Google+.  LinkedIn.  Google+. LinkedIn.  I have been jumping from one to the other for the past few weeks and I think I finally have an answer as to which is better and that answer is BOTH.  I don't think one is better than the other I just think they are different.  I think that both networks can satisfy different part of your marketing and can work in conjunction with each other.  Now if the question is which will you find yourself spending more time on I will say Google Plus.

Why would Google+ have me spending more time there?  I think it boils down to interaction.  There seems to be more people willing to engage on Google+ communities than on the Group pages of LinkedIn.  For the past few years I have gotten emails from LinkedIn with new discussions and old discussion points.  I also get emails from LinkedIn when people respond to a topic that I have posted on.  The comments are added but they never really seem to be engaging.  I very rarely see a response that says:  Jason - I agree with your point about how leveraging Google Plus is important to my business, espcially here in Dallas.  Now with Google+ I see this constantly.  There seems to be more engagement on that side of hte social media spectrum which led me to this question:

Are People More Engaging On Google+ Because Of The +1?

I don't want to be skeptical but are people more apt to engage so that you provide them a +1 on their talking point or the post that they just put up?  As we know Google is incorporating social metrics into their rankings and so if you are putting content onto Google+ communities and people are choosing to +1 your content that works in your favor.  I don't know for sure but I would assume a +1 on Google+ is going to be worth more than a like on the same topic on LinkedIn or even Facebook.  Only makes sense to do that with your algorithm is you are Google right?

After speaking with my partner at Sonix Studio and a peer the answer seems to be that the community setup in Googe+ just allows for more engagement and that the idea of generating organic SEO from the posts/content is at best secondary in nature.  Maybe it is because Google+ is 'new' and just growing that there are more people and businesses gravitating towards it and thus the engagement is higher than we may see in 6 months.  In 6 months Google+ may hit a plateau in terms of being a social network but I don't think so.

In my opinion the social media landscape is changing on a daily basis and I believe that Google is going to be at the forefront of these changes.  They sat back, and had a few failures along the way, but have seen what other platforms have done and are doing well.  They may take a bit of this from Facebook, and a dash of that from LinkedIn.  Sprinkle in a touch of Instagram and Vine into their YouTube platform and before you know they have taken in all the best features of the largest and most engaging networks.

Can LinkedIn provide that same service and the real question is do they want to?  Serving as the business professionals network may be all that they want to become and if that is the case they are doing quite well at it.  If you are looking for a job turn to LinkedIn.  If you are looking to connect with a person inside a company turn to LinkedIn.  Trying to make that direct connection is what LinkedIn is going to provide you but that is a micro view.  The macro view is a bit blurry in my opinion.  Can you post to LinkedIn about a topic that intrigues you?  Of course you can, but there are a lot of topics in a group and it may not generate a single like or response.  Put that same link on Google+ within the right community and you will see +1s and responses.

If I am running a business, and I am, how do I use the two services.  First with Google+ I make sure that myself, my employees and my company are all there and are interacting in the right communities for us.  We have offices in Green Bay, WI and in Dallas, TX but can service companies in any corner of the United States and beyond but what communities should we join.  Local communities would be the first place we go so that we can develop a reputation as the local expert in the industry of social media marketing.  We engage with local businesses and talk to them in face to face meetings, but if we receive a connection that is outside of our locality we turn to G+ Hangout to conduct those meetings in a face-to-face manner without the expense of travel.

Once I make that contact with the business owner on Google+ I am turning to LinkedIn to connect with them.  This is another touch point for me and that business owner so that they don't forget who I am and what I can do for them.  Once they accept my invitation to connect I send them a personal note thanking them and letting them know that they can contact me with any questions or concerns they have.  As I come across content that is relevant to their business I can send them an email through LinkedIn and engage them in conversation about that particular topic and once again be in the front of their mind.  Leveraging one platform for the other.

As you can see there is no one winner here, but I do believe that I will be relying more and more on Google+ to get my company and my own name out and then using LinkedIn to make it more personal.  Leveraging one platform to generate general interest and the other to generate more specific contact.  It is a win-win.

Do You Think That One Platform Is Better Than The Other?