The Death of Google Plus
While Google's latest social media effort has certainly been on life support for the last few years, the search engine confirmed in early October 2018 that Google Plus is officially "sunsetting" – which is a fancy term for 86'ed.
Google Plus will be shut down for good, with a target date of August 2019.
Let's talk about what the loss of Google Plus means for your online marketing presence.
To Clarify – Google+ is Not Your Google Listing
Your Google Listing, Analytics, and Console are all separate from your G+ account. Originally, Google did spend some time trying to unify the ecosystem years ago. Marketers would refer to G+ and your Google Map Listing as the same entity. In the last few years, Google unbundled and re-separated services again – so your Google Listing is perfectly safe.
So... Probably Not Too Much Will Change for You
If you're like most businesses, you didn't post much on Google+. And, if you did, we have somewhere else to direct all of that effort...
Google Posts On Google My Business
It has been suggested that Google Posts do provide a little bit of lift in the right situation, so the efforts of your posts from your Google+ page can simply be transferred to your Google My Business Listing.
Update Your Social Media Icons
Because everyone was clamoring to please Google while demonstrating their social media prowess, many businesses created Google+ accounts for their companies. (They also usually never logged in again after that). If you still have those old Google+ icons in the footer of your website or at the bottom of your business, it'll soon be time to remove them. While you're there, you could probably also update your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram icons with the latest and greatest version of the logos.
If you're a Footbridge Media customer already, you can rest assured that these processes to update mentions of G+ and other links to the soon-to-be defunct social media network are already in development – and that we are preparing a slow removal of all such content from client sites over the coming months.
If you're not already a member of the Footbridge Media family – you'll have to check in with your marketing staff to see if they were aware of this change and how / when they plan to remedy the old content.
In the end, aside from a bit of housekeeping, your online marketing and optimization practices won't be changing very much. What are you going to do about this change? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter!
About Chris Lonergan
Chris Lonergan has over 12 years of contractor marketing experience with Footbridge Media. With a background in web design, print design, content creation, and online marketing, Chris is focused on providing quality marketing and business solutions in the construction and service industries - helping small business owners to more efficiently manage their companies and grow their operations.
Chris Lonergan has previously contributed to and/or been featured in PM Magazine (Plumbing & Mechanical | Contractors x Engineers), theNEWS (ACHR - Air Conditioning | Heating | Refrigeration), Service Roundtable's blog, inPAINT Magazine, the SMB Marketing Agency Show, and the Green Industry Podcast. Chris is also a past SGI/CertainPath breakout session presenter.
