Chikita Insights recently reported that Google+ has failed to sustain the spike in growth and activity it experienced last month after lifting its invite-only status. The analytics company found that the growth lasted for about 48 hours before Google’s social site took its latest plummet.
While Google continues to make Google+ more functional and easier to customize, the simple fact is that it has not differentiated itself enough from Facebook for consumers to begin using it, Chikita suggests. Brafton reported that immediately following Google+ becoming available to the general public, users spiked 30 percent.
Facebook’s user base recently surpassed 800 million and the growth is unlikely to slow down at any point in the near future. Even as people express concerns over privacy controls and layout changes Facebook has made, usage figures for the website remain strong as does its value as a social media marketing tool. Recently, the company launched Insights, aimed at providing marketers with clear figures of their social media campaigns.
In late September, Google released the API for Google+, which made it possible for application development and Google+ integration with third-party sites such as HootSuite and TweetDeck. However, not much has come of the API release, and Google+’s numbers are floundering as a result.
Marketers have been waiting for Google to announce the launch of Google+ for Business so they can integrate the platform into their social media marketing campaigns. Despite a statement from Google’s Christian Oestlien in September that business access to the network would be “coming soon,” nothing has been said or released as of yet.
