legal Web, helps lawyers and law firms gain greater web visibility and effectiveness. A thought leader and a trend watcher within the legal profession, he blogs enthusiastically at both Law Firm Web Strategy and slaw. Steve is a member of the Attorney at Work Advisory Group.
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Steve, very good post. I jumped in to Google Plus at the onset, and have enjoyed learning all of its ins and outs. Some are asking me what they can find on G+ that they can’t get on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter, and why they should spend the time when time is, indeed, in short supply.
These are good questions, and I understand them having been in-house as a legal marketer myself. Your point about being an early adopter and student is a good one. Those who are responsible for marketing their business, their practice, their firm or themselves need to become familiar with what’s going on over there.
There is content being produced and shared, and a lot of it is very good. There is momentum being gained because, as is usual, early adopters are soaking up, and sharing, a great deal of knowledge.
I hate to see firms being last to this marketing tactic because Google+ is, so far, a high-level platform within which to share information. It is also providing access to people not normally approachable in other platforms. Because there aren’t business pages yet, decision makers and early adopters are spending more time discussing and sharing…yes, interacting, which they don’t always do on other platforms…which is a shame, but that’s another blog post or comment for another day.
I am also finding that I enjoy reading longer form content on Google+ that I typically have to click-thru to read on other sites. What then happens is that I end up with 30 open tabs in Chrome, hoping to read posts and articles found across the Internet, but that doesn’t always happen. When I can read a mini blog post of sorts within the walls of G+, I find I absorb more content on the spot, which I find educational and useful.
Again, good post Steve!
“I know there are naysayers out there: ‘It’s too early to tell,’ or ‘These are still early days,’ they say. But let me say it clearly: They are wrong.”
Really?
Just a month after Google mobilized every social media power user they could muster for the Google + launch, traffic is falling off. http://techcrunch.com/2011/07/27/google-minus/
It’s absolutely is too early for anyone but professional marketers and social media junkies to be noodling with Google +, and it’s borderline reckless to advocate early adoption by lawyers in general. Until a clear, real world experience-based Google + use case emerges, lawyers will be far better served by optimizing their current social media and content marketing programs before betting the farm on a promising but still fluid one.
Instead of wasting time and mental energy experimenting with a very early-stage platform, lawyers can and should follow insightful and measured user stories from early adopters like Nancy Myrland and Samantha Collier as barometers of if/when it’s the right time to join.
Jay, I’m with you. I’m not seeing it, but that doesn’t mean “it” won’t eventually get there.
Steve, one thing you mention is the over-reach of Google:
I expect Google+ to quickly move beyond just social network status, and to socially entangle almost every Google web service under a single unifying umbrella. It will be big, and it will affect how every business operates online—lawyers and law firms included.
That to me is why Google+ can fail. I think the idea that you have to have a gmail account to play is asking too much of people.
As for Twitter and Facebook? Neither system is perfect, but neither one is so broken that they will be abandoned. Too much time, effort and resources have been put into them for the brands to abandon them.
I agree with Jay … follow the early adopters and see how they are using it. Right now, I am extremely neutral.
And, seriously, can ANYONE explain to me how I can keep certain gmail addresses from being suggested?
I’m not a marketer, but my takeaway from the G+ launch is that networks come and go. You should not be in a rush to embrace any particular one. Think of many of the people who rushed to join Twitter or Facebook for marketing. People seem much more lukewarm to those platforms now, and there was never really any rush to join them in the first place. In fact, it almost seems like this is why everyone is looking to Google+ as the next big thing. People are developing a Twitter-malaise.
So, if anything, my two cents (again, I’m not a marketer) is that don’t worry about being “late” to any party. People will always be around looking to interact with others. We may paint the picture that there’s only a limited amount of social networking oxygen to go around, and we’re all in a race to consume as much as possible, but that doesn’t seem based in reality to me.
I can’t see it myself. Although I have to say I’ve not used Google+, but in that sense I’d say I’m a good barometer.
For Google+ to work it needs to temp the twitter, facebook and linkedin users (I’m all three of them) and I just can’t see me investing the time in another social media site.
Also Google’s “pull” is its search. I use search heavily yes, but not as much as I did, social recommendations make an increasing dent in my use. Recommendations that come from the big 3 social sites.
Finally it sounds like there are some great ideas in Google+ but if facebook or linkedin introduce these then as a facebook/linkedin user I’d be even less inclined to switch. And to be fair they’d be daft not to, see how facebook are looking at skype integration to combat Google voice.
Google to me are becoming the new Microsoft, a follower not a trend setter.
Niche communities are the way forward. Circles in G+ sort of embraces this concept but industry-focussed communities and interest/hobby-focussed communities will soon develop to usurp the big 3 or 4 networks, leaving Twitter, FB etc more as broadcast tools.
Steve,
In January the average user spent 3 minutes on Google+. By contrast, the average MySpace user spent 8 minutes. Yes, MySpace.
Twitter logged in at 21 minutes.
Still sanguine?