{"id":7391,"date":"2018-11-21T06:16:05","date_gmt":"2018-11-21T12:16:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ilfusion.org\/dev\/staging\/?p=7391"},"modified":"2023-06-29T02:32:35","modified_gmt":"2023-06-29T07:32:35","slug":"google-plus-shuts-down-what-small-businesses-should-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ilfusion.org\/dev\/staging\/google-plus-shuts-down-what-small-businesses-should-do","title":{"rendered":"Google Plus Shuts Down: What Small Businesses Should Do"},"content":{"rendered":"

Google recently announced<\/a> that they are shutting down Google+ for consumers following reports of a security breach.<\/p>\n

The security breach<\/a> was attributed to a software bug that allowed developers access to data of an estimated 500,000 Google+ profiles marked as non-public. Google reported, however, that there was no evidence that any data was misused.<\/p>\n

The bug, which was discovered last March 2018, was promptly patched then. However, Google failed to disclose this information publicly at that time, stating that they feared regulatory scrutiny.<\/p>\n

They have also cited low consumer adoption and challenges in meeting consumer expectations as among the reasons for the decision to \u201csunset\u201d the consumer version of Google+.<\/p>\n

Google+ is slated to gradually shut down over the next 10 months<\/strong> and targets to have the transition completed by August 2019<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

What Does This Mean for Businesses?<\/h5>\n

Google+ has been one of the core social media platforms that businesses use to market their products and services, mainly because anything you post on Google+ is immediately indexed by Google, thus hugely influencing SEO rankings.<\/p>\n

However, despite its promising early growth, Google+ failed to achieve broad consumer adoption as the years progressed. In fact, Google revealed that usage and engagement on Google+ dramatically plummeted over the years, with 90% of user sessions lasting less than 5 seconds<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For businesses, this means having one less social media marketing platform to use. This may also mean that all the content you have posted on the platform will be lost, including the Communities (groups) you\u2019ve built.<\/p>\n

Google, however, stated that they will be providing additional instructions on how to download and migrate your files to other platforms in the coming months. They also announced that they will continue to offer an enterprise version of Google+, a private network for organizations using G Suite.<\/p>\n

What Small Businesses Can Do as Google Plus Shuts Down<\/h5>\n

While Google is providing ample time for businesses before Google+ for consumers completely shuts down, it\u2019s best to consider leaving the platform sooner than later. Here are actionable steps that small businesses can do:<\/p>\n

1. Download your Google+ Data<\/h6>\n

Google hasn\u2019t made an official announcement yet on how to download and migrate your Google+ data, but you can start ahead by backing up some of your data using Google Takeout. All you need to do is to sign in as your Google+ page. This, however, does not back up the entirety of your data associated with Google+. At a minimum, you can only download your +1s, Circles, Communities, and Stream.<\/p>\n

2. Find alternative platforms to market<\/h6>\n

You may find that certain types of content work best on Google+. While it\u2019s never recommended to focus your marketing efforts onto just one platform, if you happen to have Google+ as your primary platform for social media marketing, make a plan to find main alternatives that work well with your target audience.<\/p>\n

3. Gradually phase out social activity on Google+<\/h6>\n

Taper down your sharing schedule and commenting on Google+ so as to have a gradual exit. This gives a subtle sign to your followers that you\u2019re shifting your focus elsewhere. It\u2019s also important to post an official announcement on Google+ that directs your followers to your other social media pages.<\/p>\n

4. Become familiar with Google\u2019s new data sharing policies<\/h6>\n

If you\u2019re a G Suite client, or if you\u2019ve developed an app that works with Google data, it\u2019s essential to learn more about Google\u2019s new data sharing policies<\/a>. You can also check up on your Google security through the links below:<\/p>\n