May 142012
 

Anything that can boast a 112% higher engagement is worth a second look. That is just one of the figures that Simply Measured (the social media analytics firm) released yesterday. Since February, two more brands from the Interbrand Top 100 list (Xerox and Nike) have activated pages, bringing the total to 64 of those 100. (The top 10 for Google+ engagement include Nike, Coke, Starbucks, Adidas and Ferrari, among others.) Also since February, average weekly circler engagement is up 112%, and content engagement is up 65%. Finally, 22% of the brands now have circler counts over 100,000, up from 13% including Nike, and after just two months. So it appears brands are prioritizing Google+ and trying to capitalize on participation.

But, as Josh Sternberg of Digiday describes, smart brands actively strategize on Google+, rather than treat it as yet another presence they need to fill. ESPN for example has 1.2 million Google+ followers. Sports fans like rich media, and ESPN knows that, so relies on high-quality images and videos of all-things sport, and interactions with fans.

The news media seems not to know what to make of it, and the highly-circulated Wall Street Journal, New York Times and USA Today have piddling followings on Google+ compared to their other social platforms.

SOURCE: Dismiss Google+ At Your Own Risk – MarketingVOX.