Google+ Brand Guide

© 2013 Critical Mass, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Google+ For Brands
Where It Is Now.
July 3, 2013
Thursday, 4 July, 13

© 2013 Critical Mass, Inc. All Rights Reserved 2
Where Google+ is Now
Table of Contents
http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/resource-how-many-people-use-the-top-social-media/
• Google+ overview, statistics and numbers
• What makes Google+ unique
• Exceptional case studies
• Takeaways and recommendations

What is Google+?
3© 2013 Critical Mass, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Google+ is a social network. A place where individual users can build unique profiles, share unique content and selectively
determine who will see that content. Users can view content in their news feeds, place friends in circles, video chat in Hangouts and
follow the people and brands they find interesting.
The network may appear to be a direct competitor to Facebook; in fact Google+ acts less as a relationship builder, and more as a
personal content aggregator. Google+ is more akin to a social RSS feed, a comment-ready, common framework with a personalized
news feed where your content is provided by friends, influencers and forums.
What has changed since launch?
Google+ has always aligned well with the other products in Google’s arsenal, but integration has gone further in the last few
months. Local search, greater connectivity with YouTube user accounts and increased privacy settings compliment the on-going
changes to design and interface.
In terms of user base and growth, Google+ has moved into the second spot for size of social network, trailing only Facebook. This is
in part due to Google including a Google+ account with every gmail address. The size is deceiving however, with most accounts
lying inactive.

Who uses Google+?
0
1.5
3
4.5
6
GER CAN UK INDIA USA
Top Countries
Millions of Users
Active
17%
Inactive
83%
63% 37%
24% 24%18% 18%12% 12%6% 6%0%
0-17
18-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55+
Distribution by age + sex
Income
<
$30K
$30K
-$59
$60K
-$99
$100K
-$149K
>
$150K
18% 27% 28% 15% 12%
source: http://blog.thenetimpact.com/2011/12/tni-trend-list-implications-of-twitters-redesign-google-plus-demographics/

Platform Comparison
1.11 Billion 403 Multi
500 Million 21 Multi
48.7 Million 90 Image
1 Billion 180 Video
343 Million 3 Multi
Total
Audience
Average
Min/Month
Content
Delivery
http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/resource-how-many-people-use-the-top-social-media/
Google+ suﬀers from a
great deal of inactivity.
They have constantly seen
growth in their network,
but the total audience is
deceiving. Google has
connected its gmail
platform to Google+,
making anyone who signs
up for gmail an automatic
Google+ member. As
Google updates its other
software programs, it
integrates Google+ making
it almost impossible to do
anything Google related
and not sign-up.

Major Content Differentiators
Hangouts
Google+ has one secret weapon:
Hangouts. These video chat meets-ups
operate differently then any other video
service in their ability to do everything
from private session to live feed. Link
them to your website and YouTube
channel and promote them with events to
get noticed across the web.
Communities
Google+ Communities are lightweight,
instantly created discussion forums. They
act much as the Facebook wall does,
housing conversation where both you and
your audience can post content. Like
mentioned before, communities can be
wide ranging like or deeply targeted.
Keeping communities highly targeted with
relevant content creates greater in post-
interaction then basic posts on your wall.
Offers
Offers are Google’s daily deal platform,
similar to Groupon, and are now available
directly within Google+. Offers give
businesses the ability to offer point of
purchase discounts and deals for local
users who are following their Google+
account.

© 2013 Critical Mass, Inc. All Rights Reserved 7© 2013 Critical Mass, Inc. All Rights Reserved
You are on Google+, now you’ve got to ask yourself “how will people know I am here?” Without an on-platform advertising ecosystem like
Facebook & Twitter, or even a similar sponsored-search capability like Google-owned YouTube, there isn’t an obvious way to promote your
existence to the rest of the 300-million+ strong Google+ community.
Proactive Connections
• Brand pages can proactively add
individual users to Circles. Search
for advocates by name and
connect with category influencers.
• Searching communities and
pages can identify people that you
want in your circles - add them
directly.
• Ripples is a function attached to
content which shows the most
influential people who have
shared the content.
Off-Platform
• Having touchpoints across web
and other social properties is a
good way to direct off-platform
traffic.
• Integrating a Google+ badge on a
brand’s website, other social
networks, in emails, on product
packaging, digital and traditional
advertising and what ever else is
at the its disposal will grow page
visibility.
YouTube
• Brands with established
YouTube channels have a
distinct advantage on Google+,
especially when it comes to
Hangouts, as the video platform
is completely integrated into the
Google+ experience.
• YouTube videos can be
searched, played and added by
users without leaving Google+,
so it is crucial that your YouTube
video titles, tags and
descriptions include a call-to-
action for viewers to follow your
page on Google+.
Exclusive Content
• Given that many people may
follow the brand on other
platforms like Facebook and
Twitter, providing unique content
can set the Google+ page apart.
• The most unique content
experience on Google+ is the
Hangout.
Recruitment

Like a brand page on Facebook, the Google+ brand page is designed to
give business, brands, products and organizations a presence. The
Google+ brand page oﬀers a few extra perks that relate to Google’s
dominance in search.
Linking
Connecting your page to your website via linking increases the relevancy
of the content on your website to assist in search ranking. It also lets your
site take advantage of Direct Connect - a service that automatically
sends a user to your website when searching for your brand in the
Google+ universe.
In addition to organic search results, linking places prominence for your
brand in the search window, highlighting your Google+ page where ads
would frequently appear.
Adwords
Brand pages can take advantage of having social data like follower count
appear within AdWords .
Brand Pages

Face to Face.
Hangouts are public video chats that connect people, wherever they are, to each other. Hangouts
are integrated with other Google platforms like gmail and drive, making greater collaboration
possible with your audience in real time. For example, shared sketchpad during a Hangout would
allow people to participate in designing a concept together.
Hangouts can be linked to your YouTube channel, and embedded directly on your website,
creating connectivity in places where people are already consuming your content. They are
automatically recorded and added to YouTube for instant content sharing.
Hangouts integrated seamlessly with Google+ events, creating a space to promote future live
streams and can be promoted by Google and added to a global calendar of events.
Use them for: Q&A
Customer Service
Product Launches
Video Interviews
Talent Shows
Hangouts & Events

A place for everyone
Communities are Google+’s answer to the online forum or Facebook’s groups. Communities
are built around topics of interest or need where all users can post freely, sharing comments
and questions relating to the topic. This is a big diﬀerentiator from Facebook. As pages and
proﬁles are places where the owner curates the content, communities are a place where
everyone can post. Users can also upload their own media to communities, creating an area
for open sharing.
Like groups on Facebook, communities can be public or private, however their visibility in the
platform makes them a good choice for reaching audiences who are currently sharing
information relevant to your brand.
Communities

Daily deals for connected fans
Google recently connected its daily deal offers with the Google+ platform, giving brands the
ability to directly reward their followers. Offers are searchable, purchasable and stored in your
Google+ profile where you can then redeem from the mobile app at point of purchase. Where
Offers excels over other platforms like Groupon or Living Social is the ability to release offers
in brand Google+ feeds, allowing fans to get in on the action and share the offer with their
networks.
The Offers platform on Google+ is currently limited to a few brands but will likely evolve over
the coming months as it rolls out to additional brands.
Offers

Monitoring and Analytics
Ripples is a data visualization tool used to show the reach, spread and
impact of content on Google+. When someone shares your content,
Ripples activates and circles appear indicating that they are connected to
your content. As the post makes its way through the network, more
circles appear.
In addition to this visualization, Ripples contains more analytics tools like
inﬂuencer identiﬁcation, time spread for the post and more.
Ripples

Social search.
Proper hashtag usage is an important part of every branded Google+ post. Hashtags ensure that every video, image, link or plain text
post is connected to a search on the platform. Hashtags are ﬁlterable and live, so users can monitor them for the most current
information. Hashtags can also end up on a trending list, where search and sharing push them to visible areas of the platform.
New platform updates include auto-hashtagging, where Google will scan your posts (including images) and create hashtags for you
automatically.
When compared to untagged posts, hashtagged content correlates with higher engagement and transfer rates. These rates can be
monitored directly, as hashtags are able to be tracked and analyzed using Google+ Ripples.
How to use them: Make the hashtag relevant to the brand. Creating a brand hashtag can lead people to great campaign content, while
generic tags that are being used organically by the community allow you to penetrate conversations.
One More Thing: Hashtags

Should you consider using Google+ as one of your social platforms, it is
important to think about how your brand lives within the various
products and features of the social platform. At the centre is your Brand
page - the identity and experience centre - where users expect to find
relevant content and information relating to your brand. Users then
engage in communities, relevant topic areas where they can share and
interact with their own content and you as a brand can develop
engagement and source user-generated content. Communities are
relevant areas for content delivery that relate to, and drive traffic to your
brand. The content delivery devices are Hangouts, video, posts and
hashtags and connect to these community topics and share content
across your social network. These content delivery systems also push
outside of the network, driving traffic across the web to other platforms.
communities
video
hashtags
posts
hangouts
Your Brand
The Universe

The following Google+ brand pages stand out as exceptional in their respective spaces. Success criteria not only include the number
of followers, but the conversations and shares their posts generated. Certain pages, such as Cadbury UK, successfully leveraged their
communities as well as their brand page by encouraging sharing on both pages and achieving high engagement by doing so. These
elements have been reﬂected in the study.
Global Page Rank was also used as a benchmarking tool and is based solely on number of followers.
Case Studies: Evaluation Criteria

Delicious Posts
Cadbury UK has captured an audience on Google+ that is focused on the uses
of its chocolate in baking applications.While the content has some crossover
with its Facebook profile with regards to promotional posting, it is tightly
focused on this delivery and has the numbers to show how effective it has
been.
Cadbury also runs a branded community on Google+ called #CadburyKitchen.
With 40,000 members they have created a forum where people share recipes
focused on the uses of Cadbury chocolate in baking.
Verdict: Unique content has led to one of the few big brands that has a
significantly greater number of followers on Google+ than on Facebook.
Stats (Page) Global Page Ranking
Number of Followers
Average Number of Comments Per Post
Average Number of +1 Per Post
8
3 Million
23
218
posts + community
Case Studies - Cadbury UK

Case Studies - ESPN
First Star for Hangouts
ESPN has taken advantage of the Hangout better then most brands on the
Google+ platform. Leveraging its on-air talent, ESPN holds frequent
discussions and exclusive interviews with star athletes where the audience can
participate by asking questions. Videos are then archived to its YouTube
channel, which has more than 270 million views.
Verdict: Google+ oﬀers a few unique products and ESPN has taken advantage
of them by seamlessly mixing them into their existing online presence.
Stats Global Page Ranking
Number of Followers
11
2.8 Million
60
412
hangouts

A Personal Brand Gone Viral
Matthew Inman - The Oatmeal - runs a highly successful online comic blog. As
one of the early adopters of Google+, Inman quickly grew an audience who
wanted access to his work in a social environment.
Inman posts his trademark comics simultaneously on Google+, Twitter and
Facebook. But he takes the time to comment individually in each network. He
is one of the only presences we’ve looked at that doesn’t make use of
Hangouts. All the same, he’s racked up more than a million followers.
Verdict: A large audience can be created on Google+ with the right content
and by bringing followers from a web platform into the space.
Number of Followers
159
1.3 Million
113
1158
posts + hashtags
Case Studies - The Oatmeal

Cuteness Carries Over
Hello Kitty has attracted more than two million followers by mixing original art
with fashion photography, interspersing pulse points like Earth Day and Easter.
Its Google+ presence is tremendously consistent in brand voice both in
channel and across other properties.
Hello Kitty really shines on Google+ by giving its followers the ﬁrst look at new
in-store items.
Verdict: Exclusive content is needed to break barriers. Treat your followers to
“ﬁrsts” to attract interest.
Number of Followers
23
2.6 Million
62
580
posts + video
Case Studies - Hello Kitty

1Add it to your
social footprint
Google+ lite Wait and see
2 3
Is Google+ for you? It depends. Google+ has some features that make it a valuable platform for aiding search and producing video
content. It’s well integrated with the Google suite of products, and if you spend a lot of time producing on these channels you would
benefit from the Authorship- and Hangout-linking platform functionality. However, if social engagement is the end goal, Google+ is not
the best option and Facebook and Twitter should continue to be your platforms of choice
With this in mind, consider the following options:
If you have the resources, utilize the content
differentiators to their fullest potential.
• Build out a brand profile. Decide on a theme and
populate that profile with content that is relevant to the
theme and brand. Get your brand page verified.
• Reach out to influencers and add them to your Circles.
• Participate in our create communities and actively reach
out to people talking about the same topics elsewhere.
• Host Hangouts and publish content.
If you desperately want to be on Google+ but do not have
the resources to run it as its own platform, syndicate
content across your social channels and take advantage
of things like Hangouts to add dynamic content to your
YouTube channel.
Most likely you’ve landed at this conclusion. Good
for you, it is the smart one.
Takeaways.

Thank You
About Critical Mass
Critical Mass, an Omnicom digital
marketing agency, helps the world's
leading companies use digital media to
create extraordinary experiences—
experiences that bring together creative
thinking, smart ideas and emerging
technologies to drive our clients’
businesses. Consistently recognized as a
leading interactive agency, Critical Mass
operates globally from oﬃces in Calgary,
Toronto, Chicago, New York, Nashville,
Los Angeles, London, Amsterdam and
Costa Rica.
www.criticalmass.com
Follow
Twitter.com/CriticalMass
Facebook.com/CriticalMass.Agency
YouTube.com/CriticalMassAgency
Slideshare.net/CM1234
Social Media Team
David Jones, VP Social Media
@DoctorJones
Scott King, Planning Director
@ScottRKing
Alison Fraker, Sr. Social Planner
@AlisonFraker
Daniel B. Honigman, Sr. Social Planner
@DanielHonigman
Kyle Bottoms, Social Planner
@KyleBottoms
Lindsay Renwick, Social Planner
@LindsayRenwick
Nikki Lloyd, Community Manager
@Nikki_Lloyd

Thank You
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Appendix
Google+ Resources
Hangouts: http://www.google.com/+/learnmore/hangouts/
Circles: http://www.google.com/+/learnmore/circles/
Communities: http://www.google.com/+/learnmore/communities/
Ripples: http://www.google.com/+/business/get-insights.html
Oﬀers: https://plus.google.com/+GoogleOﬀers

Google+ Brand Guide

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