Google+ isn’t even a year old yet and Brand Pages have only been around since November 2011, but already, brands are seeing user engagement on Google+ according to research by comScore. That means many of the companies that encourage consumers to interact with their brands on Google+ through following, commenting, +1ing, and sharing content are already seeing positive results.
Of course, the data collected so far isn’t staggering — Google+ is new for both consumers and brands. As eMarketer explains, “As marketers start to become more comfortable there, it will be interesting to see whether active brands can bring more active users, or whether usage must improve on Google+ before it becomes a significant channel for brand communication.”
Let’s take a look at some of the stats gathered by Simply Measured, which has been tracking the Top 100 Brands (based on financial performance according to Interbrand) to try to determine the extent that brand name influences purchase decision as well as to measure the strength of the brand. The company did this by tracking and analyzing each brand’s Google+ activities between November 2011 through March 2012. Here are some of the key statistics collected:
- 60 of the Top 100 Brands according to Interbrand had verified accounts on Google+.
- Wednesdays were the most active days for brands to post content on Google+ and for users to engage with those posts. In fact, 21% of all brand posts were published on a Wednesday during the tracking period. Mondays were the second most active day. Weekend activity was significantly less for both brand posts and engagement (approximately 75% less active than the least active weekday, Friday).
- Mornings are the most active time for both brand posts to be published and users to engage with those posts with 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. local time being the most active hour for both (when many people are just sitting down at their desks to begin work). 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. local time was the second most active hour for both brand posts and user engagement. 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. local time is the least active time for both brand posts and engagements (when people are likely to be commuting home from work and eating dinner).
What’s most interesting about this data is how frequently people engage with brands on Google+ during work hours. The sweet spot for brand posting and engagement is 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. local time on a weekday. Of course, that’s just a small part of the Google+ marketing puzzle. Brands need to learn what kind of content and conversations the Google+ audience is most willing to engage with, talk about, and share.
With Google+ becoming more and more important to Google search results in a variety of ways, brands need to have a presence on on the site. However, the recipe for success is still unknown.
What do you think about Google+? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.
Image: West McGowan
Lucy is Editor at Corporate Eye
