There’s no doubt that social media has become an essential tool for businesses. While Facebook has long reigned supreme, the heavy hitters at Google recently threw their hat in the social media ring. Is that a reason for the reigning champs to get nervous? It depends on who you ask. Here, two experts at GS Design weigh-in.
Why Facebook will win – Chris Krasovich, social marketing strategist
- “With 800 million users, Facebook ‘s adoption/engagement rates eclipse the competition. Businesses can gain tremendous reach through its brand pages.”
- “Facebook gets more traffic than Google, the kind that influences purchases. Peer recommendations of products and services occur regularly on the site.”
- “Facebook advertising presents a cost-effective way to micro-target your audience. Because the demographics of its users are so wide, your target audience is most certainly represented.”
- “Because Facebook regularly adopts features from competing platforms, it will never become outdated. Commitment to maintaining relevance shows that Facebook is inspired – not intimidated – by competition.”
Why Google+ will win – Steve Schrab, senior web developer
- “While migration to Google+ has been slow, it’s hard to ignore that ‘+1’ (their version of the “like” button) that appears within search results. As Google+ becomes fully integrated within Google services, traffic will increase.”
- “When users “+1″ your Google+ business page, your company ranks higher in the searches of not only that user, but their friends, as well.”
- “By tagging a Google company profile with your blog posts, the profile and blog become linked in search results. This helps increase blog and profile followers.”
- “Facebook users complain that the interface is constantly changing and difficult to use. Google+ offers a clean and intuitive interface, a factor that may lead to its triumph.”
Only time will tell which platform will ultimately be best for business. Regardless, companies and consumers benefit from competition between these tech giants. The best advice? Use both platforms to ensure you’re capturing your audience.
